An Iranian Metamorphosis
3 panels organized into 2 smaller panels at the top and 1 larger panel beneath.
Panel 1
(A man is lying on his side in a bed, eyes wide and exhausted, sweat on his brow.)
[Narration: One morning Gregor Samsa woke up in bed from an anxious dream and discovered . . . ]
Panel 2
(The man is lying on his back, still with wide eyes and sweat on his brow, grimacing as he looks down at his body out of frame.)
Panel 3
(The man looks down in horror at his body, which is the body of a giant cockroach.)
[Narration: He'd been changed into a monstrous verminous bug!]
(The man is lying on his back, still with wide eyes and sweat on his brow, grimacing as he looks down at his body out of frame.)
(In the bottom right corner, Mana Neyestani, a man wearing glasses and a t-shirt, lifts the image of Gregor Samsa as a cockroach, as if it is a curtain.)
Mana (shaking a finger): No! No! The metamorphosis starts with a cockroach too. But my story is slightly different.
1 panel fills the page.
(Block of text in a rectangular frame, except for “other Saturdays,” which is below the rectangle. The layout designer, a man wearing glasses and looking frustrated, points up at the text.)
[Narration: I started as an editorial cartoonist when I was 16. After that, I drew cartoons for many political, reformist, and opposition newspapers. But I had no trouble until the spring of 2000. Then, after 17 reformist newspapers were banned and I was out of a job for a while, I quit drawing political cartoons and worked for kids' and young adults’ magazines. Some of my colleagues who endured interrogations advised me that my name came up a few times and I had to watch out. Working for kids’ magazines lifted my spirits, plus it seemed less risky (well, I thought, not risky at all) . . . Boy, Can I be wrong! In 2004, the chief editor of Iran Jomeh, the weekend magazine leisure section of Iran newspaper, appointed me editor of the pages for children. For two years, everything went well, except that in 2005 the government, which funded our newspaper, got radically religious. And our management got hard-assed. But the management wasn't truly in our hair because we dealt with leisure, not politics. Every Saturday morning I'd come up with a topic for satire or science writing and on Sunday nights I'd do the illustrations and send it to the layout designer. That Saturday didn't seem different from any other Saturdays . . . ]
Layout Designer: What an idiot! You’ve crossed the frame again!
5 panels organized into 1 panel across from 2 panels stacked vertically in the top row (Panels 1, 2, and 3), and 2 panels in the bottom row (Panels 4 and 5).
Panel 1
(Mana sits at his desk, his back to the viewer, head propped up with his left hand and a cup of coffee on the table with steam rising to the top of the frame. In the foreground, a cockroach crosses the floor.)
[Narration: I was thinking about what shit I could afflict my 10-year-old cartoon character, Soheil, with.]
Panel 2
(A sheet of paper with a drawing of Soheil, a young boy with hair covering his eyes, the tip of a pencil on his nose.)
[Narration: It was May and Tehran had started to get warm . . . ]
Panel 3
(Soheil grins with his teeth showing, and reaches out of the paper to grab the tip of the pencil.)
Soheil: Admit it. You’ve run out of ideas!
Panel 4
(Mana at his desk, his back to the viewer. The steam in his coffee rises in the shape of a large cockroach.)
Mana: You wish! I’ll get you in big trouble this time. Just wait!
Panel 5
(Soheil looks up in fear, sweat dripping from his head, as the pencil draws the body of a human-sized cockroach above him.)
Soheil: What are you drawing? It’s not a . . .
5 panels organized into 1 panel in the top row, 2 panels in the middle row, and 2 panels in the bottom row.
Panel 1
(Soheil and the cockroach fight in three scenes: the cockroach chases Soheil, Soheil kicks the cockroach, and the cockroach kicks Soheil.)
Soheil: A cockroach! I hate them. Ow!
Panel 2
(The cockroach has pinned down Soheil, who points out of frame with one hand.)
Soheil: You’re not throwing a cockroach at me! I’ll get back at you. Don’t forget. I’ll get back at you.
Panel 3
(Mana’s face, resting his head in his hand.)
Mana: I’m going to do something really funny and call it “How to fight a cockroach.”
Panel 4
(A hand holds a pencil over two sheets of paper. A cockroach has crawled to the left corner of the frame, leaving a wiggly line as a trail.)
Panel 5
(View from below of Mana drawing at his desk from the floor, as a cockroach jumps from the edge of the desk.)
[Narration: But when I wasn't looking a cockroach jumped off the page.]
