Abdallah Jumni etc. from Dahab Photo

Photographer’s Note

Perhaps that remained a little unnoticed on Trekearth, but two days ago, three b*stards, so frustrated with their own sexlife that they exchanged a dubtious promise of 70 virtual virgins against the real life of more than 20 people, children included.

These kamikaze bombings happened in Dahab, a peaceful backpackers and divers village in South Sinai, Egypt, on the Red Sea shore, where authentic bedouins have settled.

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5 years ago I was strolling some seaside in Dahab with a friend, when a peculiar bedouin fellow stopped and looked at us. I asked him to photograph, he asked me to remember his name, neither of us had any pen to write it down : he begun his name which started with Abdallah Jumni, I remember clearly and then came between eight and ten other names I forgot, probably the names of his whole ascendence.
He had us repeating until we knew the complete megilla... for twenty minutes... after which only Abdallah Jumni stayed... the rest vanished.

He was either really loaded or had some trouble with his eyes and arms direction : I shot him as he showed where he lived... apparently in the midst of the Red Sea... then he looked at my friend's watch and vuaguely pointed towards my friend's elbow, while looking somewhere over the palms trees... he said he liked the watch very much, the trouble was that my friend liked it too, then we parted, thanking Abdallah Jumni Jr.

This was then the life in Dahab, so cool and spiced with unexpected meetings.

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The day after the bombings I read that the shopkeepers, the hotel employees, the dive instructors, the restaurant waiters, the tour guides and the bedouins, be them expats or egyptians, gathered and marched through the alley chanting "we love you tourists".
Perhaps Abdallah Jumni was taking part of the march. With the hindsight, his gesture takes a different meaning : he's saying "All you, brainwashed kamikaze motherf*ckers, sod off the other side of this coastline and get lost at sea, will you!"

AnimeshRay, Galeota, arindam_thokder, MKING, rosiegirl, vts_ch, hugolef, don_narayan, Homerhomer, rbcy1974, bboss, Suh, david, Curioso, eleparc, kajspice, tamatree has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

AnimeshRay (8886) 2006-04-26 18:28

Luko,
What a fantastic capture! Your narrative is poignant. I hope Abdallah is well, and I hope he is still drunk with life. I hope this madness stops. But madness never stops. It follows us humans wherever we are however we are. Yesterday it was something else, today it is this, tomorrow it will be different again. But it never kills the spirit of us who go with complete abandon wherever our eyes lead, and this photo leads us to those misty hills on southern Sinai where Abdallah's house lay. Ilford shines here with brilliant but tidy contrast. Thanks for bringing this photo to us.
Animesh

Galeota (10334) 2006-04-26 18:42

One of your best notes ever. Half way between bursting into laughter reading your story of 5 years ago, and raging while thinking about modern murderers. Don't agree with keeping on polluting the sea though. The motherf*ckers you mention should be sent to the outer space in the tail of their own rocket bombs.

arindam_thokder (3946) 2006-04-26 21:56

Hello Luko,

Yes...Abdallah Jumni.............etc is a very funny and interesting character. I love every word in your note and like Animesh me too hope he is well. But what I like most is the hidden cruelty in the funny story. Composition wise I like the placing of the man with the nice landscape in the BG.I just wonder how the picture would be with the full figure of Abdullah Jumni. I like the contrast.

Arindam

lewiz (1293) 2006-04-26 22:07

Hi Luko,
Another oustanding shot. I love the grain in this one, but obviously the great tilt and dynamics work wonders.
Thanks, Lewis.

