亚洲AV

After the Beirut explosions, the grandma of this Mason grad brought hope through the piano

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Portrait of Amy Melki standing outside.
Amy Melki. Photo provided.

May Abboud Melki鈥檚 home was in shambles following the massive August 4 explosion in Beirut, Lebanon. Glass shards from blasted windows and debris filled her home, and nearly everything she owned had been damaged. That is, except for her piano.

Thanks to Melki鈥檚 granddaughters, including Amy Melki, a 2020 graduate of 亚洲AV, beauty and resilience were seen amidst the chaos, as of their grandmother playing 鈥淎uld Lang Syne鈥 on the piano surrounded by rubble went viral and made international headlines.

鈥淚t鈥檚 her form of therapy,鈥 said Melki, who received the video via text from her mother in Beirut. 鈥淸During the Lebanese Civil War, my grandmother] found something in her music and often reverted to playing the piano as a way of coping with the material loss and the human loss.鈥

The piano has sentimental value too, Melki said, as her grandmother was gifted it 60 years ago on her honeymoon.

Comments on the video have spoken to how Melki鈥檚 grandmother embodies the Lebanese spirit.

鈥淭he symbol of true Lebanese resilience isn鈥檛 just found in [my grandmother]; it鈥檚 found in our nation,鈥 said Melki, who graduated with a . 鈥淚鈥檓 just so proud that she was the one to carry that message and remind people that even in your darkest, most desperate times, we will be able to rebuild.鈥

Resilience has been part of the Melki family story. Amy Melki鈥檚 grandparents survived the 1975-1990 civil war while raising four kids, she said; and her parents, who were refugees escaping war, founded an NGO in Lebanon that works with Syrian refugees and underprivileged communities.

Melki is proud of that history, she said.

鈥淟ebanon for me is the country that molded me, the country that made me who I am,鈥 said Melki, who was born in the United States and grew up in Lebanon. 鈥淲herever I go, I hope I can in some way give back.鈥

May Abboud Melki assesses the damage to her home after the Beirut explosions.
May Abboud Melki assesses the damage to her home after the Beirut explosions. Photo provided.

Melki said she hopes to one day work for the World Bank or an international relief organization.

Right now, she is making an international impact working at Mason. In July, Melki joined the 鈥檚 Global Terrorist Trends and Analysis Center (GTTAC), where she analyzes incidents of global terrorism for a .

鈥淚 really love it,鈥 Melki said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 such a learning experience and everyone working on it, like and , genuinely care to help you learn and become a better researcher.鈥

鈥淭his tragedy [in Lebanon] took place during the second week of training for our new cohort,鈥 said Deane, deputy director of Mason鈥檚 (TraCCC). 鈥淚t must have affected Amy鈥檚 ability to concentrate, but it didn鈥檛 show in her work.鈥

鈥淟ike Amy, many of our GTTAC staff have had their lives impacted by violence and terrorism, and they understand why it is so important for our project to provide accurate information about these issues to the world,鈥 Deane said. 鈥淲e feel lucky to have Amy working with us and will benefit from her understanding of the complexities of violence in the Middle East.鈥

Melki said she wishes such complexities weren鈥檛 the reality in Lebanon, but her faith gives her hope. It鈥檚 divine intervention, she said, that her grandparents weren鈥檛 home during the explosion.

鈥淎lthough we don鈥檛 have all the answers to all of our questions, although we wonder why did this happen, [my grandmother] felt at peace because she was reminded that God is always by her side,鈥 Melki said. 鈥淚 feel incredibly blessed and grateful that God protected my family.鈥