page_title: Farajallah el-Helou
section_title: Legacy
hierarchical_section_title: Farajallah el-Helou / Legacy
caption_attribution_description: During the visit of Hanna Gharib to Hosrayel and the commemoration of the communist leader Farjallah el-Helou
context_page_description: Farajallah Estephan el-Helou or Farjallah Helou was a Lebanese communist militant, a popular Lebanese political figure and head of the Lebanese Communist Party.
context_section_description: Farajallah el-Helou is widely considered as one of the martyrs of Arab communism. Many poems and songs are dedicated to him including one by the Egyptian poet and stage writer Naguib Srour.
  In 1971 Soviet artist Lev Alexandrovich Russov sculpted a statue of martyr Farajallah el-Helou. The commemorative statue was bombed a few years later reportedly by the invading Syrian Army in retaliation after the leftist Lebanese National Movement made up of Arab nationalists, socialists and communists led by Kamal Jumblatt opposed the invasion.
  Also in 1971, the critically acclaimed comedy/tragedy theatre piece written by Issam Mahfouz was presented on stage titled Why Did Sirhan Sirhan Refuse What the Zaim Said About Farajallah el-Helou in Stereo 71 (in Arabic لماذا رفض سرحان سرحان ما قاله الزعيم عن فرج الله الحلو في ستيريو 71) Sirhan Sirhan being the Arab Palestinian Jordanian who killed Robert F. Kennedy and Zaim being the honorific title of Antoun Saadeh, the founder of the Syrian Social Nationalist Party. The piece was adapted and staged a second time in 2015 in the Gulbenkian Theatre in Lebanese American University directed this time by Lena Khoury.
  In 1974, Dar al Farabi publishing house launched the book كتابات مختارة لفرج الله الحلو being excerpts from el-Helou's various writings.
  After a decision of the Lebanese Communist Party, following the 2005 Cedar Revolution and withdrawal of Syria from Lebanon, Lev Alexandrovich Russov's blown commemorative statue was restored back and its official reopening was made on 19 September 2005, with thousands of sympathizers attending the event in Hosrayel, Farjallah el-Helou's birthplace.
  In 2009, author Karim Mroueh published through Dar al Saqi the biographical book The Four Great Communists in the Modern History of Lebanon: Fu'ad al-Shimali, Farajallah el-Helou, Nicolas el-Shawi, George Hawi.
  In 2013, the Lebanese communist radio station Voice of the People (صوت الشعب) broadcast a series of programmes about Farajallah el-Helou under the title Farajallah el-Helou: Combatant and Martyr (فرج الله الحلو: مناضلا وشهيدا).
  Hanna Gharib, the newly elected general secretary of the Lebanese Communist Party visited the house and the statue of Farajallah el-Helou in Hosrayel in June 2016, few months after his election and delivered a speech honoring the historical leader and martyr of the party.
caption: During the visit of Hanna Gharib to Hosrayel and the commemoration of the communist leader Farjallah el-Helou
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