Je suis Charlie

Screen Shot 2015-01-08 at 10.30.05Wednesday 7th January 2015 is my personal intellectual 9/11. The massacre of Charlie Hebdo and the two policemen who were stationed at their offices has left my soul deeply wounded. Just in the morning of this day, while I was driving, I was listening to the interview of Michel Houellebecq on France Inter. Michel has been invited for the launch of his latest book, “Soumission”: it is a fiction wherein France elects a Muslim president in 2022 and has Francois Bayrou, a center right politician as prime minister. Michel is one of my favorite French writers, he has always written controversial fictions. I ordered his book on my return back home without ever imagining the killing happening a few hours later in Paris. I discovered the satirical drawings of Charlie Hebdo during my studies in Strasbourg and became really fond of them. Their drawings always made me smile, I never felt them provocative or insultive, they reflected pictures and questions of our daily lives. How can cartoons create such hatred, such crimes? These are just drawings, ink on paper, ideas, feelings, expressions on paper. Charb, Cabu, Wolinski and the others draw cartoons about Mohamed, about the Pope, the Church and other subjects. They were not islamophobic, they were gentle, kind, anti-racist anarchists, who were forced to draw and live under police protection since 2011.
France has been a secular country since centuries, it has accepted one of the most advanced constitutions back in 1789. Despite its colonialism thrive, France has welcomed many generations of immigrants. France is for me not only the baguette carrying white guy, the cheeses and wines, but also Barbès, Nabila or Jamel Debbouze. France welcomed me in their universities when I was not allowed to study in Germany, when I was escaping my German army service. France still stands for Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité and no abominable act will change this.I trust France that it will always continue to defend the liberty of humans as they have been doing it recently in Mali. A manhunt for the Paris gunmen has been launched. These fools are just the tools for these crimes, they are not the master minds behind this barbaric act. I believe that more energy should be spent to investigate the origin of funding of these djihadisme. Our personal lives are strictly monitored and regulated by different authorities. Our governments have no scruples doing business with persons, families, countries in the Middle East who openly support extremist groups. We buy the petrol from the Islamic State, we sell them the weapons who kill us. Aren’t we hypocrites, to cry today the death of people we loved when ultimately we finance the perpetrators?
Charlie Hebdo will live, no matter what they do to us. Our liberty to speak, think, draw, sing, cry will remain unchanged. Charb, Cabu, Wolinsky have been killed, other will replace them. We will never surrender.

Leave a Reply