Syria’s most prolific and award winning cartoonist Raed Khalil talks with Hugh Naylor about political satire and attending a Holocaust cartoon contest in Iran. A distinguished war general stands in front of the mirror in full military dress with an array of polished medals shimmering from his uniform.

As he looks into his reflection, however, the drawing depicts the general ignominiously stripped of this proud façade: instead, he sees a naked man with little to show for his life, except for one forlorn medal dangling from his genitals.

Welcome to the imagination of Raed Khalil, an anti-establishment and perpetually thought-provoking cartoonist who, through the vehicle of political satire, seeks to expose injustice. “Drawing is something that has a profound effect on the human consciousness,” explains Khalil. “It has the ability to convey the suffering and pain of everyday people, and when you get close to understanding suffering and pain, you’re forced to take a stand on the issue.Taking a stand in life is courageous.

”Khalil’s caricatures and other politically charged cartoons consistently splatter the pages of publications such as Al Nour and Al Baath, where every Sunday he has a full page dedicated solely to his poetry and drawings. He is the recipient of countless awards from competitions from Iran and China to Azerbaijan. And, with his influence, he aims to promote a new generation of Syrian cartoonists.

“I started drawing seriously in preparatory school,” he explains at his West Damascus apartment as he flips through stacks of cartoon books, most of which showcase his own drawings.

“That’s where I found and established my artistic personality.” A slender man with an impish smile, his artsy persona is accentuated by long black hair, a neatly trimmed black beard, black trousers and shoes, and the quintessential Syrian leather jacket that is, of course, black. But don’t let the Goth attire fool you. Khalil exudes a welcoming aura of humbleness, and bestows upon guests glass after glass of tea and coffee

.Even before preparatory school, he knew he had a knack for art. His talents were first encouraged by an elementary teacher who marked his students’ work using calligraphy, an art form that has long since fascinated Khalil. By the age of eight, he organised a cartoon exhibition for his classmates in his hometown of Hama. In addition to the teacher and his fellow students, the mayor .


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Syria today-magazine-NO.25 -MAY 2007

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19/5/2007