SHOOTING

Bury the Martyrs by Bassam Al Hakeem
Damascus /Barzah – 12 May 2013
Click on the image to view a slideshow of photographs by Bassam Al Hakeem

Bassam Al Hakeem (26, Douma) is one of the most important photographers of the Syrian Revolution today.  He left his home in Damascus and his work as a computer engineer to return to his home town Douma, which was being heavily bombed, to document the situation and follow his new passion: photography.  

Time habituated Bassam to snapping photos during raids and bombardments, and enabled him to avoid the dangers surrounding the job he chose. Yet, Bassam’s dilemma erupted from the confused look of a soul lost under the rubble, to whom he cannot give an answer to one simple question: “What’s the point of photographing this?” Bassam asks himself the same question every time he snaps a shot – “Is there a benefit in carrying on with photography? They know exactly what’s happening, but they’re turning a blind eye to the crimes. Why should I keep photographing?”

Should he continue? Is there an advantage in eternalising this pain through photos and videos? Do we need a vestige of this devastation? Those questions exacerbate Bassam’s struggle between being affected by what is happening around him and depicting the events as a photographer – should he distance himself from the event and just frame it in a nice shot so he can forget that it had happened, or should he face it?

At the beginning of last Ramadan, raids intensified in Douma. When activists and locals came to where the last raid hit, the fighter jet targeted the same spot again. Only meters stood between Bassam and the targeted area, and it was then when he first met young Diaa. “I had been photographing in Douma following an aerial bombardment and went back home to edit my photos. Looking through the images, I froze suddenly when I saw a photo of Diaa soaked in his blood and being carried by a running man. I couldn’t believe what I saw. I was overwhelmed and a sudden need to cry captivated me. It was a painful picture, but it was circulated and shared widely at the time.”

Often, Bassam feels ashamed when he holds up his camera and then uploads his pictures. His agony with the same questions continues as he keeps asking himself, “What change do I make with those photos? Our reality is the same and it never changes.”

Bassam describes the chemical massacre of 21 August 2013 in Ghouta as unimaginable. “Though documenting the tragedy was important, I couldn’t distance myself from the disaster that just hit the area,” Bassam remembers. He refrained from photographing the bereaved people who were crying over the loss of their loved ones. “At that point, I shut down my camera out of respect for their losses,” he says.

Bassam used to have what was considered to be a good job in Syria as an IT engineer. He left his job and left Damascus ten months ago to come to Ghouta to work as a photographer using a professional camera which he trained himself to use without seeking help from anyone. “No one around me has an interest on photography except for one friend, but he was an amateur photographer like me. I used to follow the work of the Syrian and foreign photographers who worked in Syria to improve my skills. I also read many articles about war photographers such as Eugene Smith and Don McLean.”

The photograph taken above, Bury the Martyrs, inspired Bassam to become a photographer: “I took a photo with my mobile phone’s camera during the funeral of Barzeh martyrs one day, and then, I felt I could be a photographer.” Bassam has been trying to absorb every little detail of the event ever since he took his first picture. “I try to immerse myself in the situation in order to feel what I see. I think this is what adds value to the picture.”

Bassam has to deal with his struggle as he strives not to turn into a “photographing machine”, especially after international news agencies showed interest in his work; he is published internationally now. However, he does not like to introduce himself as a professional photographer, and says “I only use my instinct with a touch of sensibility when I take pictures. That’s all that I do.”

All rights to the photographs belong to Bassam Al Hakeem. Please contact him via his Facebook account for terms of use.