This is not just another success story gone sour. It is the story of a hardworking man who worked very hard for years and lost it all due to suffocating circumstances in the blink of an eye.
My name is Georges Bedran, a 41-year old Lebanese citizen who is the sole breadwinner at home, and this is my story.
Opening a restaurant had always been a dream of mine. I used the money I had and took a loan in order to make that dream come true. April 28th 2019 was the opening of Kanoon. I had hoped that Kanoon would make it, even though slowly, and I would be able to pay my loan, and hopefully after that reach a stable economic situation. One can never go wrong with food, right?
WRONG. The economic situation in Lebanon kept going downhill, but I kept the faith.
October 17th, 2019: the Lebanese revolution takes off, at times so violent that opening the restaurant is not possible. Lockdown follows for weeks, also because of the uprisings.
January 2020: Covid-19 starts hitting Lebanon hard, yet again causing complete lockdown.
August 4: the Beirut explosion ranked third in the world goes off. Kanoon, which is in the heart of Mar Mikhael – Mdawwar, is demolished.
One would think that would be my lowest. Not really.
May 20, 2020: I am diagnosed with cancer. Treatment is possible, but it is incredibly costly in a country like Lebanon since social security is unreliable.

Now what?
I am a man who has lost everything and is struggling to beat cancer as well as serious liver complications.
I am a son whose mother is still struggling with dialysis and is in need of a kidney transplant.
I am an ex-restaurant owner who has not even been approached by anyone from the public sector in an attempt to help me pay the restaurant loans.
I am a man who has to pay pack huge debts.
But most of all, I am a man who is struggling on all levels with very little chance of success – if any.