Poet Suleiman Qassem Hadeefa signed his book of colloquial poetry titled “Taymiyyat – First Harvest” at Dar Hasbaya, in the presence of the representative of the Sheikh Aql of the Unitarian Druze community, his advisor Sheikh Wissam Sleiqa; MP Wael Abou Faour representing the head of the Progressive Socialist Party, Taymour Joumblatt; the Imam of Hasbaya Mosque, Sheikh Masaad Najm; the representative of MP Anwar El-Khalil, Dr. Amin Shmeis; the Media Commissioner of the Progressive Socialist Party, Saleh Hadeefa; the Party's interior agent in Hasbaya and Marjeyoun, Samer Al-Kakhi; the former interior agent and deputy commissioner of education in the party, Shafiq Alwan; the head of the Hasbani Municipalities Union, Sami Al-Safadi; the Mayor of Hasbaya, Labib Al-Hamra; a number of mayors and mukhtars; the Secretary-General of the Lebanese Writers Union; poets Dr. Elias Zoghbi, Nariman Alloush, Charbel Kamleh, Naji Abou Assaf, Ghassan Abou Ali, Nazih Abou Al-Zour, Shawqi Younes, Zaher Abou Hala; artist Antoine Wadih Al-Safi; the head of the Cave of Arts workshop, Gandhi Abou Diab; in addition to a number of sheikhs, regional notables, public figures, and representatives of associations, unions, clubs, and educational, social, cultural, and youth institutions.
The ceremony was hosted by educator Manal Hadeefa. This was followed by a critical review of the book by Mr. Nihad Al-Hamra, and poems recited by poets Zoghbi, Alloush, Abou Assaf, Abou Ali, Kamleh, Abou Al-Zour, Younes, and Abou Hala. Poet Hadeefa then delivered a speech in which he thanked the attendees, the event sponsor, and Minister Abou Faour, presenting him with a commemorative shield and a portrait of him that he had drawn himself, after which he recited some of his poems.
Abou Faour delivered a speech in which he said: “I convey to poet Hadeefa the greetings of Taymour Joumblatt for what you have created, produced, and presented as ideas in this creative work. The word is the daughter of thought, the thought is the daughter of the mind, and the word is the daughter of the soul; there is no beauty of thought without the beauty of the mind and soul. In what you have poured into your first collection, you have poured from your mind, your thought, and your soul. You belong to a righteous ancestry; may God have mercy on your father, Sheikh Abou Alam al-Din Qassem Hadeefa, whom I knew closely and truly during the time of fire, the day he held fire in his hands and defended his homeland, his clan, his people, and his society without hesitation.”
Abou Faour added: “Greetings also to the town of Ain Qanya and to the Hasbaya region, which was and remains part of this national Arab march, the march of Kamal Joumblatt, Walid Joumblatt, and Taymour Joumblatt. This region aligned itself with the pioneering humanitarian Arab idea of Kamal Joumblatt, the idea of Kamal Joumblatt regarding the unity of mankind and standing with the poor in that noble exchange which Kamal Joumblatt announced and honorably offered to all citizens. Greetings to Hasbaya, Ain Qanya, and the Hadeefa family, this noble and honorable national family that has contributed so much to this journey. I am from a generation that witnessed some of these events, through what I grasped in my youth and what I learned from my father about this region and this family. In 1958, Ain Qanya was called the fortress of the Progressive Socialist Party. As I recall this, I also recall the days of the Palestinian revolution and the popular security in Hasbaya. I remember the National Movement and the honorable people who stood with the Palestinian wound, when Hasbaya was being struck by Israeli shelling and did not surrender, offering martyrs just like the noble Arqoub, which made sacrifices for all Lebanese and all Arabs.”
