Paulette Iskandar Hachem
Paulette, the daughter of Iskandar and Adele Hachem, was born in Beirut in 1957, she grew up with two sisters, Pierette and Nathalie, and a brother, Pierre, in their home in Gemayze.
Paulette graduated from Collège Sainte Famille, but due to the Lebanese civil war, she could not pursue a degree in interior design, at the Faculty of Fine Arts and Architecture at the Lebanese University. She was recently planning an exhibition of her works and paintings, but the rapid spread of covid-19, and related restrictions, postponed her plan … Regrettably, the most horrific explosion of the century, destroyed her home and her paintings, and killed her.
Paulette, a cancer survivor, left her job at an art gallery, and started expressing herself through her own paintings.
Paula, as she was called, was married for a brief period of time, and did not have any children. She was thus, very fond of her nieces and nephews.
Every morning, at 9:00 AM, she would video call her sister Pierette. Unusually, on the 4th of August, Paula called her sister twice, the first time at 7:00 AM, and the second time at 10:00 AM. She was happy and smiling that morning...
After lunch, Paula took a nap, after which she had coffee with her brother, and went back to her room. Pierre stayed in the dining room working on his laptop. After the first explosion she came running to check on her brother. The second blast trapped her under a wall, shards of glass hit her body, causing a skull fracture and a brain injury.
Pierre who was slightly injured, tried to drag Paula out of the rubble; she was severely bleeding. He called their sister Nathalie and told her that Paula was fighting for her life…
Her nephews, Mario and Joe, came to her rescue. She asked them about Pierre, and they told her he was fine and she should take care of herself.
Paulette died in the ambulance evacuating her to Jeitawi Hospital. Her dead body was left on the floor with other dead bodies for two days, as the hospital was severely affected by the blast, and the morgue was out of service.
She was buried in the family's cemetery.
Pierre is still under the shock of his sister's loss, he couldn't go back to live in the same house where she died… Paula died, the world is sad.
Paulette left this world; the hearts of her beloved are heavy with grief and sorrow. They believe she is in a better place, with Jesus… Her smiling face will forever be their guardian angel…
Paula, a strong woman who battled cancer and survived, still had a lot to live for. She did not deserve such a tragic end.