4 panels organized into 2 panels in the top row, 1 panel in the middle row, and 1 panel in the bottom row.
Panel 1
(The cockroach begins to crawl beneath a closed door.)
[Narration: Ran to the back door of the apartment]
Panel 2
(The cockroach runs down the stairs.)
[Narration: Skittered downstairs]
Panel 3
(The cockroach walks alongside a crowd of people’s feet, walking in both directions.)
[Narration: Got onto the street]
Panel 4
(A map of Iran with major cities and towns labeled, and the Caspian Sea labeled at the top of the frame. The cockroach crawls northwest between Tehran and Zanjan, with Tabriz and Ardabil past Zanjan.)
[Narration: Hiked all the way to the Azeri provinces to the cities of Tabriz and Ardabil. Just to form my future, and I knew nothing about it.]
7 panels organized into 3 panels in the top row, 2 panels in the middle row, and 2 panels in the bottom row.
Panel 1
(Mana sits up in bed, putting on his glasses, as his wife, Mansoureh, sleeps beside him.)
[Narration: A good week had passed from the date that issue was published.]
Panel 2
(A man’s face glares directly at the viewer.)
Panel 3
(Mana and Mansoureh embrace, kissing.)
[Narration: I kissed Mansoureh goodbye.]
Panel 4
(A man wearing glasses in profile, mouth open as he yells.)
Panel 5
(Mana strides down the street, a CD case in his hand, while an older man and woman look at him.)
[Narration: I put my week's work on a CD and ran to Iran Jomeh's office—was feeling great.]
Panel 6
(Mehrdad, the editor, sits at a desk, looks at Mana standing in the doorway.)
[Narration: At the office, Mehrdad, the editor, called me.]
Mehrdad: Mana! Before you go to the layout room, I want a word with you.
Mana: Sure!
Panel 7
(A man’s face cries out in agony.)
6 panels organized into 2 panels in the top row, 2 panels in the middle row, and 2 panels in the bottom row.
Panel 1
(A man, looking furious, reaches out of frame as if throwing or pushing something.)
Panel 2
(Mehrdad and Mana sit across from each other, with another journalist working and an official portrait on the wall in the background.)
Mehrdad: A couple of Azeri parents called and complained about the cockroach thing. I didn't pay close attention, but we have to watch out for ethnic sensitivities, you know.
Mana: Ethnic sensitivities?!
Panel 3
(Mehrdad holds up a newspaper, pointing to a cartoon.)
Mehrdad: Oh yes. In one of the cartoons a cockroach tosses out an Azeri word.
Panel 4
(A close-up of the newspaper. A finger points to Soheil speaking gibberish, written as “Soosoo soosking sisko sooski sooskung,” while sitting across from the cockroach, who says, “Namana?”)
Panel 5
(Mehrdad pushes the newspaper toward Mana in the foreground, as Mana speaks.)
Mana: You can't mean the “namana”! Are you kidding me? I often myself use the term. Whenever I can't get something I say, “Namana”?
Mehrdad: I know. It happens. Just be aware of it from now on.
Panel 6
(The face of a man wearing glasses and a t-shirt, yelling at someone out of frame.)
5 panels organized into 2 panels in the top row, 1 panel in the middle row, and 2 panels in the bottom row.
Panel 1
(Mana sits at his desk, his back to the viewer, looking at the computer screen with a mug of steaming coffee on his left and a ringing phone on his right.)
[Narration: Three or four days later I was surfing the internet when the phone rang.]
{RIIIIIING}
Panel 2
(Mana speaks as he holds the phone against his shoulder.)
Mana: Oh hi, Ali! How are you? Anything wrong again? Did the higher-ups censor another piece?
Panel 3
(View of newspaper office, with three men in the background on the phone and Ali on the phone in the foreground, all looking stressed.)
Man #1: Dear Sir. Stop cursing for a second for God's sakes. There was no such intention.
Man #2: You asshole, are you calling me a cunt?
Ali: We've been getting angry phone calls since this morning. Some people with Azeri accents are calling us and they sound really mad, most of them cursing.
Panel 4
(Mana faces the viewer while on the phone, looking shocked.)
Ali (through the phone): Haven't you seen the picture of the Azeri students' demonstrations online?
Mana: I never heard of such a thing but just give me a sec to check the news websites . . .
Panel 5
(Close-up of Mana’s face, looking terrified, sweat dripping from his brow.)
Mana: My god!
1 panel fills the page.
