By Kamel Mohanna
I thought my tears had dried, for I have mourned many dear friends who passed away in recent years. But I—who have appointed myself a distributor of hope and optimism to loved ones, lifelong companions, and fellow comrades—prefer to recall the radiant image of Yasser Nehmeh: that struggler whose concern was to bring joy to people, especially the poor and junior employees. He was sincere, trustworthy, loyal to his friends and loved ones, and ever ready to serve them.
I knew him since the 1960s, when we were students involved in protest movements. He would welcome us at Al-Hurriya magazine, supporting and guiding us, among the vanguard of media fighters. He worked in journalism when it was a tireless battlefield, and he traveled to Cairo University in 1954—during the era of Nasser, the leader of Egypt and the Arab world’s epicenter—amid the fervor of the Arab liberation movement.
In addition to his work at the Nasserist Al-Hurriya magazine at the time, he wrote for a number of Lebanese newspapers, clearly leftist in orientation, ideology, and identity. He was editor-in-chief of Al-Hurriya when I was the Secretary General of the Lebanese Students Union in France and received a deportation order. Yasser Nehmeh and Al-Hurriya were among those who led the movement to revoke the decision. In fact, Yasser himself called for a press conference to denounce the unjust political decision issued against me. His activism became a vital part of the solidarity campaign that ultimately led to the decision being overturned.
We reconnected in Lebanon during the period of Al-Hurriya’s strong presence and our collective rally around its national and pan-Arab program, before he joined our unforgettable comrade Talal Salman in founding As-Safir newspaper, helping to launch it in 1974. Together, they embarked on a long journey of national struggle, overcoming many threats, dangers, and assassination attempts.
Like Talal Salman, Yasser Nehmeh never feared the harsh road. He continued his journey at As-Safir, which, under Talal Salman’s leadership and Yasser’s management, became a leading Lebanese and Arab newspaper. He remained with As-Safir for nearly forty years, making it his second home and platform for his political and union struggle—fighting for the poor, the downtrodden, and the rightful, and supporting national and Arab causes. He shared every political and professional detail with Talal Salman.
Yasser Nehmeh didn’t just co-found As-Safir, he also had other arenas of struggle. Notably, he was a prominent presence in the Amel Association International—as a founder, supporter, and Secretary General. During a crisis the organization faced, he was a pillar in maintaining its path and preserving its accomplishments for the people of Lebanon. He played a vital role in cooling tensions, rationalizing conflicts, and keeping the focus on the noble humanitarian goals of the institution and the need to continue its mission.
You carried out your struggle for workers’ justice with calm and patience, but you confronted those who deprived the poor of their rights with boldness and courage—boldness that led to your arrest twice. That didn’t surprise me, for you are a son of the ever-struggling city of Tyre, a man of unwavering principles: of change, and unwavering support for Palestine in all its stages of catastrophe and revolution. Tyre, to which Yasser remained loyal, never ceased to visit even in the harshest times, actively participating in its clubs’ events and staying connected to its political, social, and cultural life.
His unionist journey went beyond chairing the Union of Printing and Publishing Workers in Lebanon. He also undertook broader unionist roles—as a member of the Executive Council of the General Labor Confederation in Lebanon, then its Secretary General, then Vice President, as well as a member of the Economic and Social Council—among other activities all aimed at serving the nation, the people, and justice.
He led the major union demonstration that gathered in Beirut’s museum area in 1987, uniting both East and West Beirut, under the call of the General Union Conference, demanding an end to the Lebanese civil war.
This is the life story of a man at the forefront of the honest fighters for every just cause—especially Palestine, where today we witness the most heinous crimes perpetrated by global Zionism: the worst forms of genocide, racism, and fascism that modern history has ever seen.
Yasser Nehmeh was among the first nationalist fighters who considered Palestine the centerpiece of their struggle—during the Nasserist era, which he embraced in both its Arab and Palestinian dimensions, later as a supporter of the Palestinian resistance, and even through the era of defeats masked by the silence of Arab regimes and the atrocities that shock the ears and eyes of the world.
Published in Al-Akhbar Newspaper on Wednesday, August 6, 2025, Issue No. 5559.