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Review
'This is a brave book . . . [Halima] leaves us with hope and awe in the face of her courage.' (Mia Farrow )
`The genocide in Darfur has found its Anne Frank . . . TEARS OF THE DESERT is a searingly frank testimonial of a war crime that deserves all our attention.' (Tim Butcher, author of Blood River )
'vivid, poignant and brutally candid' (Washington Post )
'A harrowing and beautifully written tale of a rich life, untold suffering and impossible hope told from the heart of a fellow African sister.' (Mende Nazer, author of Slave and Freedom )
'This memoir helps keep the Darfur tragedy open as a wound not yet healed.' (Elie Wiesel )
'A rare glimpse behind the statistics into the personal horror of Darfur. TV news too easily turns the whole nation into anonymous victims; Damien and Halima remind us they are people.' (David Loyn, BBC Foreign Correspondent )
'Halima's story is fantastic and exhausting . . . I can see and hear and feel the people and places she describes.' (Lisa Blaker, author of Heart of Darfur )
'Halima Bashir has bared her soul to help stop the bleeding of her people in Darfur. Attention must be paid.' (John Prendergast, co-chair of the ENOUGH Project and co-author of Not on Our Watch: The Mission to End Genocide in Darfur and Beyond )
`The genocide in Darfur has found its Anne Frank . . . TEARS OF THE DESERT is a searingly frank testimonial of a war crime that deserves all our attention.' (Tim Butcher, author of Blood River )
'vivid, poignant and brutally candid' (Washington Post )
'A harrowing and beautifully written tale of a rich life, untold suffering and impossible hope told from the heart of a fellow African sister.' (Mende Nazer, author of Slave and Freedom )
'This memoir helps keep the Darfur tragedy open as a wound not yet healed.' (Elie Wiesel )
'A rare glimpse behind the statistics into the personal horror of Darfur. TV news too easily turns the whole nation into anonymous victims; Damien and Halima remind us they are people.' (David Loyn, BBC Foreign Correspondent )
'Halima's story is fantastic and exhausting . . . I can see and hear and feel the people and places she describes.' (Lisa Blaker, author of Heart of Darfur )
'Halima Bashir has bared her soul to help stop the bleeding of her people in Darfur. Attention must be paid.' (John Prendergast, co-chair of the ENOUGH Project and co-author of Not on Our Watch: The Mission to End Genocide in Darfur and Beyond )
Review
'This is a brave book. And a valuable one. Halima's story of the atrocities and immeasurable losses she has endured must be told. [She] leaves us with hope and awe in the face of her courage' -- Mia Farrow
--This text refers to an alternate
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Halima Bashir's is an incredible story. As a description of family life in rural Africa this book is fascinating and thought-provoking. As a depiction of the atrocities of a genocidal regime it is shocking and harrowing. As a testament to courage in the face of extreme evil and suffering it is inspiring and uplifting. Read it.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I haven't read a book as quickly as I read this one - I was gripped reading about Halima Bashir's life, the culture in Sudan and the events that happened to her. Halima manages to recount the events - the happy moments - and the horrific moments with such detail. Her ambition and determination as a child growing up, working hard at school to become a doctor is a wonderful story. Her father's dreams for his daughter, his insight and wanting his daughter to make her own life for herself. That this woman managed to pull herself through horrific life threatening events and survive all the odds blows me away. She wants to see the innocent people in her country free from war. It is astonishing that the violence and ethnic cleansing in Sudan could not be stopped.
9 of 12 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I am absolutely astonished by the two reviews so far. Let me give an alternative take on this book.
To say that Bashir has been through a lot would be the biggest understatement of the century. It is a tragedy of epic proportions that a human being can go through what she has in the 21st century.
The book starts off describing her life in Darfur when it was just another part of Sudan. Peaceful. She details the customs of her people - the Zaghawa - and village life. She reveals her hopes for the future, and the village/cultural mentality that constantly puts hurdles in front of her.
She then goes on to describe how things slowly begin to change in her homeland and, before she can understand why, she is suddenly a target in her own country. What she reveals can only be described as genocide...the systematic attempts to abolish black Africans in Sudan by the Arabs. What she sees...and then experiences...is horrific. There are barely words to desribe what she endured, and must still be haunted by.
