Omar bin Laden, the fourth son of the organizer of the 9/11 attacks, the leader of al-Qaeda * Osama bin Laden, who was killed by the Americans, lives in France.
He moved to the Atlantic coast in Normandy with his wife in 2006. Here he took up painting, began to paint landscapes. Omar says it was drawing that helped him recover from painful childhood memories.
“I have never been close to my father,” admits Omar bin Laden. “I was 18 years old when I left the al-Qaeda camp * led by my father and went with my mother to Syria. The last time I saw my father at his residence in Afghanistan was in 2001, a few months before the September 11 attacks. ”
Omar has repeatedly expressed condolences to the thousands of those killed for 20 years and condemned his father for the massacres of innocent civilians.
“Art helped me regain my moral strength,” the man continues. – Some of my family members are very artistic. My mom loves to paint, like one of my sisters. My uncle was also a very good artist. So the need to paint is in my blood. “
Omar writes mainly landscapes. His paintings show the deserts of Egypt, the Tora Bora mountains and views of the Far West.
Painting helped him recover from a painful past
Painting helped him recover from a painful past
The quarantine, introduced due to the coronavirus pandemic, he spent in the studio.
“My very first work, which I painted at the age of 7, was hung on the wall of the classroom by a teacher,” says Omar. “For me it was the highest praise and was the only happy moment in my childhood.”
Omar bin Laden admits that he suffers from bipolar disorder, but “has achieved a semblance of peace, largely thanks to painting.”
According to various estimates, Osama bin Laden had between 20 and 26 children.
* – an international terrorist organization banned in the Russian Federation
