Front Page
Politics
Economy
International
Sports
Society
Culture
Videos
Newspapers
Ahram Online
Al-Ahram Weekly
Albawaba
Almasry Alyoum
Amwal Al Ghad
Arab News Agency
Bikya Masr
Daily News Egypt
FilGoal
The Egyptian Gazette
Youm7
Subject
Author
Region
f
t
مصرس
US economy slows to 1.6% in Q1 of '24 – BEA
EMX appoints Al-Jarawi as deputy chairman
Mexico's inflation exceeds expectations in 1st half of April
GAFI empowers entrepreneurs, startups in collaboration with African Development Bank
Egyptian exporters advocate for two-year tax exemption
Egyptian Prime Minister follows up on efforts to increase strategic reserves of essential commodities
Italy hits Amazon with a €10m fine over anti-competitive practices
Environment Ministry, Haretna Foundation sign protocol for sustainable development
After 200 days of war, our resolve stands unyielding, akin to might of mountains: Abu Ubaida
World Bank pauses $150m funding for Tanzanian tourism project
China's '40 coal cutback falls short, threatens climate
Swiss freeze on Russian assets dwindles to $6.36b in '23
Amir Karara reflects on 'Beit Al-Rifai' success, aspires for future collaborations
Ministers of Health, Education launch 'Partnership for Healthy Cities' initiative in schools
Egyptian President and Spanish PM discuss Middle East tensions, bilateral relations in phone call
Amstone Egypt unveils groundbreaking "Hydra B5" Patrol Boat, bolstering domestic defence production
Climate change risks 70% of global workforce – ILO
Health Ministry, EADP establish cooperation protocol for African initiatives
Prime Minister Madbouly reviews cooperation with South Sudan
Ramses II statue head returns to Egypt after repatriation from Switzerland
Egypt retains top spot in CFA's MENA Research Challenge
Egyptian public, private sectors off on Apr 25 marking Sinai Liberation
EU pledges €3.5b for oceans, environment
Egypt forms supreme committee to revive historic Ahl Al-Bayt Trail
Debt swaps could unlock $100b for climate action
Acts of goodness: Transforming companies, people, communities
President Al-Sisi embarks on new term with pledge for prosperity, democratic evolution
Amal Al Ghad Magazine congratulates President Sisi on new office term
Egypt starts construction of groundwater drinking water stations in South Sudan
Egyptian, Japanese Judo communities celebrate new coach at Tokyo's Embassy in Cairo
Uppingham Cairo and Rafa Nadal Academy Unite to Elevate Sports Education in Egypt with the Introduction of the "Rafa Nadal Tennis Program"
Financial literacy becomes extremely important – EGX official
Euro area annual inflation up to 2.9% – Eurostat
BYD، Brazil's Sigma Lithium JV likely
UNESCO celebrates World Arabic Language Day
Motaz Azaiza mural in Manchester tribute to Palestinian journalists
Russia says it's in sync with US, China, Pakistan on Taliban
It's a bit frustrating to draw at home: Real Madrid keeper after Villarreal game
Shoukry reviews with Guterres Egypt's efforts to achieve SDGs, promote human rights
Sudan says countries must cooperate on vaccines
Johnson & Johnson: Second shot boosts antibodies and protection against COVID-19
Egypt to tax bloggers, YouTubers
Egypt's FM asserts importance of stability in Libya, holding elections as scheduled
We mustn't lose touch: Muller after Bayern win in Bundesliga
Egypt records 36 new deaths from Covid-19, highest since mid June
Egypt sells $3 bln US-dollar dominated eurobonds
Gamal Hanafy's ceramic exhibition at Gezira Arts Centre is a must go
Italian Institute Director Davide Scalmani presents activities of the Cairo Institute for ITALIANA.IT platform
Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.
OK
A sturdy operator
Wadie Kirolos
Published in
Al-Ahram Weekly
on 27 - 12 - 2001
Obituary
(1942-2001)
A sturdy operator
was a loner. He was shy, soft-spoken and reticent -- almost an introvert. He did not have many friends, not because of a hostile nature but because he enjoyed his solitude.
Kirolos, Al-Ahram Weekly's assistant editor-in-chief and Home page editor, died on Monday. My first contact with him was in 1964, when he was introduced to me by a mutual acquaintance at the Lappas coffee shop on Kasr El-Nil street, one of our favourite haunts at the time. I noticed that his contribution to the conversation was minimal. Kirolos had just graduated from
Cairo
University's English Department, my own alma mater. After that chance encounter we came together two years later when he joined United Press International, where I had been working for more than 15 years. He was a sharp reporter, with a quick eye for a good news angle, and a smooth writer. He was also a fast worker -- a must in the wire service business.
