It was 1985 and Lebanon was in the midst of a bloody and catastrophic civil war.

Once known as the Paris of the Middle East, much of Beirut was reduced to rubble as Christian and Muslim Lebanese battled each other.

After nine months in captivity, Haim Cohen, who was just 39, was murdered and his body dumped on a street in the capital.

Those early life experiences and trauma have moulded Edy into the person he is today.

Labelled “the second most influential commentator in the Arab world” by Saudi outlet Arab News, he frequently appears on major Arab television channels such as Al-Jazeera and Al-Arabiya, among others.

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