post 20/365

In this bustling city, amongst the crowds of people rushing in and out of the hospital, time passes quickly. Most days are groundhog days, visitors, balloons, flowers, chocolates, delivery men with food, and people lost in the haze of sickness hoping for deliverance from pain; among this hustle and bustle stands a man, not a very tall man, but a hard working man with a career spanning over 60 years.

Mostafa Saleh, born in 1939 from Tibnin, works at the AUBMC. He is the newsvendor, facing the entrance door of the hospital. Sitting next to his small stand, he sells all kinds of newspapers and magazines. A kind and familiar face sits there silent, friendly and kind when spoken to. Mostafa has been working as a vendor since 1952, back when the hospital used to be where the medical library is now, yes 1952! 

When asked what’s the one thing he loves about his job, his answer was brief and yet gracefully simple. He likes getting to know all the doctors and patients and relative of patients that have passed through here whether briefly or for a long-haul. Working at AUBMC has given him the chance to understand the importance of education and has given him the opportunity to educate his kids at AUB who are all now successfully working in different fields abroad. He works 5 days a week from 7:00 am till 2:00 pm and finds happiness  in his peaceful routine doing something that he loves and enjoys. I know “Ammo Mostafa” since I was 8 years old. As i used to walk back from school with my mother, she used to buy me all kinds of magazines from him. He has’t changed at all, always happy, always greeting me with a smile, kind, and good hearted, and he still calls me “Ammo.”

Life is complex but becomes simple when you set yourself a goal and see it to the end. Here at the entrance door of AUBMC stands a man who sees value in a fair day of hard work, who comes home in the afternoon to kiss his wife. Here stands a man whose devotion for an institution that embraced him, brought him his success. His accomplishment  is mirrored in the success of his children whom he is very proud of. It takes everything to follow through, to commit day in and day out, regardless of it all. It takes resilience, emotions, good will, humor, and endurance to get to your goal of seeing your children grow and educating them in the best of your capabilities. It takes everything, nothing less. It takes everything to accomplish what one sets out to do, no matter how big or small is your dream. If you keep giving it everything, you will receive something in return, something well deserved, something honestly earned.

Because of honest men who have worked hard for the benefit of their family, I #livelovelebanon and I will #fighton