As the world reels from the terrorist attacks in Paris, so too Lebanon is suffering after Beirut was rocked by twin suicide bombings. Just hours before the attacks in Paris, two suicide bombers went to a popular marketplace at rush hour, intent to kill as many people as they could. The blasts took 43 lives and wounded at least 200 others. ISIS (Islamic State) later claimed responsibility for the attacks. Amidst all the the destruction, news of an act of pure heroism has emerged.
Adel Termos, a father of two, was at the marketplace with his daughter when he witnessed the first bomb go off. Through the debris and panic, Termos noticed a second bomber working his way through the crowd. That’s when the father of two made a split second decision and ran towards the bomber instead of running away. He threw himself on the man, causing the bomb to detonate early. Both men lost their lives. His sacrifice is said to have saved hundreds of lives.
am #Adel, This Is the Hero Who Sacrificed His Own Life to Save Hundreds From ISIS Terrorists. RIP brother pic.twitter.com/ZY2OE4qF6z
— Syed Akbar Husain (@Akbar_Husain13) November 16, 2015
“He tackled him to the ground, causing the second suicide bomber to detonate,” blogger and physician Elie Fares, who lives in Beirut, told PRI. “There are many many families, hundreds of families probably, who owe their completeness to his sacrifice.”
Although initial media reports suggested Termos’ daughter was killed in the blast, photos at his funeral show his daughter and son holding his photo during the procession.
Lebanon shares a border with Syria and has taken in more than 1.1 million refugees from throughout the region. The refugees account for 25% increase in the country’s 4.4 million population.
In the past week, there has been criticism of the media for failing to report on the bombings in Lebanon and Baghdad that occurred prior to Paris, but one poem written by Karuna Ezara Parikh, a blogger from India, sums up the sentiments of many around the world…that it is not Paris alone, but the world, that we should pray for.
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