Hussein Ali Mansour, 78, was killed in an Israeli air strike on his home in Taybeh on Dec. 11, 2023. (Credit: Photo posted on social networks)
“What stands out the most about him is his sense of service,” said Nader Mansour, the sixth of seven children of Hussein Ali Mansour.
Mokhtar of Taybeh, in the Marjayoun district of southern Lebanon, Hussein Mansour was killed in an Israeli strike on Dec. 11, 2023.
Until the very end, Hussein, who died at the age of 78, remained determined to be of service to his fellow village residents by staying in his home near the Israeli border, despite all the risks. A former teacher, civil servant in the Department of Personal Status and later mokhtar, Mansour fulfilled his modest mission as a servant of the people in the shadow of the many wars that punctuated his life.
“He was born in 1945, at the outset of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and his entire life was shaped by war, from the Civil War to the Israeli invasion, until it tragically ended with the latest conflict,” which erupted on Oct. 8, 2023, between Israel and Hezbollah, his son explained.
Nader Mansour, a pharmacist in Taybeh, also kept his pharmacy open, faithfully continuing his father’s legacy.
“We both decided we didn’t want to leave the village, [we wanted] to continue our work,” he said.
During the tumultuous yet hopeful years of his youth, Hussein Mansour married a woman from his village before leaving to study in Nabatieh, in the district of the same name, to become a teacher.
Was he looking at a settled life on the horizon? It seems fate had other plans. The outbreak of the Civil War and the Israeli invasion of southern Lebanon in 1978 forced him to seek work in Saudi Arabia, where he spent several years in construction.
Upon his return in the 1980s, he became a teacher, a position he held until the end of the war in 1990, when he then became a civil servant at the Department of Personal Status for the Marjayoun district. Each day, he traveled the 17 kilometers between his village and the district center of Marjayoun to assist his fellow citizens with their administrative needs.
“He worked with everyone,” said Nader Mansour. “We’re talking about nearly 35 villages, and he knew every mokhtar and mayor in the area.”
Driven by his sense of duty, he often went out of his way, personally delivering birth or property certificates. “For some residents of the villages between Taybeh and Marjayoun, moving around was difficult. We’re talking about the period of Israeli occupation, so life was far from normal,” his son added.
Amid the abnormality of day-to-day life, Mansour carved his own path, continuing his career as a versatile civil servant while caring for his ever-growing family.
“He had about 20 grandchildren, and he loved playing with each one of them,” Nader Mansour recalled. “My father was anything but harsh. He enjoyed spending time with his children and people in general.”
It’s no surprise then that the residents of Taybeh elected him as mokhtar after his retirement in 2010.
“He was someone who loved to help others — what more could you ask for in a mokhtar?” said Hassan Sharafeddine, a Taybeh resident who knew Mansour well.
“He was the same age as my father, yet when he sat with you, he seemed to be your age, if not younger, with his love for conversation and always a joke on the tip of his tongue,” Sharafeddine said.
During one of these conversations, Mansour made remarks that, in hindsight, seem almost prophetic.
“After visiting his late wife’s grave — she had passed away a year earlier — he confided to a close friend that before she died, she had asked him not to waste time and to join her soon. Yet, a year later, he was still here,” said Sharafeddine. Two days later, while on his daily walk, some villagers invited him up for coffee.
He agreed, as it was a ritual he loved to share with his fellow citizens. Suddenly, a shell tore through the sky and struck the balcony — hitting him directly. The projectile killed him instantly but failed to explode, sparing the 10 civilians gathered for what would be their last time with him.
This article was originally published in L'Orient-Le Jour and translated by Sahar Ghoussoub.
