The last time I saw Lokman Slim, the Lebanese publisher and independent activist, was a few weeks ago, on a sunny midweek day in Beirut. He was standing next to Riad Al Soloh square, the site of so many protests, smoking a cigarette, holding two pieces of paper in his hand and waiting to go inside a building housing many regional and international studios for one of his live interviews.
I was wearing my mask and several layers when I spotted him, and feared he might not recognise me through it all.
“I recognised you since I saw you taking a picture of the graffiti on the wall,” he said.
We laughed. It had been too long since we had last seen each other. I did not see him again on the way out. I also didn’t know it would be the last time I would see him in the sun.
I met Slim in 2012, as the Syrian revolution was dominating the world’s news, and criticism against Hezbollah, a Lebanese ally of the Syrian regime, was mounting. He was famous for his criticism of Hezbollah. I was a young journalist battling my way onto the scene, with so much to say. He invited me, through my boss at the time, to a round table between Lebanese and Syrian activists in Hamra, Beirut.
We soon became friends on social media. I used to admire him because, me being a recent graduate, in him I saw everything I had hoped to see in my university professors: a critical thinker, a fierce yet calm fighter with a distinguished voice, a listener. I was always amazed by the fact that Slim was a man dealing with politics every day who never interrupted me as I spoke, me the young female journalist squeezing her way into a challenging career.
After our round table, I learned that he was born in Haret Hreik, where in 1990 he founded an independent Lebanese publishing house called Dar Al Jadeed. Many of his and the Dar’s publications were deemed controversial because they stirred discussions, tested ideologies and put forth questions that conservative sections of our society often did not want asked.
He never left Haret Hreik. He continued living there to develop his work and never shied away from his causes – be they political, social or historical. Slim was an eloquent opposition figure. He knew what he was up against.
The fact that he came from Hezbollah’s own Shiite community lent an added layer of authority – but also challenges – to his already-controversial views. Pro-Hezbollah media labelled him as a “Shiite of the US embassy”, a term often used against those who reject Hezbollah’s ideology in an effort to paint them as “traitors”. They published recurring, indirect threats to him and other opposition members at the time. He responded with historical facts, tackling the political psychology of his society and referring back to something stronger that any propaganda: research with analysis based on reason.
And because politics were never enough, his love for Lebanon and Beirut’s memory was so immense that in 2004 he cofounded the Umam Documentation and Research Centre, where he and his team worked on collecting a large portion of resources to document Lebanese history. Preserving history was one of his missions, he used to say repeatedly, because Lebanon has so much history, and to him it was too precious to go to waste.
One of his main causes was to keep the memory of the missing Lebanese in the Syrian regime’s prisons alive. The Syrian revolution was also a cause that he strongly believed in; in 2016, he co-directed the documentary “Tadmor”.
I didn't know it would be the last time I would see him in the sun
In the fall of 2019, during an event in Beirut, I was moderating a panel about memory and history in Beit Beirut, a building which I knew Slim enjoyed so much. After discussing innovation, politics, technology and the memories of Syria, it was time to talk about Beirut.
When I asked him about the role of the memory in the revolution (which was still happening back then), he answered with a smile: “There is no revolution without memory.”
Thought never dies.
A few weeks later, his house in Harit Hreik was in the spotlight when a large group of Hezbollah supporters protested in his garden, asking him and his family to leave, sending them clear messages by hanging papers on the walls outside that said “Lokman Slim, the traitor agent”, “Lokman the Zionist” and “Glory to the one who silences him” – all terms that refer to what would eventually transpire today, his assassination.
Slim was a prominent personality who had no real political aspirations, but only hopes that Lebanon would remain a cultural hub and a space to maintain freedom of thought. It was, for him, a space to share even with those with whom we do not necessarily agree.
With Lokman Slim’s death, Lebanon lost a part of its memory. I’m afraid now that Lebanon is entering an era where all good memories, including those Slim strongly believed in, will be silenced or disappeared, one way or another.
Luna Safwan is a Lebanese freelance journalist who works on press freedom
Zayed Sustainability Prize
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The Perfect Couple
Starring: Nicole Kidman, Liev Schreiber, Jack Reynor
Creator: Jenna Lamia
Rating: 3/5
More on animal trafficking
Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958-1989
Director: Goran Hugo Olsson
Rating: 5/5
The five pillars of Islam
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Company%20Profile
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North Pole stats
Distance covered: 160km
Temperature: -40°C
Weight of equipment: 45kg
Altitude (metres above sea level): 0
Terrain: Ice rock
South Pole stats
Distance covered: 130km
Temperature: -50°C
Weight of equipment: 50kg
Altitude (metres above sea level): 3,300
Terrain: Flat ice
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Zayed Sustainability Prize
The years Ramadan fell in May
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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The biog
Simon Nadim has completed 7,000 dives.
The hardest dive in the UAE is the German U-boat 110m down off the Fujairah coast.
As a child, he loved the documentaries of Jacques Cousteau
He also led a team that discovered the long-lost portion of the Ines oil tanker.
If you are interested in diving, he runs the XR Hub Dive Centre in Fujairah
Reputation
Taylor Swift
(Big Machine Records)
england euro squad
Goalkeepers: Dean Henderson (Man Utd), Sam Johnstone (West Brom), Jordan Pickford (Everton)
Defenders: John Stones (Man City), Luke Shaw (Man Utd), Harry Maguire (Man Utd), Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool), Kyle Walker (Man City), Tyrone Mings (Aston Villa), Reece James (Chelsea), Conor Coady (Wolves), Ben Chilwell (Chelsea), Kieran Trippier (Atletico Madrid)
Midfielders: Mason Mount (Chelsea), Declan Rice (West Ham), Jordan Henderson (Liverpool), Jude Bellingham (Borussia Dortmund), Kalvin Phillips (Leeds)
Forwards: Harry Kane (Tottenham), Marcus Rashford (Man Utd), Raheem Sterling (Man City), Dominic Calvert-Lewin (Everton), Phil Foden (Man City), Jack Grealish (Aston Villa), Jadon Sancho (Borussia Dortmund), Bukayo Saka (Arsenal)
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Tips for newlyweds to better manage finances
All couples are unique and have to create a financial blueprint that is most suitable for their relationship, says Vijay Valecha, chief investment officer at Century Financial. He offers his top five tips for couples to better manage their finances.
Discuss your assets and debts: When married, it’s important to understand each other’s personal financial situation. It’s necessary to know upfront what each party brings to the table, as debts and assets affect spending habits and joint loan qualifications. Discussing all aspects of their finances as a couple prevents anyone from being blindsided later.
Decide on the financial/saving goals: Spouses should independently list their top goals and share their lists with one another to shape a joint plan. Writing down clear goals will help them determine how much to save each month, how much to put aside for short-term goals, and how they will reach their long-term financial goals.
Set a budget: A budget can keep the couple be mindful of their income and expenses. With a monthly budget, couples will know exactly how much they can spend in a category each month, how much they have to work with and what spending areas need to be evaluated.
Decide who manages what: When it comes to handling finances, it’s a good idea to decide who manages what. For example, one person might take on the day-to-day bills, while the other tackles long-term investments and retirement plans.
Money date nights: Talking about money should be a healthy, ongoing conversation and couples should not wait for something to go wrong. They should set time aside every month to talk about future financial decisions and see the progress they’ve made together towards accomplishing their goals.
