New York Times Book Review Editor's Choice
The shocking story of the massacre of a group of Nepalese men working as
Defense contractors for the United States Government during the Iraq
War, and the widow who dedicated her life to finding justice for her
husband and the other victims--a riveting tale of courageous heroes,
corporate war profiteers, international business, exploitation,
trafficking, and human rights in the age of global capitalism that
reveals how modern power truly works.
In August of 2004, twelve men left their village in Nepal for jobs at a
five-star luxury hotel in Amman, Jordan. They had no idea that they had
actually been hired for sub-contract work on an American military base
in Iraq. But fate took an even darker turn when the dozen men were
kidnapped and murdered by Islamic extremists. Their gruesome deaths were
captured in one of the first graphic execution videos disseminated on
the web--the largest massacre of contractors during the war. Compounding
the tragedy, their deaths received little notice.
Why were these men, from a remote country far removed from the war, in
Iraq? How had they gotten there? Who were they working for? Consumed by
these questions, award-winning investigative journalist Cam Simpson
embarked on a journey to find answers, a decade-long odyssey that would
uncover a web of evil spanning the globe--and trigger a chain of events
involving one brave young widow, three indefatigable human rights
lawyers, and a formidable multinational corporation with deep
governmental ties.
A heart-rending, page-turning narrative that moves from the Himalayas to
the Middle East to Houston and culminates in an epic court battle, The
Girl from Kathmandu is a story of death and life--of the war in Iraq,
the killings of the twelve Nepalese, a journalist determined to uncover
the truth, and a trio of human rights lawyers dedicated to finding
justice. At its heart is one unforgettable young woman, Kamala Magar,
who found the courage to face the influential men who sent her husband
to his death--a model of strength hope, bravery, and an unbreakable
spirit who reminds us of the power we all have to make a difference.