When she finally makes it to England, she simply passes comment about things which she sees and disagrees with or doesn't understand, because they are so different from her traditions back home. She notices that people in London seem in a rush and rarely offer a smile to strangers, unlike in her village. She doesn't understand when she sees two young people making out in public. And she has litle sympathy for a middle aged woman who has become an alocholic after her husband left her because she was fell pregnant after sleeping wih her son's best friend...20 years younger than her! These are not the words of a bitter or ungrateful person. And it doesn't mean she has no gratitude towards this country. She states how friendly and respectful our police officers are, compared to the police in Sudan.
I have often wondered what someone who had lost everything would think of the western world if they saw how many of us lived, and what our daily dilemmas are compared to theirs. How insignificant it must seem to worry about what to waer on Friday night out or what to have for dinner the next day, when you have seen your people annihilated and family murdered. Bashir openly talks about the fears of going to sleep wondering if they will be attacked overnight...murdered overnight...raped overnight...it takes reading a book like this to emphasise just how incredibly lucky we are in this country.
This is a very, very brave book narrating a modern day tragedy. As I said earlier, it beggars belief that this is actually a real story rather than the sick gruesome novel. You must read this book to understand just how much Sudan has been destroyed, and to begin to understand just how much pain and suffering has been inflicted upon millions of people.
To say that Bashir has been through a lot would be the biggest understatement of the century. It is a tragedy of epic proportions that a human being can go through what she has in the 21st century.
The book starts off describing her life in Darfur when it was just another part of Sudan. Peaceful. She details the customs of her people - the Zaghawa - and village life. She reveals her hopes for the future, and the village/cultural mentality that constantly puts hurdles in front of her.
She then goes on to describe how things slowly begin to change in her homeland and, before she can understand why, she is suddenly a target in her own country. What she reveals can only be described as genocide...the systematic attempts to abolish black Africans in Sudan by the Arabs. What she sees...and then experiences...is horrific. There are barely words to desribe what she endured, and must still be haunted by.
When she finally makes it to England, she simply passes comment about things which she sees and disagrees with or doesn't understand, because they are so different from her traditions back home. She notices that people in London seem in a rush and rarely offer a smile to strangers, unlike in her village. She doesn't understand when she sees two young people making out in public. And she has litle sympathy for a middle aged woman who has become an alocholic after her husband left her because she was fell pregnant after sleeping wih her son's best friend...20 years younger than her! These are not the words of a bitter or ungrateful person. And it doesn't mean she has no gratitude towards this country. She states how friendly and respectful our police officers are, compared to the police in Sudan.
I have often wondered what someone who had lost everything would think of the western world if they saw how many of us lived, and what our daily dilemmas are compared to theirs. How insignificant it must seem to worry about what to waer on Friday night out or what to have for dinner the next day, when you have seen your people annihilated and family murdered. Bashir openly talks about the fears of going to sleep wondering if they will be attacked overnight...murdered overnight...raped overnight...it takes reading a book like this to emphasise just how incredibly lucky we are in this country.
This is a very, very brave book narrating a modern day tragedy. As I said earlier, it beggars belief that this is actually a real story rather than the sick gruesome novel. You must read this book to understand just how much Sudan has been destroyed, and to begin to understand just how much pain and suffering has been inflicted upon millions of people.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Brilliantly written, shocking and engrossing
Halima describes a very happy childhood growing up in the remote deserts of Sudan and I was intrigued by her detailed descriptions of the life and customs of the Zaghawa tribe of... Read more
Published 15 months ago by Chelli
Very moving & powerful story
I ordered this for my sister-in-law as a Christmas gift but unfortunately it did not arrive. However, I have read this book before and I found it hard to put it down. Read more
Published 16 months ago by C
Excellent book
A very moving and well written book. I didnt really understand the suffering in Darfur, and this womans story is so moving, you just cannot imagine the horrors innocent people have... Read more
Published 19 months ago by Mrs. Jayne Luce
Tears of the desert
An excellent, insightful book, into another society and the modern day events that are unfolding without many of us being aware - more people should read this......
Published on 9 Oct 2008 by Catherine
Bite the hand that feeds...
I thought that this woman would have been grateful to the country that eventually took her in when her own country signally failed to protect her. Read more
Published on 3 Aug 2008 by Angry from Tunbridge Wells
Author spoiled an otherwise good book with the last few chapters
There are a handful of shocking and horrific occurrences described in this book that stayed with me a long time after I finished reading. Read more
Published on 2 Aug 2008 by Mrs. D. S. Taylor
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