My meeting with the unforgettable Tim Hetherington

One of the most daring professions you can think of is that of a war correspondent and photojournalist. Last year, dozens of journalists lost their lives covering stories in war zones. Especially in recent weeks, with the Libya fighting, many journalists have been kidnapped or detained by Gaddafi forces.

Yesterday, the world press community lost two important people. The photographer Tim Hetherington and Chris Hondros were killed when a bomb exploded in Misurata, Libya, during an exchange of fire between Gaddafi supporters and rebel forces. Guy Martin, a 27-year-old reporter from Britain, was seriously injured.

I met Tim accidentally through a group of people in Britain in 1998, and we talked a little at a pub in Oxford. I remember when he told me about his profession and all that he wanted to do, the first thing I thought about was how difficult and dangerous it is to do this job, but also how impressive. Tim had just started travelling to Africa. Within the short duration of our conversation, I was surprised by what a very calm, secure, happy and loyal person I was talking with. He was one of those people who were very passionate about their profession, with a real love for his fellow humans, but also a reverent worship for photography.

Timothy Hetherington passed away at 41. He was a remarkable veteran photojournalist, who was not only known in journalistic circles; having worked for several NGOs, he was recognized for his unique way of focusing on the human side of war. Unlike most of us Westerners, he had a deep respect for diversity and appreciation of other cultures. His priority was not to satisfy his employers through photos that he sent, but to manage to make his viewers understand what they were seeing and experience it themselves. During the last few years of his life, he had turned to animation, and last year he became known for creating the documentary "Restrepo", which was nominated for an Academy Award, winning several other awards in festivals in the U.S. and the rest of the world. His latest project was "Diary", a personal account that described the feelings of one who is so close to war zones.