Ahmed Ismail Hassan al Samadi was 22 years old, living in the small island-nation of Bahrain. His passion for photography and videography drew him to filming the protests that were taking place in Bahrain. They were part of the Arab uprising of 2011.
But Ahmed's passion was also his undoing.
"Everyone was talking about Ahmed's death," she recalled.
She says he was on so many tongues, not just because he was the most recent person to die, but because so many could relate to him.
"He was so young, he was so hopeful," she said. "By all accounts he was a quiet, normal boy."
Dickinson met with Ahmed's family and was moved by his story.
"As I was leaving, Ahmed's sister took my hand and she said to me with the voice that I can't forget, 'I want to see you again.' I didn't forget that," said Dickinson.
She decided to go back to Bahrain frequently to follow up with Ahmed's family.
She turned what she witnessed into an e-book: "Who Shot Ahmed: A Mystery Unravels in Bahrain’s Botched Arab Spring."
As the Bahraini government became more and more concerned about the spreading protests, Dickinson wrote, officials confronted the protesters and tried to stop them — using any possible means.
Ahmed's family never got an answer about why their son died — but Dickinson says his death actually motivated them to follow in his footsteps.
"In many ways Ahmed was kept alive by members of his family," she said. "His father took up his filming … some of them are active online, some of them write and do community organizing. Basically they've become stronger members of the opposition because of what happened to their son."
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