VIDEO: Fire destroys Lebanese homeless man’s makeshift bookstore and dwelling under Beirut bridge
A videograb shows Mohamad Al Maghrabi sitting next to his books in Beirut.
Unidentified persons set fire to hundreds of used books belonging to an 80-year-old homeless man named, Mohamad Al Maghrabi, who used to stay under the Fiat Bridge in the Lebanese capital, Beirut, which sparked outrage.
Maghrabi was living under the bridge for a year and setup the bookstore.
Activists on social media circulated a video clip of the fire devouring books, expressing their full sympathy with the man, because the makeshift bookstore represented a cultural outlet for the city of Beirut, which is experiencing stifling economic crises.
The local media highlighted the owner of the bookstore, the man from Kfar Shuba.
Maghrabi said in one of his press interviews: "I do not care about money. If someone asks for a book and does not carry money, I will gladly present it to him.
“What I care about is that reading does not perish, and that the rope of culture does not break."
Earlier, the Lebanese Minister of Culture, Muhammad Al-Mortada, visited the open library and its owner.
He expressed his respect for him and for the library that he established under the Fiat Bridge, pledging to improve his condition.
Maghrabi studied engineering before his life took a different turn and he ended up homeless.
