MANAMA, JULY 31 (BNA) BAHRAINI WRITER AND FATHER OF THE JOURNALIST MOVEMENT IN BAHRAIN, MAHMOUD AL MARDI.THE MAN WHO ESTABLISHED HIS FIRST NEWSPAPER IN 1976, WITH WORK REMAINED ECHOING FOR 18 YEARS FROM HIS DEATH TILL NOW AND GUIDING HIS SUCCESSORS ON THE RIGHT PATH.HIS WORK WAS TIPPED BY WRITER KHALID AL BASSAM IN THE THIRD TOME OF A SERIES PUBLISHED BY THE MINISTRY OF INFORMATION UNDER THE TITLE OF 'BAHRAIN PIONEERING JOURNALISTS' AS A COMBINATION OF JOURNALISM, POLITICAL CRITIQUES AND REFORM ATTEMPTS AIMED AT SERVING THE PUBLIC AND THE NATION.THE MINISTRY OF INFORMATION ALLOCATED THIS VOLUME TO MAHMOUD AL MARDI'S WORK (1934-1979).THE BOOK'S COVER WITH MARDI'S PICTURE IN BLACK AND WHITE ALONG WITH THE TITLE REVEAL THAT THE WRITER LIVED HIS LIFE TIME WITH BOOKS, PENS AND PRESS ARTICLES WHICH WERE HIS PRIME PASSION THROUGH WHICH HE USED TO RECORD THE UPS AND DOWNS OF PEOPLE OF ALL WALKS OF LIFE.WHAT HAS BEEN WRITTEN IN THE 5TH AND 29TH PAGE SHOW THAT THE WRITER'S CAREER, A TOTAL 29 YEARS BETWEEN 1950 AND 1979, THE DATE OF HIS DEATH, WAS FULLY DEDICATED TO JOURNALISM.

HE WAS BORN IN 1942, STUDIED AT BAHRAIN'S SCHOOLS AND TOOK PART IN PERFORMING SOME PLAYS AS AN AMATEUR NOT A PROFESSIONAL, TO QUIT THE STAGE EARLY AND BECOME INTERESTED IN READING ABOUT ARTS AND LITERATURE, NEWSPAPERS AND MAGAZINES UNTIL HE CAME TO THE CONCLUSION THAT JOURNALISM WAS HIS FIELD OF INTEREST.HE , THEN BEGAN WRITING FEW ARTICLES HERE AND THERE IN LOCAL NEWSPAPERS AND WAS LUCKY TO HAVE A NUMBER OF FRIENDS SUCH AS IBRAHIM HASSAN KAMAL, ABDULAZIZ AL SHAMLAN, ABDULRAHMAN BAKER, HASSAN AL JISHI AND OTHERS TO BECOME LATER THE EDITING SECRETARY AT SOUT AL BAHRAIN MONTHLY MAGAZINE AND THE WRITER OF ITS AUDITORIUM.AFTER SOUT AL BAHRAIN HE JOINED AL QAFILA WEEKLY NEWSPAPER BETWEEN 1952 AND 54 AND BEGAN WRITING ITS EDITORIAL, REVEALING TO HIS READERS THAT THE NEWSPAPER IN QUESTION WAS THE SYMBOL OF THE PAST AND PRESENT AND THE OF SOLIDARITY WHERE TEAM WORK DID NOT ALLOW ANY OF THE MEMBERS TO BREAK AWAY FROM THE GROUP.HE CONTINUED TO WRITE FOR AL QAFILA, AND REMAINED COMMITTED TO ITS PATRIOTIC AND REFORM TENDENCY UNTIL IT WAS SUSPENDED BY THE COLONIAL AUTHORITIES IN 1954.THEN, HE JOINED AL WATAN NEWSPAPER ALONG WITH ALI SAYYAR, YOUSEF AL SHIRAWI, AHMED YATEEM AND ABDULLA AL WAZZAN.IN 1956, HE PUBLISHED HIS OWN NEWSPAPER CALLED AL SHUALA, WHICH WAS SUSPENDED BY THE COLONIAL AUTHORITIES RIGHT FROM THE START FOR ITS REVOLUTIONARY ARTICLES, FOLLOWED BY HIS IMPRISONMENT IN KHUBAR, SAUDI ARABIA, WHERE HE SETTLED WITH HIS COLLEAGUE ALI SAYYAR AND BEGAN WORKING IN A BANK THERE.AFTER 9 YEARS IN EXILE, MARDI RETURNED TO BAHRAIN AND INSPIRED BY JOURNALISM PIONEER ABDULLA AL ZAYED WHO WAS PUBLISHING 'BAHRAIN' NEWSPAPER FROM 1939 TO 1944, HE WAS READY FOR A MORE SERIOUS PROJECT.HE ESTABLISHED A PRINTING HOUSE WHICH CATERED TO NEEDS OF AL ADHWA'A WEEKLY PAPER THAT HE LAUNCHED IN 1965.

THIS PAPER PLAYED A TREMENDOUS ENLIGHTENMENT ROLE IN ENRICHING JOURNALISM IN THE KINGDOM. MARDI WAS QUOTED AS SAYING THAT HE 'ASPIRES FOR THE DAYWHEN THERE WILL BE A NEWSPAPER FOR EACH 5000 PEOPLE IN THE KINGDOM'. IN THE 1970'S, HE PUBLISHED A DAILY CALLED 'ADHWA'A AL KALEEJ' WHICH STOPPED SOON FOR LUCK OF MATERIAL AND HUMAN POTENTIAL, FOLLOWED BY ANOTHER NEWSPAPER IN FEBRUARY 1976 CALLED AKHBAR AL KHALEEJ WHICH REPRESENTED UNTIL TIME BEING A LANDMARK IN THE KINGDOM'S AND GULF PRESS MOVEMENT.ONCE AGAIN AND FOR THE 4TH TIME, MARDI WAS WRITING THE EDITORIAL OF THE PAPER. HE SAID 'WHEN ANY PAPER SUCCEEDS TO REFLECT THE LOCAL COMMUNITY WITH ALL ITS CONTROVERSY AND IN FULL OBJECTIVITY AND ACCURACY, WE CAN SAY THEN THAT IT IS CONVEYING ITS MESSAGE AND PROCEEDING ON THE RIGHT PRESS TRACK'.MARDI SPENT A FEW YEARS CARING FOR AKHBAR AL KHALEEJ, MAKING SUCCESS UPON SUCCESS AS A JOURNALIST AND BUSINESSMAN, IN FULL RESPECT FOR THEAMOUNT OF ALLOWED FREEDOM, THE PROFESSION ETHICS AND LAWS UNTIL HE DIED IN 1979, LEAVING BEHIND A RICH EXPERIENCE AND A JOURNALIST HERITAGE THAT MADE
OF HIM A PIONEERING FIGURE IN THE WORLD OF PRESS.