Elie Jasser was appreciated by all and very active in his community, according to friends, relatives, colleagues and students who attended his funeral yesterday in Ablah. (Credit: Photo taken from Jasser's Facebook page)
His portrait is displayed on the facade of St. George's Church in Ablah, in the district of Zahle. The esplanade is full of people. It is 2 p.m. on Wednesday and hundreds of people from his village and from Beirut have come to pay their respects to the family of the dentist Elie Jasser, 31 years old, who was stabbed several times on Tuesday in his office in this same village. He leaves behind a wife and an eight-month-old son.
Elijah divided his time between his practice and the university where he taught. "His practice was his life's work," said Milia, his mother's cousin. It was in this same place that the young man was coldly murdered on Tuesday, at 1 p.m. According to our correspondent in Zahle, Jasser was killed by a soldier.
A source close to the investigation confirms this version of events. "This is an exceptionally violent crime. The dentist was stabbed at least fourteen times," the source said, “The apparent motive of the murderer is that the victim ... would have treated [the alleged murderer’s] fiance badly.” The soldier, initially on the run, has since been arrested and is expected to be tried by the military court.
The dentist's students and fellow teachers are still in total shock and disbelief. "I don't see how a patient could have been aggressive towards him. And even when confronted with an aggressive attitude, Elie had a knack for defusing the situation and calming people down," said Adnan, one of his second-year students.
Melissa, one of his students of five years, said the same. "I'm sure he's never had a problem with anyone. What happened was cruel and tragic. He would not hesitate to work overtime to help me with my denture projects. He was a passionate and ambitious man," she said. There is no shortage of anecdotes that describe an affable and popular young man. "He used to go hiking and off-roading in his yellow SUV, which he loved," she said.
Dr. Elie Jasser's funeral was held yesterday at St. George's Church in Ablah. A large portrait of the young dentist was displayed on the facade of the building. (Credit: Lyana Alameddine/L'Orient Today)
“Honest and loved by all”
The eldest of four children, Elie Jasser was always a gifted student. "His family gave everything so that their children would have a good education. He was at the top of his class," said Milia proudly. The dentist always made a good impression on his teachers. "Elie was an exemplary and responsible student from a young age," recalled Ronald Younes, president of the Dental Association, who also teaches at the University of Saint Joseph, where Jasser studied and later taught.
His colleagues were quick to sing the praises of this man who was "honest and loved by all." "What a waste to lose such an honest man,” Said Carole Yared, head of the removable prosthesis department at USJ and president of the Lebanese Prosthesis Society, of which Jasser was also a member.
In Zahle, dentists demonstrated yesterday in front of the courthouse. "We condemn this heinous murder," said Khaled Solh, president of the Association of Dentists in Bekaa during the sit-in. "This atrocity shows the breakdown of the state, which no longer assumes its responsibilities," he said.
Ronald Younes said he deplores the fact that "aggressiveness has increased significantly in recent years due to the economic and social crisis through which our country is passing. He added that "patients, who are currently facing this increased economic crisis, are therefore less tolerant and cooperative. We are in solidarity with their torments, but they must admit that we are undergoing the same difficult conditions".
"At least once a week, the nursing staff is subject to physical aggression. We have been subjected to verbal and physical violence for more than a year," said Charaf Abou Charaf, president of the Lebanese Order of Physicians. In a statement shared with L'Orient-Le Jour, the association called for "the need to ensure the security, military, media and legal protection necessary for the health sector. Medical personnel are not the only ones to suffer; crime rates have increased across the board in Lebanon: according to International Information statistics (published in December), murders have increased by 101 percent since the beginning of 2021 compared to the first ten months of 2019.
A village doctor
Despite the economic crisis that has pushed many of his colleagues to leave the country, this young dentist always insisted on staying in Lebanon. "He had an offer to work abroad, but he turned it down," explained Rania, a close family friend. Jasser was not only attached to his country, but also to his home village. "He wanted to help his community when he could have worked anywhere else. He was called ‘the doctor of mercy’," said Milia.
And indeed, he used to offer his services free of charge to patients who could not afford them. "Money meant nothing to him, he let me leave his office several times without paying the full amount," said Jihan, a 28-year-old patient of Jasser’s, at his funeral.
Hala, a 48-year-old teacher, said the same. "He was active in the community with older and younger people. He distributed toothpaste and toothbrushes. There are no words to describe him," she said, with tears in her eyes. A lover of the land, the dentist helped her father in the fields in his spare time. "He was a village doctor," said a relative.
This article was originally published in French in L'Orient-Le Jour.
