ما 2786 مهمان و بدون عضو آنلاین داریم

INTERVIEW

By: Azad Karimi

. My name is Jawad Morad from Kangarlu, a village close to Derka Hamko, Kurdistan-Syria. But soon my family migrated to Shaam(Damascus). I went through my education in Shaam, then went to university and studied archeology, then went to art faculty for two years and started cartooning in 1998 and animation in 2008. I will provide it. This is my job.

Interview

Kurdish Cartoonist & Animator

Jawad Morad

By Azad Karimi

 

It has been four weeks since Iran is undergoing a great social revolution, in which women play the main role in its creation. The most interesting thing is that men support them!

Pay attention! In an Islamic country, Iran, with most of the Shi'a religion followers live, has been occupied by militia mullahs for forty-three years, and Sepah e Pasdaran (Revolutionary Guards), which was created by Khomeini to destroy the Iranian national army to protect the corrupt and religious radical fascist system in Iran, it is happened!

The dimension of violence and killing of protestors by the repressive forces of the regime is very wide, and maybe one day after the victory of the Secular Revolution Feminist Democratic of Iran discovered the real number of those killed by accessing confidential government documents. Because in this whirlwind of disasters, you cannot recognize anything. We do not have access to a regular telephone. Phone lines are closed for calls outside of Iran. The Internet is down. Almost no news.

The killing continues in Kurdistan, especially in Sanandaj and Saqez. Last Friday, Zahedan was a blood-bath and some statistics show that more than 180 people were killed in this city.

The cities of Rasht, Tehran, Karaj, Kermanshah, Isfahan, Shiraz, Yazd, Mashhad, Kerman, Bandar Abbas, Abadan, Ahvaz, Semnan, Zanjan, Shahinshahr, Arak, Tabriz, Khoi, Urmia, Mariwan, Piranshar, Kamiaran, Baneh, Mahabad, Bukan and many cities in Iran are the scene of demonstrations and the protests of the Iranian people are against the regime of Mullah-Pasdar of Iran.

There has been a real massacre in Sanandaj. But fortunately, the revolutionary youth punished several commanders of the suppression team in the streets of Sanandaj, and this punishment was proportionate to the crimes committed by these terrorists of the Islamic regime of Iran in this city.

The people of Kurdistan are united. They have learned to be self-sufficient, stand on their own feet, fight to take care of their families, and send their children to university to raise a civilized generation that three weeks ago at the grave of Jina/Mahsa Amini raised the slogan of woman, life, freedom and their brothers-sisters in Tehran, Tabriz, Rasht, Yazd, Mashhad, Ahwaz and 150 cities of Iran raised this slogan and finally this slogan was repeated in the European parliaments and other countries of the world and become a symbol for the revolutionary and constructive intellectualism of today's Iran.

Killing innocent people is annoying, but I admit that we Kurds, although we are victims of Iran's Islamic regime, we have learned to fight and not to be afraid... In addition to this great struggle and resistance, we have an intellectual and wise generation and modern that has logic that they have strong arguments, so they cannot be deceived by religious rituals. Islamic religious rituals threaten and encourage people to obey and submit to backward Islamic laws.

What has happened in the Kurdish community of Iraq is humiliating way,  and the Kurdish youth in Iraq are often the slaves and worshipers of the mullahs...

Of course, they are victims. The Kurdish youth in Iraq were very civilized, educated, and avant-garde until 1991, but the government of Iraqi Kurdistan became a terminal for the movement of all kinds of criminals and Islamic radicals...

In any case, we in Iran are currently experiencing a democratic feminist secular revolution that has never happened in the world. Iranian youth are very educated, interesting, and talented. In these three weeks, like their Kurdish brothers and sisters, they made confused and nervous about the stupid Iranian regime with very complex and advanced methods... In this short period, they have published very interesting and beautiful hymns and songs that are very admirable.

Now that I am writing this introduction, my dear friend Angela Tursi from Italy asked me to publish this new clip of hers: Pasión... It is a contemporary tango written by her. I thank the dear, lovely, and artist Angela. So on behalf of myself and her, I present to all the boys and girls of Iran.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yiTaqHibKPQ

 

I tell all the young people of Iran that they are not alone and many people around the world admire them and wish them success and support them.

I also love these wise and beautiful and brave young people and I promise that my countless friends all over the world also love Iranian youth.