(Seven angry people protesting toward the viewer. The person in the center holds up the newspaper with Mana’s cartoon. The two people at each end of the frame hold up a banner which reads: “We condemn groundless insults about the honorable Turkish people.”)
[Narration: I could not believe that people were demonstrating against the Iranian newspaper and they were doing it because of just one word in my cartoon: Namana! The demonstrations were growing by the hour.]
6 panels organized into 1 panel in the top row, 2 panels in the middle row, and 3 panels in the bottom row.
Captions: In Iran Jomeh’s office we had an ad hoc meeting.
Panel 1
(Aerial view of the newspaper office. Mana sits across from Mehrdad, one man sits at another desk, and two other men stand and smoke.)
Mehrdad: Unfortunately, some group has photocopied the cartoon and has distributed it in Azeri cities. It's been misunderstood. The Azeris are offended because they think they’ve been called cockroaches. It's got rough. Some newspaper offices have been set on fire.
Mana: I am terribly sorry. It never occurred to me, not one iota, that it was offensive. If it helps, I can resign.
Panel 2
(Mehrdad lights a cigarette in his mouth while already holding a lit cigarette in his other hand.)
Mehrdad: No! If you resign it means that I agree it was an insult. We've already apologized a couple of times formally and informally.
Panel 3
(Mana sits in the lower right corner of the frame, while Mehrdad’s head and another colleague smoking are shadowy figures surrounding him.)
Mehrdad: I'm drafting my third apology to be published in Iran Jomeh this week. I hope that calms things down.
Mana: I again apologize. I’m sorry.
Panel 4
(Mana looks back at Raza, sitting at a desk in the background.)
[Narration: I stood up to go. Raza, the magazine's photographer, called me.]
Raza: Oh, by the way. Just to be in safe side, once you go home hide any alcohol if you have any. In case the police raid you . . .
Panel 5
(Close-up of Mana’s face, sweating.)
Mana: Police raid my apartment . . . ?
Panel 6
(Raza holds out a hand, to look comforting.)
Raza: Oh, I don't want to scare you. Hopefully, all will go well, but realistically, the case is starting to lean toward state security stuff.
7 panels organized into 2 panels in the top row, 2 panels in the middle row, and 3 panels in the bottom row.
Panel 1
(The cockroach looks down from a ledge at a crowd of protesters in the street, holding up signs.)
[Narration: Following several days, the demonstrations spread from universities to the streets.]
Panel 2
(Angry protesters hold up their fists and yell.)
[Narration: Tabriz Bazaar went on strike. The situation was getting worse.]
Panel 3
(Close-up of Mehrdad on the phone, looking exhausted, with two burning cigarettes in his mouth and a third in his hand.)
Mehrdad: Hello? Oh, hi, Mana? Had a call from Ministry of Information. They wanted both of us there for questioning tomorrow morning.
Panel 4
(Mana stands on the left side of the frame, part of his face cut off, holding the phone and sweating. Mansoureh stands in the background, looking concerned.)
Mansoureh: Anything wrong?
Mana: No . . . Nothing important.
Panel 5
(Mana and Mansoureh walk along the street, holding each other, with clouds and a crescent moon above them.)
[Narration: Very much like every other night Mansoureh and I went for a walk.]
Panel 6
(The clouds and crescent moon with a dark sky as background.)
[Narration: If only I knew what was waiting for me I would have carved the picture of the moon on my brain.]
Panel 7
(The crescent moon, covered in a grid as if behind bars.)
[Narration: Just as it was without a grid of lines.]
5 panels organized into 2 panels in the top row, 1 panel in the middle row, and 2 panels in the bottom row.
Panel 1
(Mansoureh leans back, looking shocked, as Mana points a finger while speaking to her.)
Mana: Mansoureh, take all of our booze and throw it out or give it to someone.
[Narration: The next day Mehrdad called to let me know that the questioning was changed from the Ministry of Information to the main prosecution office.]
Panel 2
(Mana and Mansoureh hold each other.)
Mansoureh: I’m scared.
Mana: Oh, it's nothing, sweetheart.
Panel 3
(Mana walks down a hallway, sweat on his brow, while Mansoureh stands in the doorway, a shadowy figure.)
[Narration: I was lying. For “nothing” they wouldn't have called us in. I knew a summons to go there was bad news.]
Panel 4
(Mana and Mehrdad sit in the backseat of a car, while the driver frowns holding the steering wheel.)
Mehrdad: By the way they suggested you say you have Azeri blood from one of your parents. That might calm the Azeris down a bit.
