Farewell to Everyones Beloved Hashim Karar
Ibrahim Ali Ibrahim
When I asked him about his health two days ago, he told me as usual that he was fine. He concluded with the words: "I love you, brother."
*I was sitting in the office of my friend, the journalist Fathi Al-Daw, in Asmara, amidst a group of people when the street door was knocked and someone rushed in to lift me from my seat and embrace me to the astonishment of everyone. It was Hashim Karar, and we had been apart for almost a decade. Exile had taken him to Doha, and me to Cairo.
He took me out and we roamed the streets, talking about the past years, as exile had taken us and our paths had diverged. In the evening, our friend Mohammed Awad and our friend Fathi Al-Daw joined us, and we stayed up until morning.
Journalists and others who were exiled would visit Asmara during their holidays to compensate for their absence from their homeland, in addition to the presence of the opposition in Eritrea. This opened a gap for them to know what was happening in the political arena, allowing them to follow up on what was happening in their newspapers.
Because Hashim Karar, unlike the others, possesses a rare journalistic "sixth sense," he managed to catch a big fish. He followed his leads in his own way and exposed secret talks between the opposition and the Salvation regime while battles were taking place on the borders. Hashim discovered that Dr. Salah El-Din Al-Atabani was staying in the hotel where Mubarak Al-Fadil, the Secretary-General of the Umma Party at the time, was also staying, even in the room next to his.
This news caused a huge uproar, even though both of them tried to deny it, claiming that their familial relationship was the reason for their adjacent accommodation. This had repercussions until the Islamic Front with the opposition returned to the homeland and got rid of it! Islamists cannot be trusted.
Hashim Karar is one of the purest and most noble people. A beautiful and noble person who holds no grudge against anyone. He befriends even those whom society has cast out, and he holds great reverence for God. He is the owner of oddities and journalistic scoops. He brings out the inner secrets of society.
We were sitting in the house of our friend, the journalist and poet Mohamed Nejib Mohamed Ali, along with the great poet Tijani Saeed and musician Mubarak Mohamed Ali. We stayed up in front of the house, which opened onto a vast square. "Hishooma" appeared with someone, a kind person who was one of the major brokers in the market in Khartoum. Hashim insisted on telling us his story with one of the leaders of the ruling party, who was a big fraudster, who had tricked him into a scam and insulted him, which led him to set a long-lasting trap for him, costing him millions of dollars. A story from the Arabian Nights. He continued to tell us several adventures for a few hours without the audience getting bored of his narrative.
Hashim possesses these oddities that journalism missed with the exile that took him and took several from the older generation. The new generations missed the opportunity to connect with many of their predecessors. They missed Hashim, one of the teachers from whom our generations benefited.
Hashim Karar was the editor-in-chief of Al-Jarida newspaper, which included a distinguished team of female and male journalists. We still maintain our friendships. It seems that Hashims influence extends to everyone, spreading a magical fragrance that reaches everyones souls. What is this excessive beauty. Hashim, the smiling, beautiful, creative person, always present.
He was always on the move. He had sites and goals and ongoing journalistic investigations. And I worked with him. I would follow him to return to the newspaper to write the opening article, or to give the order to print. And he would absorb my anger and my loud voice with a laugh or a joke, and I often acted as he asked me to.
Hashim Karar left us today. And with his absence, I feel the loss of many friends and their entry into a dark tunnel of sadness. I feel the presence of Mohamed Awad, Abdullah Al-Sheikh, Mohamed Nejib, Dr. Wedi Kamel, Jamal Al-Sanousi, Nejib Noor al-Din, and the team of Al-Ayyam in its heyday. There are many friends, who cannot be counted or measured, from different backgrounds. Leave alone the friends from Qatar, which took half of his life. A life full of love and goodness.
Farewell, my friend, until we meet again. My condolences to Amani Guleib, Mahjoub, his brothers, friend Omar Mahjoub Karar, sister Fatima Mahjoub Karar, and all the people of the new neighborhood in Haisa Haisa, and the Sudanese journalism family.
This is a sad day, my beloved ones. O Lord, Hashim came to You, and You made him love all people, so reward him well. You are the Owner of grace, generosity, life, and death. We testify that he loved Your creation and gave his soul for them. And we testify that he was the most beautiful of us.
To God we belong and to Him we shall return.
