By Kamel Mohanna
To our beloved, dear friend, and esteemed lawyer Nabil Mashmoushi, why have you painted our days with sadness, drenched our dreams with tears, and fallen silent after being one of the finest speakers?
Our distinguished partner in the journey of the “Amel International Foundation,” responsible for its legal affairs, chairman of the National Care Committee for its projects, contributor to its development proposals, committed to serving the poor, promoting community development, and standing on the front lines in defense of progressive and reformist ideas. Your constant concern was for democracy, justice, and human rights to prevail. You championed the idea of the citizen as a human being, stood against all sectarian projects, rejected all schemes sowing discord among compatriots, and shared with us the aspiration to secure human dignity for every displaced, refugee, oppressed, or marginalized person.
Dear colleague and esteemed professor Nabil Mashmoushi, you were a pioneer in your work as a successful and distinguished lawyer. You established your law firm with a group of respected colleagues, earning well-deserved respect — firm when necessary, flexible when circumstances required, always able to skillfully, precisely, and knowledgeably formulate decisions, grounded in your vast understanding of laws, decrees, and rights.
You never limited yourself to the boundaries of your profession. Your humanity, knowledge, and expertise radiated onto the broader community. You contributed to founding associations and played a pioneering role in serving the people of your town, your region, and your country, striving to alleviate, as much as possible, the problems of a society in desperate need of people like you.
It saddens us deeply that after all this vitality, you have become a memory, leaving behind a wide void. Your departure wounds us, just as we were wounded months ago by the passing of the historian Dr. Ibrahim Baydoun, our partner in founding “Amel,” and our colleagues Dr. Mustafa Hijazi, the psychologist, and the honorable judge Rashid Mazhar. And before them, the passing of our great teacher, President Salim Al-Hoss, a friend of the foundation, followed by our dear friend George Corm, and before them, the supporter of the foundation’s activities with his opinions and media coverage, our soul’s twin, Professor Talal Salman.
Friends fall one after another, and tears flow in sorrow — but such is life. All we can do is continue giving. The foundation remains, generation after generation, seeking optimism amid all the misery surrounding us, the disappointments facing our nation, the brutal Israeli aggression that befell Lebanon, and the unprecedented massacres that struck Gaza and the West Bank in our beloved Palestine.
Such was your conviction, and that same optimism was always sealed with your radiant smile as you worked tirelessly to achieve your goals. You gave your all, never faltered, filled your time with toil. Alongside running your successful law firm for 47 years and managing the Lebanese branch of Oxfam, you were a passionate supporter of forming humanitarian associations and institutions and bolstered their efforts. Despite all these heavy responsibilities, your presence in our foundation was never marginal but rather essential, significant, and productive. Our loss is great with your absence.
Farewell, unforgettable noble soul.
Published in the newspaper “Al-Akhbar” on Saturday, March 22, 2025, issue number 5457.