Bahman Hospital marked the birth anniversary of Imam Al-Mahdi (PBUH) with a large celebration held in the hospital's hall, attended by the scholar Sayyed Ali Fadlallah, the Minister of Labour Mustafa Bayram, His Eminence Sheikh Fouad Khreiss, the Director General of Al-Mabarrat Association Dr. Baqer Fadlallah, the hospital's director Haj Ali Karim, the medical director Dr. Hassan Nassar, the director of the Islamic Cultural Centre Sayyed Shafiq Al-Moussawi, social figures, and the hospital's medical, nursing, administrative and other staff.
The ceremony opened with verses from the Wise Remembrance, then the national anthem, after which the girls of the Lady Khadija (PBUH) Charity presented an anthem inspired by the occasion, followed by a welcoming word from Sayyed Shafiq Al-Moussawi, then the word of the hospital's director Haj Ali Karim, who began by expressing the role Al-Mabarrat Association plays in serving people, affirming that this hospital will carry on serving its people and its society despite all the difficult circumstances the homeland suffers and the scarcity of resources. He thanked the minister for his attendance, noting that the hospital is ready to provide medical services to our Iraqi brothers should an agreement be reached between the Lebanese and Iraqi governments, and affirming that the hospital's administration will go on working night and day to preserve its staff and improve their living conditions…
The Minister of Labour Mustafa Bayram then delivered a speech in which he valued this work and thanked all those who expend effort, make sacrifices, bring life its renewal and send hope into people's souls, along with all the supporters and those who watch over the work of this association and this hospital - especially this school, the school of thought, of giving and of Islam in motion on the ground. This is something that calls for pride and delight in what it means as the lighting of a candle in this dark tunnel the homeland is living in.
He added: When we put forward intellectual, faith or doctrinal matters, we do not put them forward from a position of closed belonging or a narrow frame, but through the practical model open to all the varied frameworks in this homeland - because our problem in this country is that we have much talk and few models, which ought to be beacons restoring trust between people and those who take up positions of responsibility.
He continued: We must work to strengthen a culture of bearing responsibility in any position or post, stressing that achieving the aims of Imam Al-Mahdi (AJ) begins with strengthening the movement of justice in all our activity, our work and our relationships…
He stressed that we are working to find realistic solutions that help ease people's suffering, noting that he is seeking to have a pension approved for private sector employees pending the passage of an old-age law.
The scholar Sayyed Ali Fadlallah then delivered a speech in which he began by pointing out that many might ask what motivates this hospital to celebrate a particular religious occasion, when what is required is that it be careful to express its openness to all the varied reality within which it works.
His Eminence explained that the purpose of holding this celebration is to affirm that the values from which the heavenly religions set out and for which they worked are one. The message of Imam Al-Mahdi (AJ) belongs to the teachings of these messages, which came to achieve justice and equality for everyone without exception, to strengthen ethical values, to plant love and mercy, and to raise humanity toward what is better.
His Eminence added: When we speak of justice, it does not mean that we divide it up or confine it within a narrow frame and to the account of a particular group; rather it is comprehensive justice, which does not stop at the bounds of one position rather than another or one sect rather than another. It is the right of any person or citizen to live their humanity and their life in dignity and pride.
His Eminence continued: When we mark this anniversary we want to focus on justice as a central value which the messages came to establish, to strengthen and to root in every field of life…
His Eminence valued the efforts made by those working in the medical and nursing field in this homeland, noting that they stood firm and were patient in their posts, worked to ease people's pains and suffering, and refused to emigrate and leave the homeland and its people captive to illness. “It is therefore our duty to thank you morally and materially for your sacrifices,” he said, telling the hospital's staff that the association within whose framework they work will not leave them to face the difficulties alone, but will remain careful of them and work with every effort to provide them with the means that enable them to live with it in pride and dignity in this homeland.
His Eminence concluded: On the day of the birth of Al-Mahdi (AJ), the hope remains that this homeland will overcome these pressures and challenges through the combined efforts of everyone, and by moving out of the logic of division, selfishness, conditions and counter-conditions into the mentality of building the homeland - the homeland of justice and equality, the homeland of the human being in which all its people live in dignity and freedom…
