Posted on 02/11/2003 3:10:44 PM PST by chance33_98
Arab News cartoonist Kahil dies in London
By Khalid Al Maeena, Editor in Chief
JEDDAH, 12 February 2003 — Arab News cartoonist Mahmoud Kahil died yesterday after undergoing surgery at a British hospital.
An internationally known political cartoonist, Kahil was the technician in charge of the publications of the Saudi Research & Publishing Company, which publishes Arab News and 16 other publications.
Prince Faisal ibn Salman, chairman of the Saudi Research & Marketing Group, expressed his deep sorrow on hearing news of the death of Kahil, who had been working for the company since 1979.
In a full-page obituary in Asharq Al-Awsat, a sister publication of Arab News, Prince Faisal conveyed the condolences of the company’s board members and staff of all its publications to his daughter Dana and son Nazmi.
Kahil was born in the northern Lebanese city of Tripoli and studied at the American University in Beirut. Soon he was a graphic designer for an advertising agency.
He then worked for a weekly magazine Usbu Al-Arabi as a layout designer and it was there that his first cartoons were published.
He moved to London following the civil war in his country and remained there over 20 years. Over the last 35 years, his career changed three times.
He leaves behind a wife, Widad Khalil Al-Mesfi.
I first met Kahil a couple of months after I took over as editor in chief of Arab News in May 1982.
I saw him sitting in a small windowless room filled with cigarette smoke, almost a caricature of the great cartoonists.
We discussed a few topics. I was surprised by his knowledge of the film world. He could discuss any film or actor.
Over the years during my numerous trips to London Kahil and I would meet at the office or go out for a meal at one of his favorite Lebanese restaurants.
He was a man of simple taste. His eyes always had a twinkle, and whatever the situation that twinkle stayed in place.
Kahil was at heart a humanist. He cared for the poor, the oppressed and the dispossessed. It did not matter what the ethnic or religious beliefs these people held.
He was also a great supporter of the Palestinian people and their just cause for independence.
Some of his best cartoons were exhibited during the 1982 Israeli invasion of Lebanon.
No one has exposed Menachem Begin and Ariel Sharon’s bloody history better than he, with his fine lines.
As an Israeli recently wrote, “I admire your cartoonist M. Kahil. He has such an incisive, unassuming style. A style that is so lacking in our miserable region. It is relieving to find that the ‘enemy’ is human.”
Kahil’s cartoons found themselves in papers the world over. And when we went online the message spread like wildfire.
All good innings have come to an end. And Kahil’s innings ended yesterday.
Kahil’s departure leaves a void which we’ll find difficult to fill.
However, we are grateful that he so enriched our lives.
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