Prominent Syrian journalist Walid Mi’mari passes away at the age of 80

Prominent Syrian journalist Walid Mi’mari on Friday passed away at the age of 80 after building a successful career that has inspired thousands of other Syrian and Arab journalists.

Mi’mari, known for his sarcastic style in writing, started work in the local “Tishreen” Newspaper in 1976 . He wrote regular columns that presented thoughtful arguments. His most famous column is known as “Qaws Quzah” (Rainbow) in the last page of “Tishreen” daily with more than 5000 contributions that gained wide popularity as they touched upon peoples’ concerns and daily life problems and had the charm and ability to make readers laugh. He also wrote in a column called “Afaq” (Horizons) in the same newspaper with 1200 contributions in which he shed light on the need to improve citizens’ livelihood in a unique professional sarcastic manner.

 Mi’mari also wrote dozens of short stories, children’s stories, plays, films as well as television and radio works.

His works were the subject of many studies and university graduation projects. Some of his stories were translated into other languages.

Mi’mari won several awards for his career. In 1979, he won the first prize of the Writers Union’s contest as well as the first prizes of the Kuwaiti “Al-Arabi” Magazine in 1996 and the Lebanese “Al-Safir” newspaper in 2004.

Mi’mari was born in 1941 in Deir Attieh town in Damascus Countryside. He holds a BA in Philosophy and Social Sciences from Damascus University. He was a senior journalist and columnist in Tishreen newspaper. He also worked as a teacher and director of the rural development center. He is member of the Arab Writers Union and the Syrian Journalists Union.

  Hamda Mustafa