Adieu, Françoise

Françoise Demulder, one of the finest war photographers of her generation, one of the women pioneers in a field dominated by men, has died in Paris after suffering a heart attack at age 61.

Françoise's career began in Indochina, where she was among the few Western witnesses to the fall of Saigon on April 30, 1975. But, afterwards, she devoted most of her career to covering the Middle East. Her photo of a Palestinian woman in anguish amid a Christian militia's siege of the Karantina refugee camp in Beirut in 1976 is the iconic image, not only of the Lebanese Civil War, but of the tragedy of the Middle East. Typical of her work, the photo is itself very striking, yet in a way that emphasizes rather than overwhelms the ghastly moment of history. The image won Françoise the prestigious World Press Photo of the Year award, the first time a woman had achieved the honor.

Françoise Demulder's images helped tell the world about the tragedy of the Middle East

I was among the many reporters and editors who had the privilege of working with Françoise on assignments for TIME over the years. Fifi, as she was called, was passionate, committed, beautiful and funny. She and her work were driven by a sense of basic human decency, a refusal to look away from the horrors of man's creation. She had a twinkle that reflected her gentle charm but she had very strong nerves, too.

Françoise's courage was evident on the battlefields; her sang-froid, always. We were dining with an Iraqi translator at a restaurant in Baghdad on the eve of the 1991 Gulf War when Saddam Hussein's brutish son, Uday, walked in and sat down at the next table. Our terrified Iraqi companion leapt up and departed without a word, fearful that Uday would take a disliking to this Iraqi fraternizing with foreigners and have him shot. I didn't know what to think. Françoise insisted on pretending it was just another relaxing night out after a long day of taking pictures. She continued drinking Lebanese arak, talking and laughing like she was in her neighborhood cafe back home in Paris.

We've lost a rare journalist and devoted friend. The French minister of culture, Christine Albanel, honored Françoise last week, hailing her as an artist as well as a witness of our times. Read the tribute to Françoise by her friend and colleague Alan Cowell in the International Herald Tribune.

--By Scott MacLeod/Cairo