Zarah's Paradise
Zarah's Paradise (German title: Zarah's Paradise - The Green Revolution in Iran and a Mother's Search for Her Son ) is a webcomic published free of charge on the Internet by the Iranian-American human rights activist, journalist, documentary filmmaker and writer Amir and the Arab artist Khalil in 2010 , which was published as a book in 2011 in Germany and various other countries.
About Amir and Khalil
Amir worked in the USA, Canada, Europe and Afghanistan. His articles and essays have found global press coverage. Khalil's artistic work is highly regarded. He made sculptures and ceramics and began drawing his own cartoons at an early age . Zahra's Paradise is his first graphic novel . The names of the authors are pseudonyms ; they want to remain anonymous - for obvious political reasons.
Publication history
The webcomic was published online in English , Persian , Arabic , French , Spanish , Italian , Dutch , Korean , Hebrew , Portuguese and German . In September 2011, the printed version of the webcomic appeared simultaneously in various countries, including the USA and Germany.
action
In 2009, the conservative politician Mahmud Ahmadinejad was re-elected Iranian President after 2005 , which was accompanied by numerous allegations of manipulation. There were massive protests on the part of the population, which continued to increase despite the violent suppression of even peaceful demonstrations, especially towards the end of 2009. Ahmadinejad's confrontational foreign policy and repressive domestic policy have led Iran to almost complete international isolation since 2005. Zahra's Paradise takes place in the aftermath of the 2009 elections in Iran and tells the fictional story of the search for Mehdi, one of the participants in the demonstrations against the election results, who disappeared in Iranian penal camps. What keeps the memory of Mehdi alive are the perseverance and courage of his brother and his mother, who refuses to leave her son to fate. Zahra's Paradise is based on the experiences of real people and real events.
criticism
Zarah's Paradise has received very positive reviews from the German-speaking press. For the FAZ , Zarah's Paradise is an “explanatory piece of something difficult to understand: Iranian society and its political power system.” Spiegel Online stated: “ Historical events that are processed into visual novels have caused a sensation in recent years. Persepolis , in which the Iranian exile Marjane Satrapi reports on her childhood during the Iranian revolution , and Maus , in which Art Spiegelman addresses the persecution of the Jews in the Third Reich: the mix of history and comics is a recipe for success. What makes Zarah's Paradise special is the lack of time distance to the events described, because the story of Mehdi, which is the story of many Iranians, is far from over. It continues while it is converted into a comic in real time. "
Zarah's Paradise in Germany
In September 2011, Amir and Khalil were guests of the International Children's and Young People's Literature program at the 11th Berlin International Literature Festival . For political reasons, the two could not travel to Berlin, but presented their webcomic via Skype on the main stage in the Haus der Berliner Festspiele in front of around 600 schoolchildren. Despite the enormous risk of being recognized, Amir and Khalil discussed face-to-face with the audience about the political situation in Iran and how their webcomic draws attention to these conditions during the event . The event was the first in the world where Amir and Khalil spoke to a public audience without anonymization . The book market described the event as follows: “Amir and Khalil, who now live in California and write under pseudonyms, could not travel to Berlin themselves because they have to remain anonymous for political reasons. A moving moment was the live connection to Amir and Khalil, who sat in front of the PC at three o'clock in the morning to answer the questions of the German students. An experience for everyone involved. ”Due to the positive response to the event, Amir and Khalil decided in autumn 2011 to hold further events while revealing their identity.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Swantje Karich: The regime has everything under control . In Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung of March 1, 2012, accessed on May 8, 2012
- ^ Terror, black on white . In Spiegel Online on June 16, 2010, accessed on May 8, 2012
- ↑ 24,000 visitors at the 11th Berlin International Literature Festival . In Buchmarkt on September 19, 2011, accessed on May 8, 2012