Following the afwal attacks on Charlie Hebdo which left 12 staff members dead the world stood by the magazine. When Charlie Hebdo reappeared with its first issue following those terrible events millions of magazines were sold. Bought in support of the right to freely express one's self through wit and satire. This week however Charlie Hebdo has crossed a line, one which should been left alone. A cartoon published this week asks the question: What would Alan Kurdi have become once he'd reached adulthood? The answer; An ass groper in Germany. Alan Kurdi is the Syrian refugee boy who was found drowned on a beach in Turkey. A picture of his lifeless body being carried by a policeman appeared in newspapers around the world and sparking outrage at how these people who were fleeing a civil war were being treated by European Union nations.
Charlie Hebdo decided that a dead child should be depicted as a man who sexually assaulted women in Germany. How sick is that? How disrespectful to Alan Kurdi and his family. Charlie Hebdo is like Donald Trump demonizing refugees simply because they aren't like them.
An insert at the top the cartoon contains the famous image of the three-year-old Syrian boy laying face down dead in the sand. The question at the top of the drawing “What would little Aylan have grown up to be?” is answered at the bottom by “Ass groper in Germany”.
The implication that all refugees grow up to be gropers has outraged many, but some people have defended the cartoon and interpreted it as a satire on tabloid perceptions of refugees.
Kurdi’s death on a beach in Turkey last year galvanised public opinion, and the widespread sympathy for the humanitarian crisis put pressure on European governments.
No comments:
Post a Comment