Comic Who Killed is Killed

[Originally posted on goofyblog 11.29.06]

An Iraqi comedian, Walid Hasaan, who brought much-needed laughter to that people through his skits on Alsharqiya, an independent channel there, was found dead. “He was a star in the galaxy of Iraqi arts,” said Ali Hanoon, the show’s director. “Now, he’s another sacrifice on the altar of this slaughtered country.”

He worked for the love of performing and to make a difference, making about $400 a month. Although immensely popular, he still fell to an execution-style slaying for what? No one knows.
Though he wouldn’t have been allowed to perform under Sadaam’s regime, he wouldn’t be dead. Freedom of speech has to be protected from persecution if it is to survive, in any country.

“In the months after the U.S.-led invasion, when Iraq exploded with a constellation of television channels, Alsharqiya tapped Hassan and five other actors for “Caricature.” In each 30-minute segment, the actors performed skits that often seemed like Iraq’s version of “Saturday Night Live.” Hassan’s roles ranged from corrupt officials to brown-nosing bureaucrats.

“One skit was about a family who moved their home and all their belongings to an unknown location. By the end of the segment, they had grown long gray hair, their faces wrinkled with age. That’s when the television viewers learned that the family was waiting in one of Iraq’s notoriously long gas lines.”

Full story here.