Mana: Sure. Since it is well known that my father was a famous poet from Kerman*, I can say my mother is Azeri.
Driver: Fuck this traffic jam.
[*Kerman is one of the non-Azeri cities of Iran.]
Panel 5
(Exterior of a building labeled “The Main Prosecution Office,” with guards on either side of the door and scales mounted above the doorway. Mana’s car is parked in front.)
Driver (from within the car): We’re here.
[Narration: We got there an hour late.]
4 panels organized into 1 panel in the top row (Panel 1) and 2 panels stacked vertically across from 1 panel in the bottom row (Panels 2, 3, and 4).
Panel 1
(Mana and Mehrdad approach the guarded door, and Mana looks over at a prisoner’s shackled hand holding a cigarette in the corner of the frame.)
Mehrdad: Hello, sir. We are Ghassemfar and Neyestani. We were asked here about the Iran case.
Guard: Second floor on your left. They’re waiting for you.
Panel 2
(Aerial view of Mana and Mehrdad walking up the stairs.)
Panel 3
(Maleki, a man wearing glasses, stands with light in the background, making him shadowy.)
Maleki: Mr. Neyestani! Mr. Ghassemfar! Welcome!
[Narration: He was waiting to receive us.]
Panel 4
(Closer view of Maleki, so he is less shadowy from the background light.)
Maleki: My name is Maleki. I'm sorry about what's happened. It's complex and we need to work together to solve it. Now sit down here while I go and have a word with the judge.
5 panels organized into 1 panel in the top row, 2 panels in the middle row, and 2 panels in the bottom row.
Panel 1
(Mana and Mehrdad sit on a bench in the background, looking through a doorway as Maleki leans over the desk of the judge.)
Mehrdad: He must be from the Intelligence Ministry. And “Maleki” is only an alias, I’m sure.
Panel 2
(Mana and Mehrdad’s profiles as shadowy faces in the foreground while Maleki and the judge continue to speak in the background.)
Mehrdad: I'm sure he’s convincing the judge to detain us, since he can't do it based on any law.
Panel 3
(Aerial view of the judge at his desk with Mana and Mehrdad sitting opposite him.)
Judge: I don't see that you've broken a law in your case. But some people have used this drawing as an excuse to cause unrest in Azerbaijan, so I have no other choice but . . .
Panel 4
(View of judge from below as he stamps a document.)
Judge: to put you under temporary detention
Panel 5
(The judge’s hand stamps a document in the foreground as Mana and Mehrdad look distressed in the background.)
Judge: . . . for a month.
Mehrdad: One whole month?!
5 panels organized into 1 panel in the top row, 2 panels in the middle row, and 2 panels in the bottom row.
Panel 1
(A car approaches a prison entrance.)
[Narration: In an hour we were on our way to Evin prison north of Tehran.]
Panel 2
(View of driver’s hands on steering wheel in the foreground as the car approaches a doorway that a guard opens, revealing two trees on the other side.)
[Narration: We passed the main door.]
Panel 3
(The car is parked beside an entrance to a building. Mana, Mehrdad, and two men from the Ministry of Intelligence stand beside the car.)
[Narration: Got to the building number 209, the detention center of the Ministry of Intelligence.]
Ministry Employee (holding a mask): Take this before you enter.
Panel 4
(The Ministry employee’s hand holds out an eye mask in the foreground, while Mana looks anxious in the background.)
Ministry Employee: You have to put these blinders on. Detention rules.
Mana: !
Panel 5
(Profile of Mana’s face as the blinders are tied onto him.)
6 panels organized into 2 panels in the top row (Panels 1 and 2), 1 panel across from 2 panels stacked vertically in the middle row (Panels 3, 4, and 5), and 1 panel in the bottom row (Panel 6).
Panel 1
(A black background with a white speech bubble.)
Maleki: Take off your blindfold.
[Narration: It was Maleki's voice.]
Panel 2
(Aerial view of Mana and Maleki facing each other in an interrogation room. Mana holds his eye mask, and Maleki stands next to a chair with a desk attached.)
Maleki: Salaam, Mr. Neyestani. I have to repeat how sorry I am about this.
Panel 3
(Maleki gestures toward the chair and desk, with pen and papers.)
Maleki: We believe there was a misunderstanding. But the people of Azerbaijan think otherwise. Please sit here.
Panel 4
(Close-up of Maleki’s face, smiling.)
Maleki: Try to put it all down. Don't skip any details.
Panel 5
(Close-up of Maleki’s hand gesturing to the pen and papers on the desk.)