He was transferred to the UPI
Beirut
office in the late sixties. During a vacation in
Cairo
in 1973, he "got stuck," to use his own words. He was about to return to his base in
Beirut
when the war with
Israel
began. Airports were closed, the work-load was heavy and his help was needed in
Cairo
. So he stayed on with cheerful resignation. I had been appointed bureau chief the year before and Kirolos became my top assistant and news editor until I resigned in 1982 to join the Associated Press. We parted ways then, changing the workplace but remaining in the same profession, this time as friendly competitors.
Little did I know that we would come together again more than a decade later at Al- Ahram Weekly. He brought to the Weekly the same efficiency and dedication that I knew very well in our UPI days. He would sulk occasionally, but when it came to work he was energetic and totally committed.
I shall always remember as a sturdy and dependable operator who would put in long hours without complaining. This was evident in his performance during the successive big stories that we covered together over a decade: the 1973 war, the 1974 Egyptian-
Israeli
military disengagement in Sinai, the 1975 reopening of the
Suez
Canal and the entire Egyptian-
Israeli
peace process, which began in 1977 and culminated in the 1979 peace treaty and the completion of
Israel
's troop withdrawal from Sinai in April 1982.
I shall always remember his measured walk and the way he stepped gingerly into the Central Desk to deliver a story that he had polished.
He will be sorely missed at the Weekly.
Maurice Guindi
Edited by
Ustaz Wadie: walking encyclopedia, chain smoker, instant translator, avid reader, a loner. It will be very strange from now on to walk into the office of our Home page and not find Ustaz Wadie sitting behind his computer, or a smoking cigarette in his ashtray nestled next to his small glass of tea accompanied by that inevitable glass of water with the spoon balanced on the top.
Another day at Al-Ahram Weekly would have begun; the stories would start coming in and begin to stack up under his tissue box -- his in-box would start piling high.
Yet he would always worry: "we are going to be short of stories this week." It was never true; there was invariably too many articles. But that was Ustaz Wadie: always worried about work. It was his life.
As he processed the work, his fingers would fly across the keyboard and reporters would wait in anticipation. There would be something to learn at the end of this process as Ustaz Wadie brought literary flair to our copy. Ninety percent of the time anxious reporters would receive his rubber stamp verdict. It was merely a "fine" given with a shrug of the shoulders. A "very good" would literally make our day.
And mistakes were something you could not live down. For one reporter it was the use of the too literal translation from Arabic: "firewater" instead of "acid"; for another it was her habit of confusing the numbers of defendants in the trials she was covering. We all had our bloopers remembered. Because this was the man who said: "from some people I expect perfection."
He was predictable. Once in his office, Ustaz Wadie was rarely seen anywhere else in the newspaper -- but his shuffling walk could be spotted a mile away. Every day lunch would be ordered from the same restaurant, a venue that would be changed only every couple of years.
We watched him struggle for years with modern technology. First it was the switch from typewriters to computers. The Internet and mobile phone were beyond him. The slightest malfunction of anything technological -- even the mouse -- was enough to send him into a panic. We had to be on hand.
Because of the nature of our work we all spent many long hours together over the past 11 years. There was time for him to tell us of his passion for poetry, the two books he had written and his ability to perfectly translate Umm Kulthoum's Al-Atlal -- nuances and all.
We will never forget his favourite line from Shakespeare; his mantra, his philosophy in life: "Out, out brief candle/life is but a walking shadow/it is a fool who threats and frets his role upon the stage and then is heard no more."
But Ustaz Wadie will be remembered by us forever.
Soha Abdelaty, Omayma Abdel-Latif, Khaled Dawoud, Gamal Essam El-Din, Fatemah Farag, Jailan Halawi, Amira Howeidy, Nevine Khalil Mona El-Nahhas, Shaden Shehab and Mariz Tadros
Recommend this page
© Copyright Al-Ahram Weekly. All rights reserved
[email protected]
Clic
here
to read the story from its source.
Related stories
Speak well of the dead
Obituary: Hosny Guindy (1940-2003)
A master of the profession
All in a week's work
In Focus: A gentle soul
Report inappropriate advertisement