CAIRO - A picture is worth a thousand words, while in the case of Farouq Ibrahim, the ‘Dean of Photojournalism' and the ‘Sheikh of Egyptian Photographers', a picture can tell thousands of stories. I was fortunate enough to meet him twice and he told me all sorts of interesting stories about his life, which he discussed in a previous interview with the Egyptian Mail. Ibrahim died at the age of 71 on March 31 of a heart complaint. He'd had a number of cardiac operations, all to no avail, alas. When he was only 12, Ibrahim, who came from a humble family, started working for Al-Masry newspaper. “I would skive off school to go to my uncle at Al-Masry newspaper in Qasr Al-Aini Street. There, I got to know Kareem Zakhari, the head of the newspaper's photojournalism department,” he recalled. When he entered Zakhari's office, he was impressed by the photos of popular Egyptian movie stars and other celebrities. “I was surprised to see photos of Faten Hamama, Rushdi Abaza, Emad Hamdi and many other iconic figures. I asked Mr Zakhari a naïve question: “If I were a photographer, would I get to see these people?” Zakhari said yes, so he decided to work for him. He stayed with Zakhari until he was 14, by which time he'd become very handy with a camera. Chance was to play a great part in his career. When Zakhari asked him to take photos of students protesting and a tram accident at Qasr Al-Aini Street in central Cairo, they appeared on the front page of the newspaper, but without his name. When I showed my parents and friends the newspaper, they didn't believe I'd taken the pictures. When Al-Masry was closed down after the July 23 Revolution, he went to work for Al-Gomhuriya newspaper with a friend of his called Hamdi Helal el-Naquib, the senior photojournalist in the newspaper, which was located at the time in Al-Sahafa Street, opposite the offices of Akhbar Al-Youm newspaper in Cairo. During that time, Ibrahim then joined the Faculty of Applied Arts, but he soon got the sack for helping students with their graduation projects for LE4. Whenever he walked past the Akhbar Al-Youm Building, he wistfully thought that he'd love to work there, God willing. He continued working with Al-Gomhuriya until Zakhari launched a new publication called Watani; Ibrahim agreed to work for him again for a monthly salary of LE5. The newspaper was published through the church. In 1958, he started working with Zakhari on Benaa' al-Watan magazine. This magazine, headed by Amin Shaker, a member of the revolutionary board, was like publicity for the 1952 Revolution. And that was when his career really took off. “I stared to travel on the missions of President Gamal Abdel-Nasser, with professional photojournalists from other well-known publications,” he recalled. Ibrahim had a lot of wonderful memories of Abdel-Nasser, especially during one of their trips to Syria. “I wanted to take a photo of the President while saluting the people, so I climbed a chair and rested my knee against someone's shoulder. The man was very helpful, but I got a shock when I realised that it was Field Marshal Abdel-Hakim Amer, one of the Free Officers. “He saw me looking worried and said: ‘Do you job kid. Don't worry',” he added. 'For their Sake, the Socialist Laws were Passed' was the title of a remarkable series of photos he took to compare the rich and the poor. These photos portray the social injustice the Egyptian people suffered before the July 23 Revolution. He depicted the poverty of people who worked like slaves for their bread, while the idle, filthy rich ate and drank to their hearts' content. Chaker Amin, the Editor-in-Chief of the newspaper, summoned him to his office to tell him that President Nasser was so impressed by the photos that he'd given him an extra half-a-month's salary as a reward. The Editor-in-Chief presented him with a letter which read: “In accordance with presidential orders, our colleague Farouq Ibrahim has been granted an extra half-month's salary as a reward for his magnificent work.” Shaker Amin's signature was underneath. “I rushed straightaway to the cashier's office for my money. There, I met with Sami Mohamed [the then Editor-in-Chief of Radio and TV magazine]. He read the letter and told me to look after it carefully.” Being young and unaware of the value of the letter, he was only interested in the cash and gave up the priceless document. In 1962, Benaa' al-Watan magazine was affiliated to Al-Ahram newspaper. Ibrahim was now out of a job. He loved his work, but Al-Ahram had its own photojournalists. “I went to see Ahmed Youssef, the head of photojournalism at Akhbar Al-Youm newspaper. He wrote a letter to Moustafa Amin, the founder of the newspaper, who offered me a job with a monthly salary of LE30,” he recalled. So he started working for Akhbar Al-Youm and his name appeared on his own pictures. About a year later, he got the chance to do some work for a colleague of his. “I did it really well and soon lots of reporters started asking me to accompany them whenever they went. When I went to Aswan, one of my photos appeared on the cover of Akher Sa'a magazine with my name underneath. “In the same issue, there was an article entitled ‘Summer in Aswan' with my photos and name in. Fame at last!” he said proudly. Ibrahim became a permanent companion for a lot of popular entertainers in Egypt, like Egyptian diva Um Kalthoum, legendary crooner Abdel Halim Hafez and many others. When Nasser died in 1970, he was succeeded by Anwar el-Sadat, whom Ibrahim also liked. He recorded every moment of the new President's life with his camera. He later worked with toppled president Hosni Mubarak. “President Nasser was charismatic: his profile, his shoulders and his shape made a wonderful shot. President Sadat adored the camera and he didn't fear it at all; he was natural and spontaneous. As for Mubarak, he seemed more of a grandfather figure, surrounded by his sons and their children.” Needless to say that when Moustafa Amin was charged with treason, it was Ibrahim's photos that made the Arab world sympathise with the defendant.