rosiegirl (2042) 2006-04-26 23:48

I love his look- he has a bit of a crazy eye, but he sounds like a very interesting man. The way the wind blows around him adds a lot- puts some motion to it. The small horizon tilt doesn't do much for me, but what do I know. The grain on this is great.
I like your note. Its not often you hear people make a firm statement in this world of relativism.
Well, good work.
Rosie

vts_ch (2624) 2006-04-27 1:38

I believe your note is couragous, and so well written, art has to be denonciation sometimes, and you did it well.
Your image is strong and I like the grain of it, rendering the true ambiance of Egypt.
Well done

hugolef (4909) 2006-04-27 4:25

Hello Luko
la frustration est le premier sentiment qui me vient ... à quoi ressemble le tirage papier ? cette photo est superbe, mais j'aimerais bien voir la version papier ... une image numerique sur un ecran, cela parait normal, mais une photo argentique, je trouve qu'elle perd de son charme, de son relief, de son vecu sur un minable ecran plat de portable à peine étalonné ...
Je la trouve superbe sur mon ecran ....alors je suis frustré de ne pas la voir de près ...
C'est bien composé, et le grain de la pellicule imprimé dans une chambre Leica, est toujours agreable à regarder ...
Une belle note pour rappeler que tous les musulmans ne sont pas intégristes ... et ceux qui le pensent ont tendance à oublier la Saint Barthélémy ...

Amities, hugues

Furachan (0) 2006-04-27 7:36

First off, it's a terrific picture, Luko, a beautiful scan with graduated tones from the harsh, clear pebbles to the smoother attenuated sea beyond. Great portrait of this eccentric chap waving over his shoulder at...nowhere.
Then there's the timeliness, and your own fond memories of that devastated place, ravaged by these barbaric lunatics drunk on their own rhetoric. Bali redux...
Which is my way of saying this is a major TE upload, and a powerful package that resonates long after one sees the shot.

Francis

ps There was a bit where I took exception to Luko's phrase: "Perhaps that remained a little bit unnoticed on Trekearth, but two days ago.." but on second thoughts it all sounds more like a storm in a teacup...

rowanb (864) 2006-04-27 10:55

hello luko,
i hadn't heard about this incident, thank you for making us aware of it through this picture, sounds like interesting times back then.

its true what you say, the world isn't all smiles and laughter, sometimes i just feel like dropping everything and trying to show people the things happening and make a difference....

i really like the pose on this guy, the fantastic b&w tones, and shadows on the sand. very nicely done.

rbcy1974 (20746) 2006-04-28 3:55

Hello Luko,
Powerful image and specially powerful words. The man's expression in such that he does look like he is on something. You have manged also to convey the rugged nature of the terrain. I guess the most important part of the picture is showing us the normality of before vs the madness of today. ANd the sad thing is that this madness does not seem to have an end in sight.
Regards
Daniel

bboss (3548) 2006-04-28 5:53

Nice one Luko, I like the shot even if I cant really understand fundamentally the difference between a smiling Bedouin and a smiling kid.
The note and message I really take to heart, especially as I was in Dahab only 10 days before the attack, and spent long hours in the dive centre right next door to one of the bomb sites. It is a little irony that the bombing was most likely carried out by local Bedouin, some of the same people who have gained much from the tourist industry.
Thanks for bringing these serious issues into the TE arena.
cheers, David

david (3978) 2006-04-28 12:10

it's such a sad and sorrowful thing. when i read about the bombings i was really disappointed. i've heard great things about dahab. so your "sod off" to terrorists is a great shot. it really made me smile.

the tones are really soft here, which i like. i think it works well. your subject seems to be quite an intersting character and probably would have been worth following around for a day ...

great shot and great message. well done!

kourosh (2368) 2006-04-29 6:32

very nice note Luko, really enjoyed it. In terms of the image i always like your noisy black and whites on ilford films, and i think this one is a pretty cool one as well. nice work.

PeterC (2242) 2006-05-01 22:27

Luko,
A very poigniant image. A wonderful place with people as kind as they come. A stunning image perfect b&w gorgeous tones the grain and that texture. Thinking about your note and the resentment that almost eveyone feels about the brain washed fools. Its about time we had a global anti terrorism day to remember the innoncent people and to remind people that it is not accceptable to kill innoncent people.
Cheers
Peter

sohrab (7423) 2006-05-02 10:25

i hadn't heard of this bombing..so thanks for bringing that to my attention.. when exactly did it take place?

the way you've printed the hills in the background reminds me of salgado's photograph of people wearing cloths around themselves to shelter themselves from the cold morning wind (famine in sahel)

beautiful print and photograph..
take care :)

tamatree (241) 2008-04-17 13:25 [Comment]