By: Azad Karimi

Doing expositions, conferences, I try to defend this part of the culture. I also go to the classroom and discuss with pupils. I’m also thinking of having a place for my satiric newspapers where I’ll receive people and classrooms.

 

Interview

French Collector of Satiric Newspapers Cyril Bosc

By Azad Karimi

 

I promised to try to write about Aziz Nesin. He is one of the famous Satirical novelists from Turkey! He is one of the most popular and controversial novelists in the Middle East. In Iran and Iraqi Kurdistan, his books have been published many times in Persian and Kurdish.

Wikipedia says:

Aziz Nesin was also a critic of Islam. In the early 1990s, he began a translation of Salman Rushdie's controversial novel, The Satanic Verses. This provoked outrage from Islamic organizations, who were gaining popularity throughout Turkey, who then tried to hunt him down.

On July 2, 1993, while attending a mostly Alevi cultural festival in the central Anatolian city of Sivas, a mob organized by Islamists gathered around the Madimak Hotel, where the festival attendants were accommodated. After hours of siege, the intruders set the hotel on fire. After flames engulfed several lower floors of the hotel, firetrucks managed to get close and Aziz Nesin and many guests of the hotel escaped. However, 37 people were killed.

This event, also known as the Sivas massacre, was perceived as censorship, and human rights in Turkey were allegedly disrupted at that time. It also deepened the rift between fundamentalist Muslims and those that they regard as infidels.

He devoted his last years to combating religious fundamentalism.

Aziz Nesin died on 6 July 1995 in Cheshme, İzmir, due to a heart attack. After his death, his body was buried at an unknown location in land belonging to the Nesin Foundation, without any ceremony, as requested in his will...(Wikipedia)

The Donkey and the National Service Medal, by Persian translated, was a book from Aziz Nesin the great that I bought and read when I was a teenager! LoL!

The book is translated into Persian under the title of The donkey who won a medal.

The Iranian publisher writes in Persian in the introduction of this book writes:

 *In dealing with society, the novelist (Aziz Nesin) used satire to write. To better understand the meaning of the writer, to get the main purpose of the author you have to be very smart and sensitive. And what is seen in appearance should not lead to a deep understanding of it.*

This book was published in 1982 in Tehran.

The publisher's inference is that Aziz Nesin only criticizes the social and political relations of the Turkish nation, so the Iranian reader of the book has no right to think that these cases can be criticized in Iran!!!!

Why should we not call this kind of thinking ideological and political fascism? Aziz Nesin criticized political repression, censorship, high prices, superficiality, corruption, theft, fraud, and oppression.

Is it only the Turkish people who endure these problems and sufferings and the Iranians are in grace and prosperity?

What a big lie! What dirty censorship! What overt propaganda! The mission of the book is enlightenment and insight! But the publisher of this book writes, read the book but do not think about it!

So if that is the case, let the banned books be published in Iran and the censorship is lifted because what is in the sentences is just the appearance of words to entertain and fill our free time.

Unfortunately, in Iran, books and censorship are like twins. I advise my dear friend Cyril not to look for humor and satiric magazines in Iran because he will not get anything.

I wish my dear friend Cyril the best in his life with happiness and success.

 

 

Thank you!

Vestland-Norway

 

 

 

1- Please present yourself (Name, education, Civil status, and...)

. My name is Cyril Bosc. I live in the south of France. I am 48 years old. My serious job is to sell biological materials for houses. On the other part, I own a large issue of the satiric newspapers from 1945 to our day. I own more than 10 000 issues for 350 different titles. I make expositions, conferences, write articles…

 

2- What is your artistic specialization?

 .I am not an artist. I am an archivist of satiric newspapers. I keep this magazine and newspaper for people who want to read them and to save them for the future.

 

3- When and how did you become interested in this field?

.First, I am a reader since I was 15. I buy satiric newspapers all my life. Fifteen years ago, I began to look for an old newspaper to complete the series.

 

4- Who was your motivator?

.First, laughing! I think it is important to laugh at the news. Even at the sad news… Mostly at the sad news! Then, I think the satiric view of the world is essential. Satire makes you understand the world in another way.

 

5- What was your parent’s reaction?

. My parents completely agree with that.

 

 

6- When started you such as a professional archivist of satiric Newspaper?

.I am not a professional, just passionate. I hope it can become a job later, maybe… I started to show my issues after the killing of Charlie-Hebdo journalist. I wanted to show what is satire to most people.

 

7- Are you thankful and happy because of your activities as an archivist?

.Very much! It gave me the chance to meet my favorite cartoonist. And become friends with some of them.

 

8- How you see the view for The Satire and the future of culture?

. Very difficult question! We can speak about this for hours and hours. I am sure that satire is essential. But, it’s difficult to understand because of the difference in culture, tradition, religions,… In a lot of countries, satiric cartoonists can’t work. There is satire only in a liberal and democratic country. With the killing of Charlie Hebdo journalists, we saw that the satiric view is fragile, even in a democratic country. We must fight all days to defend this point of view.

 

9- Can you become one part of the cultural movement for motivation in youth or the new generation in your country and so then?

.Doing expositions, conferences, I try to defend this part of the culture. I also go to the classroom and discuss with pupils. I’m also thinking of having a place for my satiric newspapers where I’ll receive people and classrooms.

 

10- How can you help our world become a better place to live?

.Laughing and thinking! I’m sure that satire makes people laugh and thinking from a different point of view. That is essential for a better world.

 

11- Have you more words to say or suggest for our readers?

.Read and defend satiric cartoonists! Don’t wait they were in jail or murdered!

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