We will miss you Charlie
“Nous sommes Charlie” (We are Charlie) is a trending hashtag on social media since Jan. 7, the tragic day a French satirical newspaper staff was attacked by two gunmen, killing twelve people including four famous French cartoonists.
Maybe you would ask who is Charlie and why he became so popular. “Charlie Hebdo” (Weekly Charlie) is the name of the satirical newspaper whose editorial board was murdered by terrorists because of their drawings. The editor of the paper, Stephane Charbonnier (Charb) was killed along with three other well-known French cartoonists, Cabu, Tignous, and Wolinski.
As a journalist, this slaughter horrified me. The thought of someone being murdered in 2015 for exercising their right, freedom of speech seemed impossible. It also saddens me personally because I grew up reading the works of one of the victims, the Jewish cartoonist Georges Wolinski. Since I first read his work 17 years ago while I was in high school in Haiti, I was addicted and captivated with him. Wolinski made me laugh and challenged me to think deeper. His drawings and humorous dialogues remain forever etched in my mind. Wolinski died at 80 years of age.
The attack on Charlie Hebdo was unanimously condemned by the world and tagged as the ultimate crime against freedom of speech. President Barack Obama expressed his sympathy to the French people, cartoonists around the world drew their feelings about the awful killing and the general public are suddened to see these individuals go. This was not just an attack against a French newspaper, but against the whole media entity. The message sent by terrorists was clear: If we get offended by what you publish or broadcast, we can and we will silence you. After the killings, the terrorists reportedly shouted “Allahu akbar!” and “We’ve just killed Charlie!”
“Charlie Hebdo” has gotten threats in the past about their cartoons. In 2011, the newspaper was firebombed because of cartoons about Islamic prophet Muhammad.
Intolerance and hatred have caused these group of individuals to act in such an extreme manner, over an illustration. A caricature is worth a thousand articles. Sometimes people don’t read a newspaper but they will look at satirical cartoons that summarize the current events and they will get a good laugh.
It appears that dictators and fanatics are afraid of laughter. However, laughter is a good indicator of the level of democracy and tolerance in a given society. Whether it’s in France or in the US, the ability to laugh about serious matters is a good thing.
What happened in France could also happen in the United States. Before the Charlie Hebdo carnage, we had the Sony Pictures hacking where someone flashed a red skeleton at a Sony headquarters in California and threaten to attack any theater that played the movie, The Interview. Fortunately no one was killed, but still it was also an attempt to gag freedom of speech.