Panel 6
(Close-up of Maleki’s eyes, with glasses.)
Maleki: Write why you drew that cartoon and why you used a Turkish word. There’s lots of time and paper. The more extensive and convincing the more it will help your case.
8 panels organized into 2 panels in the top row, 4 panels in the middle row, and 2 panels in the bottom row.
Panel 1
(Mana hunched over, writing at the desk, his front to the viewer. A cockroach crosses the floor in front of him.)
Panel 2
(Profile of Maleki, frowning as he reads Mana’s writing, while Mana looks on nervously in the background.)
Maleki: . . . And since summer was approaching and the weather was getting warmer and our house was full of cockroaches, I decided to make cockroaches the theme for that issue of the kids' magazine. The word “namana” is always used in Farsi. I didn't have its Turkish roots in mind.
Panel 3
(Close-up of Maleki’s profile.)
Maleki: Your answer isn't convincing, Mr. Neyestani.
Panel 4
(Close-up of Mana’s face.)
Mana: Not my fault if reality isn't convincing.
Panel 5
(Even closer image of Maleki’s profile, cutting off the top of his head and his chin.)
Maleki: Mr. Neyestani. Don't forget we’re not against you. But the Turkish people of Azerbaijan are. They believe that whole thing was designed to humiliate Turks and their culture. They won't accept any other explanation.
Panel 6
(Close up of Mana’s face, now sweating.)
Panel 7
(Maleki’s hand, holding sheets of paper, in the foreground, while Mana sits at the desk, sweating, in the background.)
Maleki: We'll continue our conversation tomorrow. Do try to find more solid reasons. You can take the pen and paper with you. You’re also allowed to keep your glasses.
Mana: What do I have to write in my cell?
Panel 8
(Maleki leans over Mana, who looks up, frightened.)
Maleki: Write about Iranian cartoonists that you know. Write anything you know about them. This is a unique chance for us to explore your information and complete our records.
4 panels organized into 1 panel in the top row, 2 panels in the middle row, and 1 panel in the bottom row.
Panel 1
(Mana sits on the ground, pages in his lap and the hand holding a pen at his side. The faces of four other cartoonists float around him.)
[Narration: I had to write whatever I knew about my fellow cartoonists. But not being a social person I fortunately knew next to nothing about any of them, so I decided to fill the pages with some gossip, or even words about the quality of their cartoons.]
Panel 2
(Close-up of Mana’s face, showing his forehead and one eye. The image of a man wearing glasses and drawing with a hand tremor floats beside him.)
[Narration: For instance Mr. “SH” is a good example, since his hands shake severely so now shaky lines are his style.]
Panel 3
(The same close-up of Mana’s face. The image of a man picking his nose while drawing a stick figure floats beside him.)
[Narration: Or Mr. “M” who is a paranoid type who knows nothing about drawing and sketching but thinks he is a big shot. Also, most of the time, he picks his nose in public.]
Panel 4
(Mana and the other cartoonists sit at a table in the style of The Last Supper, with Mana sitting where Judas Iscariot sat.)
[Narration: The fact that I didn't write anything important about people made me feel I wasn't a traitor.]
4 panels organized into 1 panel in the top row, 2 panels in the middle row, and 1 panel in the bottom row.
Panel 1
(View of three bodies and a hand, with blood around them. Armed soldiers stand in a doorway in the distance. The cockroach walks between the hand and one of the bodies.)
[Captions: At that time the government forces open fired on angry protesters in Azeri cities and caused bloodshed.]
Panel 2
(Close-up of the cockroach beside the hand on the ground, with blood on the floor.)
Panel 3
(The cockroach runs away from the bodies in the background, while blood continues to flow.)
Panel 4
(Blood spreads across the map of Iran, from north of Ardabil to Tehran.)
5 panels organized into 2 panels in the top row, 2 panels in the middle row, and 1 panel in the bottom row.
Panel 1
(A guard stands outside the prison as blood flows toward the doorway. The cockroach crawls beside it.)
Panel 2
(The blood and the cockroach travel up the stairs.)
Panel 3
(The blood and the cockroach move down the hallway into one of the cells.)
Panel 4
(Mana looks down in horror as the blood flows into his cell, the cockroach crawling beside it.)
Panel 5
(Blood rises in the cell up to Mana’s waist. He reaches for help, his hand crossing the frame.)
5 panels organized into 2 panels in the top row, 1 panel in the middle row, and 2 panels in the bottom row.
Panel 1
(Only Mana’s face is visible above the blood.)
