Khaled Wahoud

Khaled was born in Baniyas in Syria, in 1987; he was the eldest of four sons and four daughters. He dropped out of school in grade nine to work with his father as a welder. His father died, and Khaled inherited his workshop and became the family's main provider.

When he turned seventeen, he decided to travel by sea and work onboard sea ships, to improve his financial and economic situatiom, and provide a better life for his family.

Khaled spent his youth traveling from country to country, until he finally settled with a sea shipping company in Lebanon in 2013. His brother Walid worked for the same company for a short period of time.

Khaled was married, he had a 3-year old child. He was a loving father, and a caring brother. He would never turn anyone down, and he was extremely generous.

His family used to gather for Al-Adha feast in the family home in Syria. Yet, unusually, Khaled could not make it as the company he works for delayed the payment of the employees' monthly salaries.

Khaled stayed in Lebanon, waiting for his salary; he did not know death would be around the corner. On August 4, he was still working aboard the ship at the Port of Beirut.

Khaled's family heard about the explosion from their neighbours and tried to find out what happened to him. His brother Walid, who didn’t see him for the last eight months, called his contacts at the port in Lebanon, but there was no good news. The company he worked for also followed up with the family, but it looked like there was no hope.

The next day, Walid called a friend in Beirut to find out Khaled's whereabouts. Two days later his family received the worst news possible.

Walid could not believe he lost his brother and asked for proof; he received the heart-breaking photo of his brother's dead body. Five days after the explosion, Khaled's corpse travelled from Rafic Hariri University Hospital, through the Syrian borders, to his home town.

Khaled left behind a grieving family that lost a caring father, a generous brother, and an amazing soul… He left behind a little toddler, who will miss him forever…