The Cartoon Revolution

Ever since writing my old post (i.e. A Voice for The Arab World) on Carlos Latuff, the Brazilian political cartoonist, I had started corresponding the artist himself to express my admiration for his cause and his art. I was ecstatic when Carlos replied to me to thank me for comparing him to the likes of Guevara and Nasser for voicing the plight on behalf of the oppressed and speaking out against injustice.

As the current crisis in Gaza is escalating, I am saddened to see the world stand by in idleness as more than a thousand Palestinians have been killed. My sympathy for the Palestinians is not one out of my Arab identity, but one out of the fact that I am a human and cannot stand blind as such a humanitarian genocide takes place. It is in this light that I believe that every human who has emotions should take action, no matter how minuscule his or her impact may be, to put an end to the war in Gaza and bring about Peace in the Middle East. I know that it starts with us, the new generations of the Middle East to bring about any peace and justice. It is for this reason that I have joined the Students for Peace and Justice in Palestine organization here at the university. I and Assad are heading the Publicity initiative to raise awareness by puttying up fliers to keep university students informed of the latest news regarding the crisis. I truly hope that our efforts will make some sort of impact.

Tying this back in with my correspondence with Carlos, the artist encouraged me to spread his work. He informed me that "my art is your art". It is this selfless spirit that will allow us to achieve our dream of bringing about justice in the region. Especially in a country like the US where ignorance tends to be prevalent, I think it is imperative that everyone one who is informed carry out their share of duty to inform those who are ignorant. In the words of Carlos,

"I beg you reader, my brothers and sisters-in-arts, to spread these cartoons. Reproduce them in posters, newspapers, magazines, zines, blogs, everywhere. Let's make the voice of the Gaza people to be heard all around the world."

Likewise, I encourage everyone to do all that they can to raise awareness regarding this issue, even if with a cartoon, to bring about an information revolution that can bring about justice about the genocide taking place in Gaza.

For more of Latuff's artwork, check out: http://tales-of-iraq-war.blogspot.com/
For more artwork to raise awareness about the current situation: http://www.gazaresist.com/