When Bernard Hage, the political cartoonist who goes by the pseudonym The Art of Boo, finished putting together his book in the summer of 2019, he had no idea that its publication would be delayed four times: first by revolution, followed by economic collapse, then a global pandemic and finally the vast explosion last August that left swathes of Beirut in ruins.
The book he published late last month, Anatomy of a Hummus Plate, is a very different book than the one he had finalised before the October 2019 uprising began. A collection of more than 250 of his cartoons, it has transformed from a wry reflection on life's trials and absurdities to a tragicomic documentation of Lebanon's slow collapse.
“I figured this book now serves as a perfect introduction to what has been happening in Lebanon,” he reflects. “I was really anxious to publish the book as soon as possible because I’m not really confident about the future. I don’t know what’s going to happen and I really wanted to publish it before the next tragedy hits.”
Hage, who studied advertising before becoming an artist, became a cartoonist almost by chance. His earliest cartoon, included in the book, captures a therapist talking to a patient. “I’m going to show you a series of images. Tell me what first comes to mind,” he says, holding up a sign that says, “You are a failure.”
In 2018, after several cartoons published on his social media pages had gone viral, Hage was approached by Lebanon's French-language national newspaper, L'Orient-Le Jour for a role as a political cartoonist.
“After that I started following up more with politics,” he says. “Now, the first thing I do when I wake up is I check all the news platforms I’m following to know what’s going on because I need to know what I need to make a joke about.”
Many of his cartoons dwell on traffic, power cuts and other day-to-day infrastructural problems that plague the Lebanese. "I'm just fortunate enough to transform this frustration into humour," he says.".
Over the last three years his work has become increasingly political. Initially, he says, he was nervous about pillorying Lebanon’s long-serving ruling class. “I was very anxious about it because I didn’t really know what I was walking into… I didn’t know what are the rules of the game and what am I allowed to criticise and what am I not allowed to criticise,” he recalls.
Aware of Lebanon’s increasingly punitive measures against government critics, he has found a unique way to crack jokes without opening himself up to accusations of defamation. His distinctive drawing style allows him to satirise Lebanon’s politicians simply by drawing figures wearing black suits and ties, without any need to name or identify them in a caption.
"I know very well where I'm living ... I know very well what the repercussions would be when it comes to insulting or bashing or naming things in person, so I do the extra work," he says.
"I manage to work with what I have. I'm not allowed to portray these people. Okay. So I'm going to find a different solution."
In one cartoon, he openly mocks Lebanon’s crackdown on freedom of speech, depicting an officiant performing a wedding ceremony with the words, “For better or worse, in sickness and in health, till one of you mentions the president in a Tweet.”
Even in the bleakest times, Hage finds ways to dig humour out of tragedy, a practice he calls catharsis humour. “It’s like someone laughing at a funeral,” he says. “I think simply by living in Lebanon I’ve been trained to release stress in the form of laughter because it’s the only thing we have. It’s the last wall standing between us and total chaos or total darkness.”
But in the aftermath of the explosion in Beirut’s port last August, which left more than 200 people dead, over 7,000 injured and an estimated 300,000 displaced from their homes, his overriding emotion was fury. The first cartoon he published, days after the blast, had two panels. The first showed a selection of oddly shaped objects labelled like flat pack furniture. In the second they had been assembled to form a guillotine.
Another blast-related cartoon shows one of Hage’s distinctive suit-wearing politicians helping to sweep up glass in the streets, handing out aid packages and ushering a family into a new home. In the final panel, he awakes in bed and tells his wife, “I just had the weirdest dream.” The cartoon highlighted the fact that volunteers led the clean-up and relief efforts with no support from politicians or government institutions.
Having unexpectedly become one of the country’s most prominent sources of political commentary, Hage sometimes feels anxious about how best to live up to the responsibilities of his role. But he says fans often tell him that his work offers them hope.
“Using humour really helps break the drama, especially when it comes to political cartoons,” he says. “It helps deconstruct this godly image... It brings them to a human scale again and when they are human they are replaceable. You have this feeling of superiority when you’re laughing about someone. It gives you some sort of mini victory over that and this is, I think, the role of humour in politics. When you’re really laughing, you cannot be afraid.”
Anatomy of a Hummus Plate is published by Les Editions de L'Orient-Le Jour and available to purchase online.
