Death has taken Dr. Nasser Rafeh, who was known for his endless giving, earning him the title of the doctor of crises and the poor. He was a spearhead in confronting the Corona pandemic at Rashaya Governmental Hospital.
The Progressive Socialist Party, the Lebanese Order of Physicians, the Rafeh family, and the people of Al-Muhaidatha in the Rashaya district mourned the member of the Lebanese Order of Physicians Council, Dr. Rafeh, in a massive popular funeral held at the Walid Jumblatt Hall in Al-Muhaidatha, Rashaya District.
The funeral was attended by MP Wael Abou Faour, who conveyed the condolences of President Walid Jumblatt, the head of the Progressive Socialist Party, MP Taymour Jumblatt, and the party's leadership, along with a large partisan delegation. Participants included the Director General of the Cooperative of State Employees, Dr. Yahya Khamis; the head of the Progressive Graduates Association, Mr. Samer Al-Oud; the head of the Progressive Physicians' Sector, Dr. Zouhair Omar; the Rashaya District physician, Dr. Samer Harb; the Progressive interior agents in the South Bekaa, Aref Abou Mansour, and in the West Bekaa, Kamal Handous; as well as agency members, representatives, party branch directors, and a crowd of party leaders and cadres.
Also in attendance were the Senior Jaafari Judge, Sheikh Assadallah Al-Harashi; Sheikh Abbas Dhibi; the religious advisor to President Saad Hariri, Sheikh Ali Al-Janani; members of the Druze Confessional Council Sheikh Assad Sarhal, Mr. Ali Fayek, and Engineer Marwan Shrouf; as well as sheikhs, scholars, clergy, and other members of the Druze Confessional Council and judges.
The funeral was also attended by member of the Lebanese Order of Physicians Council, Dr. Sari Al-Abdullah, representing the Head of the Order; Dr. Marwan Al-Zoghbi, heading a delegation from the Free Patriotic Movement's physicians; Dr. Ali Saad, heading a delegation from Hezbollah's physicians; along with a delegation from their leadership in the West Bekaa. Also present were Dr. Mohammed Abdullah, representing the delegation of liberal professions in the Amal Movement; chairs and directors of hospitals in Rashaya, Hasbaya, Mashghara, Saghbine, and Farhat Hospital, as well as the West and Central Bekaa; and doctors and medical/nursing staff from the hospitals and friends of the deceased.
A crowd of medical, cultural, educational, and union figures attended, along with mayors, mukhtars, and popular delegations from various villages and towns, as well as the people of Al-Muhaidatha and the villages of the Rashaya, West Bekaa, and Hasbaya districts.
Bahaa Jamal introduced the speakers, followed by Dr. Rabih Abou Shami, who delivered a speech on behalf of the doctors in the region's hospitals and the friends of the deceased. Then, Dr. Sari Al-Abdullah delivered a speech on behalf of the Head of the Order of Physicians. Educator Mr. Walid Rafeh delivered a speech on behalf of the family and the people of Al-Muhaidatha. The speeches praised his medical career, his love for charity, and his unparalleled courage during the Corona crisis, particularly in the region's hospitals, intensive care units, and isolation wards. They also highlighted his humanitarian path, his love for his patients, his charitable work, and his dedication to providing free assistance and medication to impoverished patients.
MP Abou Faour said: "On your day, Comrade Nasser, how sudden your day was; how hurried, how painful and tragic. On your day, we who believe in submission to the will of the Creator weep for you; we weep with tears in our eyes, with heartbreak, and with unparalleled sorrow. We bear witness to you, oh person of morals, nobility, humanity, courage, and chivalry. Oh person of belonging—authentic, sincere, and kind. You were born in a noble, brave village, in a brave, noble family, and in a home loyal to the Progressive Socialist Party. How could it be otherwise when you were the son of the late Comrade Farhan Rafeh, that stature who raised his family on the principles of Kamal Jumblatt—the stature looked upon with respect and emulation by hundreds of generations of progressives throughout Wadi al-Taym. The late Comrade Farhan Rafeh, who joined Kamal Jumblatt when joining him was considered an act of defiance against a regressive social and political system. You inherited this sense of belonging, but you, Comrade Nasser, were not just an heir; you were a generator of this legacy through your social conduct, your kindness, your sincerity, and your zeal for your community. And you were a generator of this Progressive Socialist belonging in your professional career. Who can forget you, Comrade Nasser? When the pandemic struck—that pandemic which tested our humanity, our courage, our solidarity, and our destiny—who in Wadi al-Taym could forget you? Who from Rashaya, Hasbaya, West Bekaa, or Central Bekaa could forget you? When most of us took shelter from the pandemic, you—the brave, the brave—would storm the patients' rooms and intensive care units. How can I forget, Comrade Nasser, how we used to wait for you at night just to catch a piece of news from you? We would wait for you between shifts just to ask about a patient, a loved one, or a dear friend. You never begrudged anyone an answer, not just with a healing response, but with the human and moral empathy with which you treated all patients. Today, we see this presence at your funeral, these eyes that weep for you knowing the value of what you did. You represented that moral elite Kamal Jumblatt spoke of: the elite of science, knowledge, morals, and active engagement with the issues of society. A society that today needs your likes, your morals, and your path. This Lebanese society, which we see today teetering between abyss and abyss, between tragedy and tragedy—from the tests of the South, which we hope will pass with minimal damage despite the sacrifices made, to the economic, social, and Syrian crises. Here, on behalf of the Progressive Socialist Party, which you joined and which presented you to the Order of Physicians, we say that we hope and pray that Lebanese wisdom will prevail in approaching all these difficulties. Lebanese wisdom cannot be based on challenge, treason accusations, or polarization in this era, but on a comprehensive, inclusive national approach that serves the interest of this nation. We see that the interest of this nation today lies in implementing Resolution 1701—not to serve anyone, not to appease anyone, not out of fear, but to protect the national interest and prevent the unleashment of Israeli aggression against Lebanon."
Abou Faour concluded: "In the name of President Walid Jumblatt and the head of the Progressive Socialist Party, the head of the Democratic Gathering, Comrade Taymour Jumblatt, I extend my condolences to the people of Al-Muhaidatha and the family of Comrade Nasser, both his immediate family and his larger family of comrades, colleagues, and loved ones—who are many throughout Lebanon. May God have mercy on you, Comrade Nasser. We bid you farewell with tears, heartbreak, and a sense of irreplaceable loss. We find solace in your path, your conduct, your refined manners, your humanity, your service, and your zeal for your community. We will continue to miss you, and all who knew you will long for you—your colleagues, the doctors, your comrades in the party, and your hospital, Rashaya Governmental Hospital, to which you gave your whole heart and of which you were a pillar of growth and improved service."
A funeral poem was then recited by the poet Suhail Saqr.
Finally, prayers were held, and he was laid to rest in the family cemetery in his hometown of Al-Muhaidatha.
