Our series of posts marking the passing of CARTOONISTS RIGHTS’ founder Robert “Bro” Russell continues. Here we will gather tributes from past winners of our Courage in Cartooning Award, which since 2019 has borne Dr. Russell’s name, as well as other cartoonists he assisted in his time as our Executive Director.
Nikahang Kowsar was among the first to hear the news and react to Dr. Russell’s death (his full tribute is here). He was also a very early winner of our award, the third cartoonist so honored in 2001 after being criminalized in Iran. Nik became a board member when he settled in North America and is currently the Vice-President.
“Bro, with the help of the Association of Canadian Editorial Cartoonists, was able to invite me to attend their convention in Quebec City. The story of how I passed through the gates of hell, and how I got to Montreal, isn’t relevant today. What’s on my mind is the moment I saw him for the very first time, when he came to pick me up at the hostel to take me to Quebec City. We had spoken many times, but this was the first time talking face to face… As I landed in North America, Bro gave me the opportunity to give back, to be part of the team fighting to save cartoonists like me. We attended conferences, meetings, and gatherings, and spoke to people from all around the globe. Our trip to Tunisia after the Arab Spring, and his efforts to help active members of the community join forces to save the art, like the workshop in Columbus, Ohio after the Charlie Hebdo massacre, are just small examples of his crusade.”
“I owe my success to many, but I also owe my life to people like Robert Russell, who acted selflessly, defending my right to live, exist, and express my ideas. My deepest condolences to his loving wife, Hemamalie, his son, Robby, and his extended family, near and far, and also to the cartooning community, which just lost a friend and a warrior defender.”
Later, Bro and Nik assisted other Iranian dissidents including Kianoush Ramezani, who eventually fled to Europe. He remains one of our Regional Representatives.
“I am deeply saddened to learn that Dr. Robert Russell has passed away. All my memories from Tehran since 2003 suddenly flashed in front of my eyes. I still remember his warm voice and the long phone conversations I often had with him from Tehran, conversations that sometimes got me into trouble with the Iranian regime’s intelligence service. I cannot define my career without Robert, whom we in the Cartoonists Rights Network International family know and affectionately call “Bro.” He played such an important role in my journey and represents such a significant part of it. Bro founded and directed CRNI for many years, building it into the core organization dedicated to supporting cartoonists at risk and defending freedom of expression. I am honored to have served as one of CRNI’s regional representatives. Like dozens of political cartoonists around the world, I owe my freedom and my international career to him and to CRNI.”
“Bro was always there, present and supportive: from when I was in Tehran representing CRNI, doing everything in his power so I could attend a conference in China in 2004 when I was blocked by the Iranian House of Cartoon, to supporting my participation in another major international conference in 2006 on freedom of expression following the publication of the Muhammad cartoons in Denmark. Held at the Central European University in Budapest, the organizers invited me to represent CRNI, and Bro insisted that I go instead of himself. I am forever grateful, Bro.”
Dr. Adéwálé Adénlé, originally from Nigeria and now based in the US, is a fine artist, cartoonist, and academic. Below is an excerpt from a longer obituary to be published shortly.
“As a political cartoonist working in Nigeria during the oppressive years of military dictatorship, I began corresponding with Bro in 1997. Those conversations were long. They were intellectually provocative, politically courageous, and deeply compelling. Bro had a remarkable ability to make one think beyond the immediate circumstance, to see the cartoon not simply as an illustration of an event but as an intervention into the moral architecture of society. Those conversations inspired me to form the Cartoonist Rights Initiative in Nigeria (CARIN), which soon metamorphosed into the Cartoonist Association of Nigeria (CARTAN) in 1998. In that sense, a part of Bro traveled with me.
I finally met him in person in Douala, Cameroon, in June 2000, when a Freedom Forum/U.S. State Department-funded initiative, in conjunction with CARTOONISTS RIGHTS, invited me to speak at an extraordinary three-day workshop for African cartoonists and free-speech advocates. There, alongside Joel Pett, a Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist with the Lexington Herald-Leader; Zapiro of South Africa; Papa Diawara of Mali; and Paul “Popoli” Nyemb of Cameroon, among others, we explored the responsibilities, dangers, possibilities, and power of political cartooning in Africa.
