The burdens and survivals of the old regime are still to be feared in Tunisia. The cartoonist who knew how to use social networks to transmit her satirical comments under the pseudonym Willis From Tunis returns to what she would like to be able to take for granted: the end of self-censorship. She gave this interview to The life of ideas some time before deciding to speak openly.
Today, commitment in Tunisia means fighting for this freedom that we have taken away, trying to preserve it because it is fragile. Concerning me, it’s fighting for freedom of expression through my caricatures, through my character ; not falling into self-censorship, remaining as spontaneous – not necessarily to attack but only to savor this freedom that we have won so dearly and which is brand new – ; do not fall back into the methods of intimidation that we have known for decades ; and above all no longer have our old reflexes of remaining silent and self-censoring so as not to have problems.
I used Facebook because there are almost three million Tunisians of all ages who have a Facebook account. But initially it was intended for those around me, for my friends. If I started making drawings, it was really for those close to me. I didn’t have any idea of being committed or anything. I just wanted to bring a smile back to the people around me who were suffering. What followed – the fact that they and hundreds of other people shared the drawings – completely overwhelmed me. But the main thing was to remain spontaneous, to try to say what I felt and to go from tragic to comic. It was a catharsis, a way to release anxiety. Fortunately there was Facebook or the Internet or Twitter to be able to share all that. Today, even after the elections, even after the results which disturbed us all a little, it is a tool for communicating which is enormous, more than television, more than radio, more than any media, a way to share our ideas as much as possible, whether we are for or against, with thousands of people.
I used a character who is the cat. The cat has always been a symbol used by anarchists, by libertarians… The cat is independent. So it’s not gratuitous, but at the same time the goal was to take a step back and make fun a little – even if the dramatic situation didn’t make you want to laugh. It’s a bit like having a laugh at a funeral. It’s always these tense moments where you have a fit of nervous laughter. The goal was graphically to laugh, even if it wasn’t the time. I received a lot of messages from people who looked at my drawings, who said to me: “ Keep it up, it saves me from taking Xanax. » I continued because I needed it – but if I could also be on an antidepressant, that was ideal for me.
I think the main thing is to express yourself. Expressing myself was forbidden to me for so long that it is an incredible pleasure. When you are lucky enough to live in a country where there is not a dictatorship, there is no censorship, you have to express yourself, create a blog, get things out there even if you don’t know how to write , even if you don’t know how to draw. But in any case try to share things, to bear witness. It will perhaps create a snowball effect but in any case that “ will fuel the cause. »
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