Illustrations by editorial cartoonist and RFE/RL broadcaster Hozhaber Shinwary
The World According To Hozhaber Shinwary
1
Hozhaber Shinwary turns a satirical eye on his government and its allies. This cartoon shows George Bush and Tony Blair standing with Hamid Karzai in front of a false facade of a stable Afghanistan, complete with typographical errors.
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This illustration shows Karzai struggling to stay on track as world leaders -- Pervez Musharraf, George Bush, Mahmud Ahmadinejad, and Vladimir Putin -- pull him in many directions.
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Former Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf is subject to particular criticism as an apparent protector of extremists.
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Another cartoon shows Karzai and his government suffering from a corrupt system of foreign aid tapped by nongovernmental organizations.
Shinwary himself previously worked for an NGO in Pakistan, MADERA, as well as for the UN’s refugee agency and the BBC.
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This illustration asks whether the foreign influences on a more open Afghanistan -- such as McDonald's -- are entirely positive.
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Afghanistan's opium poppy crop casts a deadly shadow.
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In Shinwary's vision of post-invasion Afghanistan, bombs fall as a helpless population waits for assistance.
“The pain and suffering of people and nature around me made me who I am,” Shinwary says.
8
Turning his sight beyond the region, the cartoonist imagines Barack Obama barely managing an impossible task.
9
“I believe that one day the suffering of the people of Afghanistan will end,” Shinwary says. “I will do everything that is in my power, through my pen, my art, and my love to bring this moment closer.”