I recall back in 2008, when I attended my first engineering class at AUB (CIVE210 – Statics) I instinctively classified all the people that were in my class. You had your typical arrangement: the “cool kids” sitting in the back, the people who were likely to change majors sitting in the middle, people like myself who knew no one, there were also the kids that hung out with their school friends, the “nerds” etc… and there was Hadi, the quiet loner who sat in his corner, taking it all in. When I first saw him, I never pictured him as smart; I thought he was a regular boy, like all the boys in my class. Little did I know that Hadi was not only smart, he was a genius. Hadi was not sociable, however in the few times I held a conversation with him; I actually found him interesting and funny in a witty way. Hadi was not a regular guy. He was the guy who graduated top of his class. He was the guy who got a full scholarship to MIT. He was the guy who left way too early and left us all wondering what could’ve been. What he could have achieved, what inventions he could have made and what impact he would’ve had on the world. Back in 2008, if you had asked me who of my classmates were most likely to win a Nobel Prize, I would’ve picked two people and Hadi would’ve been the first.
I am not in a position to speak of Hadi as a friend and I am not one of those people who pretend to be deeply affected by an acquaintance’s death. However, I cannot help but remember Hadi, the classmate, Hadi the Engineer, the genius. And I cannot say I was not affected by this unfortunate event. When a friend texted me the news, I was completely and utterly speechless. First I had no idea where 90% of my fellow graduates went after graduation, thus no idea that Hadi was in the States (however, I wasn’t surprised about MIT since I remember how smart he was), second, there was an insinuation that Hadi was either killed or committed suicide, both cases being completely appalling. I could not think of someone who would want to harm a kind and genuine person. Throughout the four years I spent at the American University of Beirut, I never heard of any mishap involving Hadi. He never hurt anyone, intentionally or unintentionally. Second, I could not come to terms with the remote possibility that he had committed suicide. A good friend of mine who’s in touch with some of Hadi’s entourage in MIT, told me he suffered from depression last year. But that he had recovered and was going out more often, he was basically back to his old self. And if Hadi did suffer from depression, he was going to come back to Lebanon this year, to his family and friends therefore had something to look forward to and help him get through.
Scanning through the internet for news about the investigations, I read some real dreadful things. And I would like to point out that working at MIT’s turbine lab, does not mean “”دراسات عليا في صناعة الأسلحة ! Hadi might have actually worked at NASA (I wouldn’t be surprised) but Hadi was actually studying Computation for Design and Optimization which is a vast interdisciplinary field that ranges from aerospace to nanotechnology applications, from Internet protocols to telecommunications system design. Conspiracy theories do, however, come to mind, since after all, cause of death is still undetermined. Strokes and heart attacks are out of the question according to forensics, and suicide is also highly unlikely.
Finally, I would like to offer my condolences first to all Lebanese thinkers; all those who hope to achieve something in their lives someday, because if there actually is a conspiracy, then all those who dream of making it big will have two choices: stop dreaming or give all your resources and work to the world’s dominant nation. Second, I want to communicate my deepest condolences to Hadi’s parents, friends and colleagues. May he always be an example to us all and may he rest in peace.
Excerpts from local newspapers and news websites:
Khbar 