It was more than a workshop. It brought together people who understood that sometimes the pencil must stand where the microphone is silenced. That same year, Bro graciously wrote a remarkable five-page foreword to my first book, Mixed Feelings: 15 Years of Adewale Adenle’s Cartoons. His words remain etched in my memory for capturing, with characteristic Russell precision, the peculiar vocation of the editorial cartoonist.
He wrote: ‘Editorial cartoonists are paid not to be polite, not to be careful, and not to be ineffective. They are paid to be the bee that stings mankind in exactly the place where it will reveal the most about the inherent weaknesses of being human. Political office makes some humans into little gods. Cartoonists put them back where they came from. Sometimes, the gods and their minions do not like this.’
That was Bro. He understood the cartoonist’s peculiar responsibility: to sting without hatred, provoke without malice, question without fear, and make power answerable to the public.”
Tony Namate (Zimbabwe) received the Courage in Cartooning Award in 2004. He had been pressured and forced from his post by state-sponsored violence.
“Bro first contacted me in 2003 at my workplace during the time when my newspaper The Daily News was literally under siege from Robert Mugabe’s government, war veterans and ruling party goons. At one time the situation was so tense we worked with the front doors of our offices locked, and we had to use a back entrance. Shortly after, the newspaper offices were bombed. A while after that, it was followed by the bombing hour printing press, and it was later revealed that an anti-tank mine had been used to destroy the printing press. I had no idea I would one day be invited to receive the Courage in Cartooning Award at the 2004 convention of America’s cartoonists in Kentucky, where I met the veterans of American cartooning like KAL, Oliphant, Joel Pett, Anne Telnaes, and many others whose names I can’t recall. Besides being cartoonists’ defender, Bro did have a sense of humor. I shall forever miss and be grateful for his contributions to my craft. He fought the good fight and may his soul rest in eternal peace.”
The following year Musa Kart (Türkiye) was recognized for the lawsuits leveled at him by then prime minister, later President Recep Erdoğan. Ultimately Kart would serve a prison sentence along with multiple colleagues from Çumhuriyet newspaper.
“We have lost Dr. Robert Russell. He will go down in the history of cartooning for his courageous stance in defense of freedom of expression. My dear friend, I will remember you throughout my life with gratitude and love.”
Zulkiflee Anwar Ulhaque – Zunar – was the Courage in Cartooning Award laureate in 2011 following repeated judicial harassment and arrests in Malaysia.
“Deep sorrow. I have lost a defender and a member of my ‘family’. This news has hit me incredibly hard. Bro was not just a defender of cartoonists like myself; he was truly a member of our family. Dr. Russell was the first person to recognize my work internationally, bringing global attention to my legal struggles. Looking back to September 2010, I had just been released from detention after being arrested under the Sedition Act for publishing my comic book, Cartoon-O-Phobia. Shortly after, I received an email from Dr. Russell, who was then the director of CARTOONISTS RIGHTS. He requested a comprehensive report on the persecution I was facing, including the government raids, book bans, and my arrest. A few months later, I received another email from him that read: ‘Dear Zunar, it is with great pleasure that I announce the Board of Directors has selected you as the recipient of the 2011 Courage in Cartooning Award. This is a prestigious honor for editorial cartoonists. I congratulate you once again; you now join the ranks of some of the finest and most influential cartoonists in the world.’
That initial honor paved the way for me to receive subsequent accolades, including the Cartooning for Peace Award in Geneva. I always marveled at Dr. Russell’s unwavering dedication to defending the rights of cartoonists worldwide – especially given that he was not an artist himself. He was deeply invested in my safety, regularly emailing me, issuing press statements, and writing directly to the Prime Minister of Malaysia demanding an end to my state harassment. He did the exact same for hundreds of other targeted cartoonists across the globe.
His passing is a profound loss that will be deeply felt by political cartoonists everywhere. Rest in peace, Bro Russell. Your physical presence is gone, but your incredible legacy will never be forgotten.”
Pedro X. Molina (Nicaragua) had his place of work at Confidençial raided by police and felt constant threat from government loyalists. After winning our award in 2018 he eventually fled to the USA.
“The driving force behind CARTOONISTS RIGHTS for many years […] He literally saved the lives of some of us cartoonists. My eternal gratitude to Bro and the entire team for their help and friendship over the years.”
Further tributes may be sent to: [email protected]
