Cartoons that inspire

An Egyptian man standing in front of Egypt's Ministry of Defence holds a poster of a cartoon in protest against military trials. The cartoon, among many others that have been raised in demonstrations in Egypt, is signed Latuff 2011.

Carlos Latuff, a Brazilian-born freelance political cartoonist, never imagined his cartoons would get world recognition, even better inspire activists who sit kilometres away from the place where the cartoons are created.

"It's unbelievable for me think that some of the work used by protesters in downtown Cairo was made here in my room and sent via Twitter," he told Weekend Review during a phone interview.

Latuff has become a familiar name among demonstrators in Egypt. As they correspond via Twitter, they send him updates on the situation and he creates the cartoons. It is like they are on a mission together.

Be it a fight for democracy, for rights or against brutality, Latuff has it covered in his caricatures.

For him, getting his work out has become his life's goal. "When I see a shop in Occupied Jerusalem where people are selling T-shirts with my cartoons on it, this is exactly what I want," he said.

He has made the reproduction of his work in print and online, which he describes as "activism", free of charge. "People don't need my permission [to reproduce my work]," he said. "This is not professional work. This is solidarity work."

His all-time aspiration has always been to create cartoons that can move and inspire people, he said. "I am very satisfied to see my artwork in the hands of protesters, because my main target is exactly the protesters and activists," he said.

"I get many requests from stations such as CNN, ABC and Al Jazeera to reproduce my artwork, and that's very good, because it gives more visibility to them."

However, in the beginning, becoming a cartoonist was not a career Latuff thought he could actually pursue. "I never thought I could make a living of drawing cartoons," he said. "In Brazil for you to find a job as an illustrator you need connections. And I didn't have those."

But Latuff's love for drawing, which started since he was in kindergarten, didn't go away as he grew older. It was at the end of the 1980s that he decided to take up cartoons professionally. "I decided to find a way to work as a cartoonist. It was the only thing I could make better," he said.

Throughout his career, there has been much debate over Latuff's open support for the Palestinians. "It's a personal issue for me," he said. When asked why he cared about the Palestinians so much, he said because "I was in Palestine and I saw how they live".

"I decided to support them with art and present a different view of the Palestinian-Israeli crisis," Latuff added.

His first trip to the Middle East was to the Palestinian territories in 1999 where he spent 15 days visiting places such as Bethlehem, Ramallah, Nablus and Hebron.

That same year, he published We Are All Palestinians, a cartoon series, which he said is his most important piece of work.

In 2009, he went to Lebanon for the first time, during which he visited Al Badawi Palestinian refugee camp.

"Anyone who has a heart will want to support the Palestinians in their fight for freedom and their right to rule their own life," he said. "When you are personally involved in a cause, you tend to give the cartoons a lot of energy and emotion."

His cartoons haven't been just about Palestine. Many have addressed the situation of Kurds in Turkey, the economic crisis in Greece, politics in Chile, police brutality in Brazil, the revolution in Tunisia, demonstrations in Egypt and the ongoing fighting in Libya. Although being a political cartoonist has been risky, Latuff is not afraid. "When you embrace a cause you need to be ready for everything," he said. "My job is to put my art at the service of causes."

The last name Latuff comes from his grandfather, Najeeb Latuff, who moved from Lebanon to Brazil sometime in the 1930s. Except for a couple of old photos and some letters in Arabic, there is very little information about his grandfather's life, Latuff said.

However, Latuff said that he had never identified himself as an Arab just because his grandfather was Lebanese. "Sometimes people tend to believe that I support Palestinians, Egyptians or any Arab movement because [the surname] Latuff is Arab or because I have an Arab grandfather." In reality, he says his last name has nothing to do with it.

Regardless of his ancestry, Latuff believes in the power of his cartoons to move people. Protesters across the Arab world have held up his cartoons in expression of their demands, and as they are growing popular they are making a difference.

"I beg cartoonists, painters, filmmakers and any artist to dedicate more time to human rights issues," Latuff said.

Towards the end of the conversation, he sent out a message of solidarity with the Palestinian people.

"We must remind people that Palestinians are human beings. We could devote more time to assist our brothers and sisters in Palestine," he said. Latuff hopes to visit the Middle East again — a place which he said is in his heart forever.