Tears of the Desert: A Memoir of Survival in Darfur
by Halima Bashir, Damien Lewis
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Book Summary Information
Author: Damien Lewis, Halima BashirBrand: Random House
Edition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2008-09-09
ISBN: 0345506251
Number of pages: 336
Publisher: One World/Ballantine
Book Reviews of Tears of the Desert: A Memoir of Survival in Darfur
Book Review: A wake up call
Summary: 5 Stars
I welcome a wake-up call. It is so easy to unconsciously become cocooned in my protected life on the West Coast of the United States, where daily issues end up being hunting for the best price for gasoline for my car, battling the crowded freeways and looking for a parking place, discussing the what to fix for dinner that night. I try to stay abreast of the global situation by watching the nightly News Hour on our local PBS station, but it is easy to glaze over or become anesthetized by the onslaught of words from talking heads, figures and maps so that the news takes on a element of the unreal. So when something happens to hit my radar in a way that makes me say, "I didn't know that!" or that says to me, "Open your eyes!" I am grateful and I feel a little more connected to reality.
The book, "Tears of the Desert" was slipped inside my screendoor, an advance review copy I was sent to read. I looked at the cover, the title word "Desert", the subtitle word "Darfur" and thought to myself, "I am going to read something I know very little about." I had heard of the cries of genocide in the Sudan, seen pictures of streams of refugees, and read of the outcry of protestors during the summer Olympics in China, but I didn't understand the conflict and it felt very impersonal to me.
However, when I began to read the book I entered a new world and culture, the life of Halima Bashir in a Zaghawa tribal village in South Darfur. The first part of the book described the tribal life, the traditions and practices as seen through the eyes of a child. Her descriptions of her family members brought the characters to life and her portrayals were so personal that when events involved them later in the book, I felt a personal sorrow and outrage. Because of her father's dreams and encouragement, Halima was able to gain an education and go on to the University to study medicine, rather than marry and settle down to have children like most of the girls in her tribe. The first glimpses the conflict between the Arabs and Africans were presented in the chapters covering the school years when Halima leaves her village to attend a school for girls in the city. Here she finds herself in a mixed population of city Arab girls and rural African girls. The incidents that occur here are but a omen of what is to come in the remainder of the book.
[...]
After listening to it, I could hear the lyrical cadence of her speech as I read the rest of the memoir. I choose not to go into the remainder of the story in my review. To fully appreciate it, the reader has to be guided gently through the passage of time, page by page. Be aware that it is not an easy read. Some passages of the cultural rituals or the atrocities inflicted by militants affected my "protected sensibilities." But I considered it a small price to pay for having my awareness heightened to the reality of the situation affecting so many innocent victims in the Sudan.
I gave the book a 5 rating, the highest possible, not for the writing craft, which is not as polished as some, but for the content. The writing style is simple and direct...which makes the story all the more haunting. Halima's courage, strength and will to survive amidst overwhelming odds is gripping. To realize that so many people are having an experience of life under the most horrific circumstances is important. Hers is a story that needs to told and needs to be heard. Brava to Halima Bashir for speaking out. Bravo to Damien Lewis for participating in the telling. And bravo to Random House for publishing it. For me, now behind the headlines, numbers and statistics, there are faces.
Summary of Tears of the Desert: A Memoir of Survival in Darfur
Like the single white eyelash that graces her row of dark lashes?seen by her people as a mark of good fortune?Halima Bashir?s story stands out. Tears of the Desert is the first memoir ever written by a woman caught up in the war in Darfur. It is a survivor?s tale of a conflicted country, a resilient people, and the uncompromising spirit of a young woman who refused to be silenced.Born into the Zaghawa tribe in the Sudanese desert, Halima was doted on by her father, a cattle herder, and kept in line by her formidable grandmother. A politically astute man, Halima?s father saw to it that his daughter received a good education away from their rural surroundings. Halima excelled in her studies and exams, surpassing even the privileged Arab girls who looked down their noses at the black Africans. With her love of learning and her father?s support, Halima went on to study medicine, and at twenty-four became her village?s first formal doctor.
Yet not even the symbol of good luck that dotted her eye could protect her from the encroaching conflict that would consume her land. Janjaweed Arab militias started savagely assaulting the Zaghawa, often with the backing of the Sudanese military. Then, in early 2004, the Janjaweed attacked Bashir?s village and surrounding areas, raping forty-two schoolgirls and their teachers. Bashir, who treated the traumatized victims, some as young as eight years old, could no longer remain quiet. But breaking her silence ignited a horrifying turn of events.
In this harrowing and heartbreaking account, Halima Bashir sheds light on the hundreds of thousands of innocent lives being eradicated by what is fast becoming one of the most terrifying genocides of the twenty-first century. Raw and riveting, Tears of the Desert is more than just a memoir?it is Halima Bashir?s global call to action.
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