By Jamal Adel.
Tripoli, 26 February 2015:
Libya has lost two beloved figures this week with the death of a renowned poet in . . .[restrict]Tripoli and the killing of a well-known university staff member in Benghazi.
Ahmed Abu Gasim Bashir Al-Hariri died yesterday, leaving behind an unprecedented artistic legacy in Libyan culture.
Hariri, who was 72 years old, was born and raised in Tripoli’s old town. From a Tripolitanian family, his family worked in fishing.
Hariri was one of the outstanding Libyan poets and song writers from the 60s, writing over 1000 songs, and recording some 800 hours for Libyan national TV programs, drama and entertainment shows.
Hariri began singing publicly at an early age, singing in Tripoli nightclubs to earn money for himself and his impoverished family. He later joined a broadcasting team at the national TV station, extending his knowledge of song-writing and working with other well-known Libyan singers and writers such as Salam Gadri, Mahmoud Al-Sharif and Kathem Naddem. Some of Hariri’s most popular songs include:
If You Know (1965)
I found my city in your eyes (1972)
Flip the page (2007)
Hariri won a number of awards for his works, including the gold medal for dramatic creativity at the Cairo Art Festival.
Hariri was buried at the Saydi Minedar cemetery in Sareem Street.
Meanwhile, in Benghazi, Belgasim Amer died when his home was hit by a shell in the fighting there. Amer was the librarian at the Benghazi University law school for 44 years. Libyans took to social media to mourn his death.
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