I was a photojournalist from 2009 to 2013, documenting political unrest and the rise of extremism across the Middle East, particularly in Egypt.

For years, I ran toward fire, gunshots, screams, and headlines. I witnessed more than I ever expected to survive.

In 2013, I was shot in the face while covering a protest. That day ended my career in the field.

I transitioned to producing, reporting, and leading others into the stories I no longer dared face myself. I wasn’t behind the camera anymore.

Instead, I focused on terrorism, covering the MENA region's rampant civil wars through screens instead of streets.

I spent years analyzing Islamist execution videos, identifying faces, chasing leads, contacting families. I burned out.

My home was raided. My drives were seized. I lived in fear, often hiding, waiting for that kick at the door. It usually came at night.

Eventually, I disappeared. I vanished from that world entirely.

I live in Exile now, far from the front lines.

I work in business.

I have a great job, a good life. Quiet..

Drifted away from photography

But deep down I still carried what I saw. What I survived. What I left behind.

Then, during Hanukkah 2024, something shifted.

I was playing Life Is Strange: Double Exposure, and somehow a Canon 5D Mark II found its way into my hands.

That shutter click woke the ghosts.

That moment pulled me back to something I thought I had buried for good.

Now, I take photos again. Not of blood or breaking news, but of the aftermath. The silence. The healing. The guilt.

Even if the war is over, the aftermath has a voice. And photography, for me, is not a hobby. It’s a way of speaking again.

My images are published under a Creative Commons Attribution–NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-ND 4.0).

You are free to share my work -- for both commercial and non-commercial purposes -- as long as you give proper credit and do not modify the image in any way.

Please credit me clearly as: “Image by MoudBarthez on Flickr.”