Gharib was born in September 1953 in the city of Tripoli in Northern Lebanon to a poor family of six children.
His father was a Lebanese army soldier.
After the retirement of his father from the army, the family moved to Rahbeh, their original town in Akkar in the north where he joined its official primary and secondary school.

During this period Gharib joined the Union of Lebanese Democratic Youth, a secular left-wing youth organization where he met with communists who attracted him with their ideas of social justice and equality.
He continued his university studies in the Lebanese University in Beirut, where he studied chemistry in the faculty of education.
Gharib was born in September 1953 in the city of Tripoli in Northern Lebanon to a poor family of six children. His father was a Lebanese army soldier. After the retirement of his father from the army, the family moved to Rahbeh, their original town in Akkar in the north where he joined its official primary and secondary school. 
During this period Gharib joined the Union of Lebanese Democratic Youth, a secular left-wing youth organization where he met with communists who attracted him with their ideas of social justice and equality. He continued his university studies in the Lebanese University in Beirut, where he studied chemistry in the faculty of education.
Hanna Gharib