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Read more:
TV host Ricardo Karam on resilience and optimism in Beirut: 'This is the strength of the Lebanese'
Why 'Raya and the Last Dragon' was the project Lebanese animator Louaye Moulayess was 'waiting for'
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Tips to avoid getting scammed
1) Beware of cheques presented late on Thursday
2) Visit an RTA centre to change registration only after receiving payment
3) Be aware of people asking to test drive the car alone
4) Try not to close the sale at night
5) Don't be rushed into a sale
6) Call 901 if you see any suspicious behaviour
Moon Music
Artist: Coldplay
Label: Parlophone/Atlantic
Number of tracks: 10
Rating: 3/5
Our legal consultant
Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
What is an ETF?
An exchange traded fund is a type of investment fund that can be traded quickly and easily, just like stocks and shares. They come with no upfront costs aside from your brokerage's dealing charges and annual fees, which are far lower than on traditional mutual investment funds. Charges are as low as 0.03 per cent on one of the very cheapest (and most popular), Vanguard S&P 500 ETF, with the maximum around 0.75 per cent.
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The first ETF was launched as recently as 1993, but the sector boasted $5.78 billion in assets under management at the end of September as inflows hit record highs, according to the latest figures from ETFGI, a leading independent research and consultancy firm.
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While the best-known track major indices such as MSCI World, the S&P 500 and FTSE 100, you can also invest in specific countries or regions, large, medium or small companies, government bonds, gold, crude oil, cocoa, water, carbon, cattle, corn futures, currency shifts or even a stock market crash.
Overall standings
1. Christopher Froome (GBR/Sky) 68hr 18min 36sec,
2. Fabio Aru (ITA/AST) at 0:18.
3. Romain Bardet (FRA/ALM) 0:23.
4. Rigoberto Uran (COL/CAN) 0:29.
5. Mikel Landa (ESP/SKY) 1:17.
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-final, first leg
Tottenham v Ajax, Tuesday, 11pm (UAE).
Second leg
Ajax v Tottenham, Wednesday, May 8, 11pm
Games on BeIN Sports
AndhaDhun
Director: Sriram Raghavan
Producer: Matchbox Pictures, Viacom18
Cast: Ayushmann Khurrana, Tabu, Radhika Apte, Anil Dhawan
Rating: 3.5/5
Film: In Syria
Dir: Philippe Van Leeuw
Starring: Hiam Abbass, Diamand Bo Abboud, Mohsen Abbas and Juliette Navis
Verdict: Four stars
Results
Ashraf Ghani 50.64 per cent
Abdullah Abdullah 39.52 per cent
Gulbuddin Hekmatyar 3.85 per cent
Rahmatullah Nabil 1.8 per cent
List of officials:
Referees: Chris Broad, David Boon, Jeff Crowe, Andy Pycroft, Ranjan Madugalle and Richie Richardson.
Umpires: Aleem Dar, Kumara Dharmasena, Marais Erasmus, Chris Gaffaney, Ian Gould, Richard Illingworth, Richard Kettleborough, Nigel Llong, Bruce Oxenford, Ruchira Palliyaguruge, Sundaram Ravi, Paul Reiffel, Rod Tucker, Michael Gough, Joel Wilson and Paul Wilson.
