5 Responses to “Abu Omar threatens hunger-strike in reponse to security hassels أبو عمر يهدد بالإضراب عن الطعام”  

1. 1 Solomon2 May 22nd, 2007 at 8:01 am

   Are you trying to portray Abu Omar as an object of ridicule? H. el-H? If so, this photo is succeeding. Perhaps it’s a cultural gap issue. Let me explain, starting from the top down:

   1) Subject appears to be wearing a ladies latex bathing suit cap.
   2) The wide eyes, tilted head, and tighening cheeks portray the subject as leering at the camera; specifically, the beginning of a leer.
   3) The untrimmed beard gives the subject, together with his leer, an impression of being dangerously wild.
   4) The size and shape of the item in subject’s breast pocket suggests a packet of cigarettes. Only crazy people smoke cigarettes.
   5) Subject ’s hands are folded in his middle but are not resting there, but toying with something.
   6) Following the jumpsuit downwards from the waist, subject appears to be wearing a dress.

   Honestly, would you buy a used car from this man?

2. 2 Hossam el-Hamalawy May 23rd, 2007 at 4:22 am

   I don’t usually ask the people I photograph to pose, and I like to leave such “deep” reflections like yours on how they look in the pix to the readers. And my time happens to be too precious to be wasted on that.
   But regarding your worries about:
   “Honestly, would you buy a used car from this man?”
   Well, I think you were trying to refer here not to Abu Omar, but to Khaled el-Masri, another extraordinary renditions victim who was a car salesman prior to his abduction and torture.
   I don’t know about you, but my decision to buy a car or not has to do with the appearance and efficiency of the car, I’m afraid, not whether the salesman is bearded or was it a woman in mini-skirt.

3. 3 أبو عمر المصري May 23rd, 2007 at 1:21 pm

   الأستاذ الفاضل / حسام
   بحمد الله وتوفيقه تم عمل بطاقة رقم قومي لي اليوم الأربعاءوتم تصويري ، وساستلم البطاقة في السابع من الشهر القادم( يونيو ) يوم المحاكمة التي ستجري أولى جلساتها في ميلانو - إيطاليا
   وقد أتصل بي أمس أحد ضباط أمن الدولة بالأسكندرية وطلب مني وقف أي عمل تصعيدي ووعدني بتسهيل كافة المشاكل التي تعترضني في مصر مقابل عدم التصعيد الإعلامي
   أشكرك جزيل الشكر على وقوفك معي وعرض مشكلتي وأنا في أنتظارك لأخبرك بخبطة صحفية كبيرة جدا بالنسبة لقضيتي
   في الأيام القادمةأبو عمر المصري

   الأسكندرية
   الأربعاء

4. 4 Paul May 23rd, 2007 at 2:55 pm

   ummm, Solomon2? I assume you are somewhat familiar with the region, but Abu Omar’s appearance is not particularly unusual: gallabiya, skull cap, beard. There’s a lot of that here, and by ridiculing it you come off as rather… parochial.

1. 1 How useful they are at Antony Loewenstein Pingback on May 24th, 2007 at 8:56 pm