KÖRPER MAGAZINE
Chedly Ben Ibrahim
Biography
Chedly Ben ibrahim, born in Tunisia, is a Tunisian photojournalist, member of the collective Hans Lucas.
At first he was managing his own accounting and auditing firm when guided by his usual instinct, in 2012 he bought his very first camera and started on the field of photojournalism.
He covered Tunisia’s democratic transition and important events such as the assault on the U.S. Embassy in Tunisia or the terrorist attacks that hit Tunisia especially in 2015
As a freelancer, he worked for Demotix and has signed contracts with Wostok Press, SIPA USA and other agencies.
He also worked on assignment with many newspapers and magazines such as The Mail On Sunday (UK), The daily Mail (UK), El Mundo (Spain), the Mirror (UK), etc
In 2019 he was approached by The New York Times.
Currently he’s still covering the major news in his country and he’s available for assignments in Tunisia and all around the world even in conflicts and war zones.
Simultaneously, he’s working on short and long-term stories and projects focused on social and relevant issues in Tunisia.
Paradise despite Tunisia
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At 75, she should lead a peaceful life, yet Jenaina was denied the luxury and continues to work to survive. After the death of her husband, and to provide for her two daughters and her son, she worked hard for many years as an interim cleaning agent in several public transport companies.
In Tunisia, the temporary employment agencies do not respect the legislation. Therefore, jobseekers are overexploited, not declared, they are not even affiliated to the social security system and sometimes threatened... Today Jenaina finds herself without welfare nor retirement pension. She suffers from a respiratory illness and knee pain. However, that did not prevent her from traveling everyday, for long hours, to pick up plastic bottles that she sells to the intermediaries of the recycling centers for crumbs. The collection of the plastic is her main source of income but she also survives thanks to the small helps she receives occasionally with nobility from benefactors. She prefers to continue working hard, while preserving her dignity, instead of begging on the street.
Jenaina lives with her daughter Radhia (50 year old, unemployed, with a leg disability and suffering heart pain) in a social housing in the sensitive neighborhood of Hay Nassim.
Nowadays she still regrets the era of dictator Ben Ali. Expressed with anger, her advice to the Tunisian people is to no longer vote for the politicians, because according to her, they did not bring anything better to the well-being of the citizen. As for young people, she advises them to move away from drugs, alcohol and try to work with dignity instead of spending long hours in the neighborhood cafe. Despite all that she endures at her age, she is an example of hope, courage and also an example to follow for young people who today no longer respect the value of work.
Check the full project on Chedly's website!
Documentary Photographer I chedlybenibrahim.wordpress.com I @tunisianphotojournalist I Linkedin I ben.ibrahim.photographie@gmail.com
« Politicians have brought drugs to young people, they have destroyed the people. Young people have been eaten by the sea, the state no longer exists. If we could flee we will, because we have become refugees like in Ethiopia »
- Words of Jenaina describing the Tunis post-revolution -
She dreams of living in the holy city to clean up the Kaaba (a holy building at the center of Islam’s most important mosque, the Great Mosque of Mecca) for the rest of her life.
For her, the holy city may be a paradise, which perhaps allows her to escape exhaustion. A paradise which she has been looking for many years and has not yet found in her Tunisia.
