Cartoons for humanitarians

As an illustrator/cartoonist, I’ve been working all alone at home for more than twenty years. I have no idea what office life is like, so when someone tells me that their co-workers feel left out when they’re not cc’d in their emails, that intrigues me.

I made this cartoon after a conversation last week at a conference and, for a change, I wasn’t alone.

This is Pat Byrnes, a renowned (New Yorker) cartoonist and me in front of our little booth at the Global Dialogue Platform on Anticipatory Humanitarian Action in Berlin.

Pat was also inspired by the do’s and don’ts of email CC’s.

cartoon draft by Pat Byrnes

During the three day conference, participants walked in to talk about anything that was on their minds.

As the days progressed, the walls of our booth filled up with cartoon drafts based on what people were saying. Unsurprisingly, humanitarians have a lot on their plate that goes beyond inbox frustrations. This conference was about anticipatory action, or in other words: how do we prevent the worst from happening when we know a disaster is going to strike?

Pat and I are both not humanitarian workers, which means people had to explain things to us that are obvious to them. We helped them untangle their minds with our questions and visualise what came out.

This one I drew after someone talked about the importance of tracking and sharing any mistakes that were made.

At any time during the conference, people could come by to take a look at the cartoons and connect with other participants over a shared laugh.

It was humbling to listen to the people who devote their lives to helping others. There were some really heartbreaking stories too. Amongst all that, this bit of dark humor by Pat cracked me up.

Cartoon draft by Pat Byrnes

We need humanitarian aid now more than ever. While a humanitarian crisis in Gaza unfolds, people in Turkey, India, Morocco, Libya and other parts of the world are still without a home due to floods and earth quakes. Please consider making a donation, for instance to The Red Cross Red Crescent Movement, Doctors Without Borders, The World Food Programme or Unicef.

I hope these comics provided some comedic relief in these trying times. Take care.

With love,