Zapiro challenges comrades in government

30 July 2015 - 13:41 By TimesLive
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First published in The Times on Thursday, 07 April 2011
First published in The Times on Thursday, 07 April 2011
Image: Zapiro

Cartoonist Jonathan Shapiro, known as Zapiro, says it is not his politics that have changed since the anti-apartheid Struggle, but rather perceptions of him by those who entered government.

Describing himself as a “patriotic sceptic”, Shapiro, who endured detention without trial for his roles in the United Democratic Front and End Conscription Campaign in the 1980s, describes in an interview how perceptions of his work have changed from when he served as an “activist cartoonist” during apartheid to the eras of presidents Nelson Mandela, Thabo Mbeki and Jacob Zuma.

While Madiba loved cartoons and understood their socio-political role, even when his government was being criticised, Shapiro said he was increasingly viewed as “an enemy” by erstwhile comrades when he tackled issues like the arms deal, Mbeki’s position on HIV/Aids and Zuma’s legal battles.

“Suddenly I was an enemy. And that I think is the same situation that you found with a lot of people. People who were in the Struggle together, but then some moved into government and others moved into media or civil society, and they're now suddenly seen as enemies. I was suddenly an enemy.

“I often feel that I kept the same kind of politics ... I think it's easier for people outside of government ... So I do admit that it's easier for some of us that did go into those kind of positions to stay outside and say ‘I'm going to keep on doing what I'm doing, you're the ones who are changing’. So it's a bit of a moot point as to whether I changed.

“I think my politics and what I was trying to do - upholding transparency and accountability and democracy - is not different from what I was doing in the 1980s or the early 1990s.”

Shapiro was speaking in a wide-ranging interview with broadcaster Ruda Landman, published by her corporate sponsor BrightRock.

Explaining the difference of how his work was perceived during Mandela’s presidency, he said: “I was able to do critical cartoons, but at the same time the people at the very top really appreciated that and also Madiba himself had this huge regard for the rule of law and for the institutions that he was busy setting up”.

When they spoke on one occasion, Shapiro said to him, “You would have seen since I met you (in 1994)… the cartoons getting more and more critical of the ANC and of government?" Mandela replied: "Oh, but that is your job?"

“And that's why it is my favourite story, because he really understood that thing of criticism and he really encouraged it.”

Landman also questions Shapiro about his upbringing in Cape Town, his marriage and children, how he was able to study on a Fulbright scholarship despite an erratic university record, dropping out to go abroad and his meeting with the famous Asterix artist Uderzo, in Paris.

After struggling to find the artist and despite language difficulties, he spent about 10 minutes with Uderzo and his family. “He was so amazing! And that was a very key moment for me. I just thought: ‘I'm actually going to do this thing’.”

Asked if there are things that he aspires to do next, Shapiro told Landman that while he did not want to take too much time away from editorial cartoons: “We're making figurines, we're soon going to be releasing little figurines of little political figures and that's incredibly exciting. I'm working with a fantastic sculptor”.

He also hopes to try “autobiographical stories of things, of experiences, of my most interesting stories. I'd really like to do them in comic form, so not necessarily graphic novels, but graphic journalism or graphic autobiography. I'd love to do that”.

The full interview can be viewed on the Change Exchange - A corporate sponsor of Ruda Landman's show.

Zapiro is a cartoonist for The Times - See his archive here...

 

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