In the spirit of freedom of speech and pushing boundaries as did the satirical cartoonists who lost their lives in the Charlie Hedbo tragedy, Greek cartoonists have chosen to aptly mourn in the form of cartoon.
Dimitris Chantzopoulos chose to comment on the event through the simple depiction of a pencil and eraser as a metaphor for the individuals who create and the others who destroy.
Another cartoon by Ilias Makris shows four of the cartoonists killed in the attack in the form of evil creatures. Upon arriving to a version of a Christian Paradise, they are welcomed with a banner and told “For you we will make an exception”.
Others chose to provide further explanations with their cartoons, Andreas Petroulakis going that extra mile and making a written statement online.
Petroulakis portrays the cartoonist drawing traditionally with a pencil or a pen, but instead with his own blood.
He goes on to say, “cartoonists and jihadists have one important similarity. They both move inside a fantasy world. They also have an important difference, in that the imaginary world of cartoonists is a product of human intellect and has permanent cosmic references while the world of the Islamic fundamentalist is one otherworldly, imaginary Paradise, to which they only answer to. These two worlds can communicate like a pen can communicate with a Kalashnikov. The cartoon is the naughty child of enlightenment and religious fundamentalism is the spoiled child of darkness,” he said on protagon.gr.
“The French cartoonists who perished yesterday were not afraid of them. The cartoonists across Europe have flooded today’s press and the internet with bold sketches as responses to fear.”
Petroulakis clarifies that his opinion is not against religion or any one particular religious group, but against the blind religious fanaticism and extremism that some adopt to fuel such horrendous acts.
Satirist cartoonists in Greece have great respect for the French, who they say are willing to push boundaries that others in the industry are to afraid to do.
One of the cartoonists killed in the attack, George Wolinski was a role model for many Greeks, having once attended a cartoon festival in Greece.
“He meant a lot,” Greek cartoonist Maria Tzaboura told macleans.ca.
Despite the tragic loss at Charlie Hebdo, the surviving members have found the strength to push on and will publish an edition next Wednesday with the financial support of the Digital Press Fund.