29 April 2019
It is with huge sadness that the staff and Trustees of Medical Aid for Palestinians report the passing away of our patron and friend, Mr Zein Mayassi.
Mr Mayassi was born in Haifa but went to Lebanon during the Nakba. Mr Mayassi was a champion of MAP, an extraordinarily generous philanthropist, and a respected elder of the Palestinian community. We send our sincere condolences to Mr Mayassi’s family.
Our Founding Patron, Dr Swee Ang, recalls how Zein Mayassi and his widow Salwa were always there for MAP - right from the very beginning:
“On one occasion I spoke to him in private about a young man who needed help after he was shot during the first intifada. With the help of MAP and some other NGOs he received treatment. His spinal cord damage rendered him permanently paralysed and wheelchair dependent. When I explained the situation to Zein, he immediately offered to help, exuding a genuine sense of joy in being able to help someone. He had not even met the young man, but wanted to help him to have a full and meaningful life. So Mr Mayassi stepped in and as a personal initiative supported him through college. As Zein Mayassi leaves this world for the next, all of us miss him painfully. But more than the grief is our gratitude for having had such a dear friend. He had repaid the world who had dealt so cruelly with the Palestinians with a lasting legacy of kindness, compassion and generosity towards all he met."