I advise them to consider generality and not go into details so as not to get mentally and practically confused in the fight against the regime of the Mullah-Pasdar.

The general idea is that they must overthrow the regime of the Islamic Mullah-Pasdar of Iran. They must not enter the margin and repetition. Time is short and they must succeed in the best and shortest possible time with the lowest costs.

They must not be fooled by the words. Reform is the context of the renaissance. They are creating a renaissance. They should remember that they are past the reform era. There is nothing to reform. They have to build and rebuild a ruin.

But first, they have to take back the ruin that it captured by Night hag, and then work hard to build this ruin you own.

We can! So don't be fooled by fraudsters and political bankrupts who want to use you to build a bridge for their progress and reconciliation with the terrorist regime of Iran. They always criticize the reformers who are thinking of preserving the regime, but the result of their actions is the same as the strategy of the reformers. They are always looking for a big deception called expediency... Expediency means political juggling and personal and group ambitions.

Therefore, in the Renaissance, there is no such thing as expediency, but there is the national interest, and you are fighting to protect the national interest.

These days and nights are very strange and historical, but they are not new to me because forty years ago we were living in the same situation as today. But one thing is different: Kurds were alone in those days and no one supported them, but now all Iranians are experiencing the historical transition to democracy, secularism, and laicity, and no one is alone. Everyone is together at the peak of unity and solidarity.

 

I would like to invite you to read the interview of my dear friend Jawad and enjoy it.

I wish happiness and success to my dear friend Jawad.

 

Thank you!

Østland- Norway

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?Please present yourself: Name, education, marital status, and...

. My name is Jawad Morad from Kangarlu, a village close to Derka Hamko, Kurdistan-Syria. But soon my family migrated to Shaam(Damascus). I went through my education in Shaam, then went to university and studied archeology, then went to art faculty for two years and started cartooning in 1998 and animation in 2008. I will provide it. This is my job.

 

?What is your artistic specialty

. I generally do the artwork. I am a cartoonist, but the animation is also my work and I am busy with it, and I am also an art director.

 

? When and how did you become interested in these artistic fields

. I got acquainted with cartoons when I was 13 or 14 years old. I found that through art I can express my ideas and thoughts. Due to the leftist tendencies of my older brother, our family was political. On the other hand, since we were Kurds and the Kurdish identity has a specific political definition, I became familiar with the world of art and politics.

 

? What and who was your motivation

.Two things motivated me, firstly the topic and secondly the people. These two mean that different themes came to my eyes and the second one was a communist family. From my childhood, I experienced issues that later became the theme and basis of my cartoon works, such as inequality, deprivation, oppression, social backwardness, and global disasters.

Later, when I turned them into caricatures, many people who knew me supported me mentally, especially my older brother Idris, who played an important role in supporting me. Also, his friend and my teacher at school looked at my work with admiration and supported me, and encouraged me a lot.

When you go through the stage of infancy and start creating works that you have cultivated yourself, it may not be liked by your family, friends, and people, but I believe that it should be done because you should not submit to the wisdom of others.

My motivation was my way of life. I grew up as a Kurdish child in Damascus and saw the situation of the Kurds who were very oppressed. Systematic oppression by the Syrian regime on the people of Kurdistan. Since then, I realized that I have to convey my thoughts and tell others what kind of persecution the Kurds are experiencing in Syria.

 

? What was the reaction of your parents

.At first, my parents were afraid that I entered the world of cartoons at a young age because I was very attached to cartoons and neglected school lessons. But when they saw that I was very talented in cartooning and my friends, acquaintances and neighbors encourages me, Papa started supporting me, but more support came from my older brother and friends. Like a teenager, when I saw my friends and acquaintances encouraging and supporting me, I got motivated to try harder and be more creative and create more beautiful caricatures.

 

? When did you become a professional Cartoonist and Illustrator

. At first, I studied and did my work as an amateur and participated in various exhibitions, or my works were published in various books. But since 2005, I recognized myself as a professional cartoonist, and from 2008 onwards, I decided to stop all my other activities and focus all my attention and effort on cartoons and animation. Slowly, I started collaborating with some specialized Syrian art magazines, and therefore I can say that from 2006 onwards, my livelihood way as a professional cartoonist and animator was established. But I must say that until this moment, whenever I start drawing a new cartoon, I am afraid that my new work will not be good and professional and will not respect the theme. I try to be a professional cartoonist, and my art to be a professional artist level.

