In memoria
Leila Gorchev, a former Al-Ahram Weekly colleague, passed away in Spain last week. Gorchev worked for the Weekly in the mid 1990s as both a copy editor and a contributing photographer. Her stint at the Weekly marked the beginning of a deep exploration of the Middle East for this half- Egyptian half-Bulgarian cosmopolitan young woman who was always bursting with creativity and life.
After the Weekly , Gorchev moved on to the Associated Press's Cairo office and eventually to the Agence France Presse, where she worked as a photo editor and a photographer covering stories all over the world, including the latest breaking news in Baghdad and Jerusalem. She had recently left AFP to pursue her own documentary projects.
Gorchev will be deeply missed by all those who knew her. Her twinkling eyes and disarming smile won her friends and admirers wherever she went. The creativity, dedication and talent she brought to her work, combined with an uncompromising artistic vision, won her fans and rapid professional success. Her sudden departure was a shock to many of us at the Weekly and beyond. May God grant her family and friends the necessary strength to deal with her loss.
