Marcel Ghanim aired a tribute to Joseph Samahah on his program today on LBC-TV. The segment featured Hanady talking about Joseph. It captured something essential in his personality: that he looks quiet and passive: until he starts talking. I could not stop crying.
I don't know why I keep bothering myself with the question: Did you let Joseph know how much you admired him? And I don't know why I keep reassuring myself with the answer: I certainly did. At least in the summer of 2005. I saw Joseph in his office at As-Safir the second day after I arrived to Beirut. As soon as I entered his office, I asked him to extend the hand with which he writes his columns. I kept telling him that his role is now well beyond the realm of journalism. I told him that he now fulfills an essential political role. But when I would broach the subject of collecting his articles in a book, he would immediately dismiss the idea, and categorically.