Mohamed is not a “homeless person like the others”. His makeshift shelter, located near one of the busy entrance roads to the Lebanese capital, is surrounded by a profusion of books, which he has accumulated during his wanderings. An-Nahar went to meet him.
Mohamed Al-Maghrebi is an octogenarian with a long white beard who lives under a bridge on the edge of Beirut. The walls of his cardboard house “do not protect once morest the heat of summer, nor the cold of winter, nor the noise of cars”.
This man who “keep a suit in a nylon bag to protect it from dust” is not “a homeless like the others”, reports the Lebanese daily An-Nahar. Certainly he “welcomes visitors with kindness and affection” and “his smile does not leave his tired face”, but it has another peculiarity.
What distinguishes his makeshift shelter where you find a bed, an old radio or a wood stove, “these are the hundreds of books scattered all over the place”, writing An-Nahar who devotes a portrait to this “intellectual homeless”.
The man who never leaves his shelter “only for major trips or taking a shower at the nearby gas station”, Explain An-Nahar, “spends time among books”.
To “modest library” includes books in several languages, dealing with areas such as politics, religion or culture. Its favorite author, the Egyptian Taha Hussein (1889-1973), is considered one of the greatest Arab writers of his time.
“His permanent and favorite friend”
The homeless man explains that he comes from a village in south-eastern Lebanon and studied engineering in Cairo, from which he kept his Egyptian accent. His relationship with books goes back “at the time of the prison”, he explains, adding that he was the victim of a “injustice” which changed his life. Behind bars, he restored books with material purchased with his own money.
He never counted the number of books he read, but the book “is his permanent and favorite friend”.
As soon as I open my eyes in the morning, I start reading. In reading, I find my pleasure. Time passes as if it were seconds.”
Where do his works come from? Mainly from a “which”, he said. He finds some from time to time at the popular market which is held every Sunday a few meters away, and tries to get some from people who no longer want it. Despite his situation, Mohamed refuses to “Rates” these works. “Take any book you like. If you have money to pay, pay. Otherwise, do not pay.”
Source
“Le Jour” was founded in 1933. Over the years, it has become the benchmark Lebanese daily. Moderate and liberal, it is read by the Lebanese intelligentsia.
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