Groom and Two Brides
Director: Elie Semaan
Starring: Abdullah Boushehri, Laila Abdallah, Lulwa Almulla
Rating: 3/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Scoreline
Saudi Arabia 1-0 Japan
Saudi Arabia Al Muwallad 63’
How to avoid crypto fraud
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Tamkeen's offering
- Option 1: 70% in year 1, 50% in year 2, 30% in year 3
- Option 2: 50% across three years
- Option 3: 30% across five years
pakistan Test squad
Azhar Ali (capt), Shan Masood, Abid Ali, Imam-ul-Haq, Asad Shafiq, Babar Azam, Fawad Alam, Haris Sohail, Imran Khan, Kashif Bhatti, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Naseem Shah, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Mohammad Abbas, Yasir Shah, Usman Shinwari
Paatal Lok season two
Directors: Avinash Arun, Prosit Roy
Stars: Jaideep Ahlawat, Ishwak Singh, Lc Sekhose, Merenla Imsong
Rating: 4.5/5
Game Changer
Director: Shankar
Stars: Ram Charan, Kiara Advani, Anjali, S J Suryah, Jayaram
Rating: 2/5
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League, last 16, first leg
Tottenham Hotspur v Borussia Dortmund, midnight (Thursday), BeIN Sports
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Fight card
1. Bantamweight: Victor Nunes (BRA) v Siyovush Gulmamadov (TJK)
2. Featherweight: Hussein Salim (IRQ) v Shakhriyor Juraev (UZB)
3. Catchweight 80kg: Rashed Dawood (UAE) v Khamza Yamadaev (RUS)
4. Lightweight: Ho Taek-oh (KOR) v Ronald Girones (CUB)
5. Lightweight: Arthur Zaynukov (RUS) v Damien Lapilus (FRA)
6. Bantamweight: Vinicius de Oliveira (BRA) v Furkatbek Yokubov (RUS)
7. Featherweight: Movlid Khaybulaev (RUS) v Zaka Fatullazade (AZE)
8. Flyweight: Shannon Ross (TUR) v Donovon Freelow (USA)
9. Lightweight: Mohammad Yahya (UAE) v Dan Collins (GBR)
10. Catchweight 73kg: Islam Mamedov (RUS) v Martun Mezhulmyan (ARM)
11. Bantamweight World title: Jaures Dea (CAM) v Xavier Alaoui (MAR)
12. Flyweight World title: Manon Fiorot (FRA) v Gabriela Campo (ARG)
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More coverage from the Future Forum
Why it pays to compare
A comparison of sending Dh20,000 from the UAE using two different routes at the same time - the first direct from a UAE bank to a bank in Germany, and the second from the same UAE bank via an online platform to Germany - found key differences in cost and speed. The transfers were both initiated on January 30.
Route 1: bank transfer
The UAE bank charged Dh152.25 for the Dh20,000 transfer. On top of that, their exchange rate margin added a difference of around Dh415, compared with the mid-market rate.
Total cost: Dh567.25 - around 2.9 per cent of the total amount
Total received: €4,670.30
Route 2: online platform
The UAE bank’s charge for sending Dh20,000 to a UK dirham-denominated account was Dh2.10. The exchange rate margin cost was Dh60, plus a Dh12 fee.
Total cost: Dh74.10, around 0.4 per cent of the transaction
Total received: €4,756
The UAE bank transfer was far quicker – around two to three working days, while the online platform took around four to five days, but was considerably cheaper. In the online platform transfer, the funds were also exposed to currency risk during the period it took for them to arrive.
Lowest Test scores
26 - New Zealand v England at Auckland, March 1955
30 - South Africa v England at Port Elizabeth, Feb 1896
30 - South Africa v England at Birmingham, June 1924
35 - South Africa v England at Cape Town, April 1899
36 - South Africa v Australia at Melbourne, Feb. 1932
36 - Australia v England at Birmingham, May 1902
36 - India v Australia at Adelaide, Dec. 2020
38 - Ireland v England at Lord's, July 2019
42 - New Zealand v Australia in Wellington, March 1946
42 - Australia v England in Sydney, Feb. 1888
Glossary of a stock market revolution
Reddit
A discussion website
Redditor
The users of Reddit
Robinhood
A smartphone app for buying and selling shares
Short seller
Selling a stock today in the belief its price will fall in the future
Short squeeze
Traders forced to buy a stock they are shorting
Naked short
An illegal practice
Teams
Punjabi Legends Owners: Inzamam-ul-Haq and Intizar-ul-Haq; Key player: Misbah-ul-Haq
Pakhtoons Owners: Habib Khan and Tajuddin Khan; Key player: Shahid Afridi
Maratha Arabians Owners: Sohail Khan, Ali Tumbi, Parvez Khan; Key player: Virender Sehwag
Bangla Tigers Owners: Shirajuddin Alam, Yasin Choudhary, Neelesh Bhatnager, Anis and Rizwan Sajan; Key player: TBC
Colombo Lions Owners: Sri Lanka Cricket; Key player: TBC
Kerala Kings Owners: Hussain Adam Ali and Shafi Ul Mulk; Key player: Eoin Morgan
Venue Sharjah Cricket Stadium
Format 10 overs per side, matches last for 90 minutes
Timeline October 25: Around 120 players to be entered into a draft, to be held in Dubai; December 21: Matches start; December 24: Finals
ICC T20 Team of 2021
Jos Buttler, Mohammad Rizwan, Babar Azam, Aiden Markram, Mitchell Marsh, David Miller, Tabraiz Shamsi, Josh Hazlewood, Wanindu Hasaranga, Mustafizur Rahman, Shaheen Afridi
