With the recent crisis in Gaza, I think we all have been looking for a voice that can express our unified feelings. Who would have ever though that we can find this voice on the sandy beaches of Rio De Janeiro? Yes, it is the Brazilian Carlos Latuff that has best voiced the Arab's revolt to the barbarism and terrorism of the war.
I was just reading an article from an excellent paper, called el-badeel (i.e. the alternative) that featured an interview with Latuff and the story behind his caricatures. In it, he expresses how he, as a child, admired cartoons, preferred crayons for his birthdays, and how he has come to admire the struggle of the oppressed in the world, be them leftists, communists, or Muslims.
His main message in his latest cartoons has been that the Arab governments are truly subjected to the iron fisted domineering subjugation of Washington and how this is both an opportunity and responsibility for the Arab masses to rise to the call and help of their brothers in Palestine. It is a historical opportunity for unite and rally around a just cause, i.e. the rescue of the a mistreated people. It seems like the international community has fallen silent because of its apprehension to Zionism or its plainly fed up of what seems to be a hopeless conflict that has dragged on for over half a century.
Latuff has been an ardent supporter and voice to the Palestinian struggle for a century now, after visiting the West Bank in 1999 which led him on a spree to raise awareness of the struggle through his animation and caricatures. Although I have some reservations on how he sometimes portrays Egypt as a contributor to the crisis, I respect his revolutionary zeal for freely expressing himself regardless of the consequences and how his mere messages could potentially unite a currently fragmented nation, i.e. the Arab nation.
Inspirational interview conducted with Latuff: http://www.flickr.com/photos/benheine/392945926/
Latuff's website:
http://www.latuff2.deviantart.com/
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