Rifat Chadirji.
Rifat Chadirji, l’un des grands du monde arabe, vient de mourir le 10 avril du coronavirus. Une triste nouvelle qui m’a profondément touchée.
Je le rencontrais parfois, se promenant avec sa femme sur la plage déserte de la région de Halat. Que de fois j’ai été tentée de lui adresser au moins un bonjour. Mais je me retenais, car une icône sacrée ne peut être approchée… seulement vénérée. Je me suis souvent demandé pourquoi les grands meurent-ils. Mais rien n’est éternel à part le Bon Dieu, et seuls leurs travaux rendent leur souvenir éternel.
Rifat Chadirji; un architecte enraciné dans la tradition.
Ce grand architecte, né en 1926 à Bagdad dans une famille influente, avait pour père Kamil Chadirji. Ce dernier jouait un rôle central dans la vie politique irakienne en tant que fondateur et président du Parti national démocrate.
Rifat Chadirji termina sa formation d’architecte en 1952. Il commença à travailler sur ce qu’il appelait ses expériences architecturales. Son travail s’inspirait des caractéristiques de l’architecture régionale irakienne, tout en cherchant à réconcilier la tradition avec les besoins sociaux contemporains.
Emprisonnement et résilience.
En 1974, à l’âge de 48 ans, il est emprisonné à vie. Il avait refusé de travailler sur un projet financé par le gouvernement pendant la présidence d’Ahmad Hassan al-Bakr. Après près de deux ans dans la très célèbre prison d’Abou Ghraib, il est libéré.
C’est Saddam Hussein, déjà au pouvoir, qui ordonne sa libération. Il souhaitait que le meilleur architecte irakien supervise les préparatifs d’une conférence internationale prévue à Bagdad en 1983, et contribue aux plans généraux visant à donner un nouveau visage à la ville.
Pendant son emprisonnement, Rifat Chadirji écrit un livre sur l’architecture : Al Ukhaidir et le Crystal Palace. Il utilise des documents que sa femme introduit en contrebande à Abou Ghraib. Ce livre est décrit comme un “ouvrage fondateur” sur l’architecture irakienne.
Conseiller et exil.
Dans les années 1980, Rifat Chadirji devient conseiller du maire de Bagdad. Ce rôle l’amène à superviser tous les projets de reconstruction de la ville.
En 1983, il quitte l’Irak pour occuper un poste universitaire à Harvard. Quelques années plus tard, à son retour, il est attristé par la détérioration de Bagdad. Lui et son épouse décident de quitter définitivement l’Irak pour s’installer à Londres, tout en séjournant de temps en temps au Liban, près de la mer.
Mémoire et héritage de Rifat Chadirji.
Avec son père, il photographie une grande partie de Bagdad ainsi que la région plus vaste englobant l’Irak et la Syrie. Tous deux craignaient que l’architecture et les monuments régionaux ne soient perdus à cause du nouveau développement lié au boom pétrolier.
En 1995, il publie un livre regroupant les précieuses photographies de son père. Le poste politique de ce dernier lui avait permis d’accéder à des lieux et à des personnes inaccessibles pour d’autres photographes.
Un adieu discret.
Malheureusement, Rifat Chadirji meurt des suites du Covid-19 à Londres, le 10 avril 2020, à l’âge de 93 ans. Il y est incinéré. Le Premier ministre irakien Mustafa Al-Kadhimi, ainsi que le président irakien Barham Salih, lui rendent hommage. Rifat Chadirji, l’un des grands du monde arabe, vient de mourir le 10 Avril du coronavirus. Une triste nouvelle qui m’a profondément touchée.
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