? Please tell us: Do you see a special connection between painting, cartoons, and culture

.All artistic and literary disciplines are connected. Because when you read a book or watch a movie or listen to music, it has a special effect on you and gives you the idea of creating a caricature. But the characteristic of a good caricature is that it should be simple, deep, non-dogmatic, and close to people so that it can be understood by people and people can communicate with it.

 

? Are you grateful and happy for your cartoon and painting wor

.I am very happy to create a literary or artistic work, but at the same time, I also have mental pain and every time I create a work of art, it hurts my heart. Most cartoonists at the moment they create a cartoon and in it, they show some kind of mockery but inside they feel pain and suffering. Because it is this suffering that forces the artist to create a caricature. But I am happy and proud about the fact that I create cartoons as a Kurd because I support my nation. After all, I do it to feel empathy for the oppressed. This is the mission of a cartoonist who must be a friend and defender of the oppressed in the world.

 

? Why are some paintings or cartoons immortal

.Regarding your question, I have to answer that some issues that could be the theme of the cartoon have not disappeared yet. Like the issue of slavery and the misery of humanity, cruelty, oppression of man to man, the cruelty of man to animal, cruelty to women, cruelty to children, poverty, war, disease, lack of development, and cultural and economic backwardness have not disappeared. For example, you see cartoons from a hundred years ago, which still express the problems and issues of this era in a way, because the topic that was the theme of that cartoon a hundred years ago still exists and is still the basis for creating new cartoons. At the same time, there is a problem here that the creation of caricatures depends on media and advertising issues, for example, you have a subject like President Trump, the president of the United States, and every time you create a caricature about him, it gets attention. When his term as president is over, everything about him in the cartoon world is over.

?We live in an era where cartoonists, journalists, and writers are imprisoned or killed for their work. For example, pay attention to the Charlie Hebdo magazine story... what a disaster it was. Your cartoon works are very controversial and critical. Aren't you afraid of punishment

.That's right! We are living in a period where radicalism is very powerful from two perspectives: firstly, political domination and secondly, religious radicalism, both of which are enemies of freedom of expression and thoughts, intellectual and liberal people, and social critics... Therefore, always cartoonists are in danger in many places, for example, they are killed in prison or they are killed in the street. Yes! There is fear... fear of radical people or regime censorship... you know! Religious fanatics do act on their thoughts. They are lurking. They only think of killing their critics and opponents. They resort to force and violence. The weapon of writers and painters is the pen, and the weapon of radical Islamists is power and force.

 

? Cartoons are not necessarily funny. For example, Aylan Kurdi's famous cartoon caused the face of Europe to change completely and several million immigrants immigrated to this continent. Why do you think cartoons are popular

.From my point of view, a work of art that has great meanings, that is simple and deep and without any problems and can convey its strong and good message to the audience. so that you can clearly see its impact on the audience. You can also see that many organizations pay a lot of attention to the works of cartoonists, or some civil organizations that pay attention to human rights pay special attention to cartoon works and invite cartoonists to celebrate their works. For example, you mentioned the caricature of Ailan, whose body was lying on the beach, which appeared as the bitter satire. That is, you, while you are sad by the stupidity of the current situation, you feel laughting. A laugh based on mockery and anger.

 

?Can you explain the logic of painting? I would like to ask you about the effect of cartoons on our lives. Can you tell us about it

.We cartoonists work based on the logic of One line. line or border. We walk on this border. This is the boundary line of separations. The separation between good and bad, black and white, right and wrong, the border between all the contradictions that we see and are the subject of our work, such as hunger and fullness, domination and oppressed, war and peace, freedom and slavery, oppression and rebellion against oppression. On the other hand, caricature is a reflection of the cartoonist's thoughts. When a person understands these differences, he can express his reaction to them in a humorous and sarcastic way (caricature). Although this issue is painful and uncomfortable, the cartoonist or talented and creative person challenges the tyrant and the logic of domination and totalitarianism with this funny  method so that dictator sees himself in it, and distorts his awe and dignity, and the oppressed, his fear is reduced and dictator’s taboo is broken and the oppressed laughs, and with this means, the vulnerability of the domination and totalitarian system is displayed by the cartoonist.

