"[Halima Bashir's] mesmerizing tale of against-all-odds endurance is
a piercing lament--and a clear-eyed call to action."--Vogue
"This memoir helps keep the Darfur tragedy open as a wound not yet
healed."--Elie Wiesel, author of Night
Born into the Zaghawa tribe in the Sudanese desert, Halima Bashir
received a good education away from her rural surroundings (thanks to
her doting, politically astute father) and at twenty-four became her
village's first formal doctor. Yet not even Bashir's degree could
protect her from the encroaching conflict that would consume her
homeland. Janjaweed Arab militias savagely assaulted 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.
Raw and riveting, 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 an uncompromising spirit.
Praise for Tears of the Desert
"This is a brave book. And a valuable one. Halima's story of the
atrocities and immeasurable losses she has endured must be told."--Mia
Farrow, actor and advocate
"Vivid, poignant and brutally candid . . . Tears of the Desert is that
rarest of literary endeavors, not just a book you read but a book you
experience."--The Washington Post Book World
"An extraordinary memoir . . . Halima Bashir's bravery contrasts with
the world's fecklessness and failures."--Nicholas D. Kristof, The New
York Times
"Searing . . . Tears of the Desert gives voice to the
unspeakable."--USA Today
"Powerful, harrowing and brave."**--**The Economist
"A luminous tale of growing up in rural Darfur . . . a wonderful and
moving African memoir."--The New York Review of Books