Panel 2
(Mana’s hand reaches up from the sea of blood.)
Panel 3
(Mana sits up in bed in the cell. A guard opens the door in the background.)
Mana: No! No! No!
Guard: What are you doing? Get up! Don’t turn toward me. Put your blinders on. Come out.
Panel 4
(Sketch of Mana, blindfolded, walking in front of the guard.)
Panel 5
(Close-up of Maleki’s face, showing one eye, with Mana peering over his glasses in the background.)
Maleki: Good morning, Mr. Neyestani. Sorry I have bad news.
6 panels organized into 2 panels in the top row, 2 panels in the middle row, and 2 panels in the bottom row.
Panel 1
(Mana looks at a drawing of a house on the wall.)
[Narration: One of the wall tiles had fallen off and someone had done a childish drawing on the cement.]
Maleki (out of frame): Last night our guys completely lost control over some Azeri cities and police opened fire on people.
Panel 2
(Close-up of Mana looking at the drawing. A stick figure woman waves from the window of the house.)
Maleki (out of frame): Some protesters were killed and there were major financial losses.
Panel 3
(Close-up of the drawing. The woman holds out her hands as a man in glasses runs toward the house.)
Maleki (out of frame): Angry people destroyed all the branches of the Parsian bank.
Panel 4
(Inside the house, the man and woman kiss.)
Maleki (out of frame): Our guys let them do whatever they wanted, hoping they’d calm down.
Panel 5
(Maleki glares at the stick figure drawing of Mana, who looks terrified.)
Maleki: The high-rank people in the government are all upset with you because they consider YOU as the main culprit of all the unrest.
Mana: Me? I’ve been here under interrogation for the last seven days!
Panel 6
(The shadowy figure of Maleki hands a paper to Mana, whose head is bowed.)
Maleki: The sole reason people were killed was because of your work. Here’s a list of dissident journalists. Go and write about them tonight. But before you go to bed think about your “sins” so far. Maybe you’re paying for them.
Mana (to himself): Thank you, Mr. Priest!
6 panels organized into 2 panels in the top row, 1 panel in the middle row, and 3 panels in the bottom row.
Panel 1
(Sketch of Mana and the guard walking back to his cell.)
Panel 2
(The guard looks at Mana from behind the door.)
Guard: Hey! Don’t turn toward me. I’m going to bring you a cellmate.
Panel 3
(Mana sits on a cushion on the floor, reading. A blindfolded prisoner, Shoghie, stands inside the cell, holding another cushion, while the guard peers around the door.)
[Narration: And a few minutes later they brought him.]
Guard: Step in. Take your blinders off. Don’t keep turning toward my face. Don’t look at me.
Shoghie: Hello! My name’s Shoghie.
Mana: Hello.
Panel 4
(Shogie removes his blindfold.)
Shoghie: I’m Azeri! I’ve been arrested in a demonstration in front of the parliament.
Panel 5
(Shogie holds out his hand.)
Panel 6
(Mana looks up from his book.)
Mana: I’m the one who caused the demonstrations.
5 panels organized into 2 panels in the top row, 2 panels in the middle row, and 1 panel in the bottom row.
Panel 1
(A Sioux man stands across from General Custer in the North American desert.)
[Narration: For a minute I thought they were putting General Custer together with the Sioux.]
Panel 2
(Shoghie smiles in profile.)
Shoghie: See you have a book there. Can I read it too?
Panel 3
(The men shake hands.)
Mana: Sure, pal.
Panel 4
(Mana and Shoghie sit on the floor, talking, as the cockroach watches them.)
Shoghie: Only one cartoon or one journalist is not the issue. The problem is the history of ignorance that Persian intellectuals always have had toward Turkish-speaking Iranians. For many years it’s been there. In all the jokes and TV comedies that belittle Azeris.
Panel 5
(Shoghie speaks to Mana, gesturing with one hand, which sticks out of the frame)
Shoghie: They don’t let us teach our mother tongue in schools. They replace the Turkish names of our streets with Farsi names. And a lot of other prejudice too.
Mana: Mehrdad and I as journalists oppose this and are on your side . . . I don’t know why we’re the scapegoat here.
Shoghie: We have no personal problems with you or any other journalist but on the way toward the ideal, there’s a good possibility some people get crunched under the train of vicissitudes.
1 panel fills the page.
(Mana is tied to train tracks, looking up in fear as a train approaches him. The cockroach stands on the rails beside him.)
[Caption: Couldn’t digest it!]