I must say that domination and totalitarianism are not related to a specific person but include other human phenomena, that is, this domination and the totalitarian system may be manifested in religion, an ideology, or a religion. The effect of caricature on people is the destruction of people's fear, the breaking of taboos, and the taboo of awe of the system of domination. ...that is, when you make the oppressed people laugh, and the means of this laughter is the dictator, you humiliate him and dare the people to criticize him and finally rise against him and overthrow him from power and destroy his rule system and be freed from his oppression and you can't say that a caricature will change the world, but we can say that a strong caricature can be one of the reasons that can create great changes. Like Ailan's story... but the creation and publication of Ailan's cartoon were preceded by many tragic reasons and stories that caused Ailan's cartoon to suddenly cause a great transformation and open the gates of America and Europe to immigrants and refugees. Many times people are dissatisfied with a regime and these dissatisfactions are accumulated in the hearts of the people, and finally due to an event such as a writer's writing or a caricature by a cartoonist, like a spark of a fire, this warehouse full of anger explodes in the society and leads to there are many changes and transformations in society and even the world.

For example, look! The story of the killing of a girl named Jina(Mahsa) Amini because of the lack of hijab in Iran alone is not the reason for the revolution we are seeing these days. Rather, this current unrest and demonstrations in Iran have been caused by years of oppression, violence, and dissatisfaction in this country, but the spark of the explosion of this anger and rebellion was caused by the killing of Mahsa Amini.

 

? How do you view art, cartoons, and the future of culture

.Art is the friend and companion of man. As long as humans exist, there is also art, and caricature and art are progressing day by day and presenting a thousand new methods. Previously, we had six or seven well-known art schools, but now more advanced and new methods are introduced in the field of art. Previously, you used to create a work of art by hand, but now the computer also does this work, it is also an art method, but the art that is made by hand is mixed with human feeling and perception, and it becomes eternal. From my point of view, social media plays a big role in the distribution of cartoon works. For example, there are Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram so we try harder not to lag behind others and expose our work to the public... But before we had to wait for a magazine or a TV channel to publish and present our works or interview us so that people get to know us. But now you draw a cartoon and at that moment you publish it on your Facebook page and it is exposed to the public and thousands of people can see it. This is a good opportunity but it is a new challenge for the artist because you have to work harder and harder to present newer ideas with higher quality and stronger themes to be closer to the people and to be able to express the pains and sufferings and problems of society with a more expressive voice. Reflect and serve people while keeping your art alive and fresh and moving it forward.

 

? Can you be part of the artistic-cultural movement to motivate the youth or the new generation in your country and others

.Not only cartoons and me as a cartoonist, but all artistic and literary fields can have a great impact on the new generation and show the right way and the means of their progress and vice versa. Both cartoonists and other artists can influence the new generation by fighting oppression and bullying. The new generation is naturally growing up and they are also learning how to have their own opinions and views in their lives and they are learning that they should not commit some ugly and disrespectful behaviors because from the point of view of writers, artists, thinkers and intellectuals and cartoonists and filmmakers become criticized...

Because these elite people have presented their thoughts and views and have criticized moral anomalies and social diseases, and this is like an experience that is the basis of action for the next generations. For example, fighting against racial discrimination is a practical experience, and the new generations know that having beliefs that lead to racial discrimination, such as the superiority of the white race over the black race, is a distasteful issue, and in this era, hardly someone dares to talk about these issues because it is criticized by thousands of people. Therefore, I can say that cartoons and works of art have become part of the educational affairs of our generation.

? How can you help our world to be a better place to live

. Day by day, when we draw cartoons and criticize the bad and praise the good, these all help to make the world a safe and good place for human beings to live with dignity. This is because our work day and night is to fight evils, discrimination, inequalities and wars. We must respect humans, animals, and nature and remove discrimination, and in this way, life becomes easier and better for humans. Life is not possible without difficulty, but the point is that we try to create a better situation for life. Don't do bad things. We must calculate our actions, what good and bad things we have done to others. When we open our eyes every morning and wake up, think about our responsibilities towards our family, parents, spouse, siblings and others. Respect nature and our living environment and do not pollute it. In the car and the market and wherever we always think how we can be useful and in my opinion art and caricature is a tool with which I can draw a better world.

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