New Hampshire Union Leader
Editorial Board
March 22, 2020

On completely different fronts, two New Hampshire women in government were doing their jobs well last week.

U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, having worked diligently on the matter since it arose months ago, succeeded in helping secure the release of a New Hampshire citizen held for months in his native Lebanon.

Dover’s Amer Fakhoury comes home in fragile health and with his restaurant affected, as are all eateries, by the coronavirus contagion. But he is finally free of the beatings and interrogations he was subject to in Lebanon.

Charges that Fakhoury was a torturer of prisoners during Lebanon’s extended civil war were dropped, due to Shaheen and others writing legislation that would have sanctioned his captors.

It is hard to believe that Fakhoury would have returned for a visit to his homeland if he thought he was at all culpable. Shaheen did her job as a senator, looking out for a constituent in danger.

Closer to home, Manchester Mayor Joyce Craig did well in running an unusual over-the-phone board of aldermen meeting Thursday evening. COVID-19 was the subject of much of the meeting, which was also why it had to be done by phone.

Craig, Fire Chief Dan Goonan, and Public Health Director Anna Thomas gave brief, comprehensive summaries of what’s going on with the city’s response to the contagion. This was particularly impressive, considering they are all on hectic schedules these days.