Hey everyone
First of all I would like to apologise for the delayed post. But I seriously did not know what to write about but now I do ! Its about this book I read called Burned Alive written by a Palestinian woman named Souad.
Burned alive is a shocking testimony , a true story of almost unbelievable cruelty that speaks of amazing courage and of one woman's (Souad:The author of the book) determination to survive.It is a also a call to break the taboo of silence that surrounds this most brutal of practices that ignores the plight of so many other woman who are also victims of traditional violence.
Here is the summary of the story from the back of the book cover:
When Souad was seventeen she fell in love. In her village, as in so many others, sex before marriage was a grave dishonour to one's family-a dishonour punishable by death.This was her crime,and her brother-in-law was given the task of arranging her punishment.One morning he crept up on her, poured petrol over her and set her alight. In the eyes of their community he was a hero. (Horrible isn't it ? )
Miraculously, Souad survived, rescued by the woman of her village, although she suffered horrific burns.It was the only intervention of a European aid worker that enabled her to recieve the care she desperately needed.She has now decided to tell her story to uncover the barbarity of honour killings, a practice which continues to this day.
Here is a sneak peak from inside the book:
He came towards me , my brother-in-law Hussein in his work clothes, old trousers and a T-shirt. He stood infront of me and said , with a smile : 'Hi. How goes it ?' He's chewing a blade of grass. 'I'm going to take care of you.'
That smile, and he said he was going to take care of me. I hadn't been expecting that. I smiled a little to, to thank him , not daring to speak.
'You've got a big belly, huh ? '
I lowered my head , ashamed to look at him. My forehead was on my knees.
'You've got a spot. Did you put some henna there on purpose?'
'No, I put the henna on my hair. I didn't do it on purpose.'
'You did it on purpose to hide it.'
I looked at the laundry I was holding in my trembling hands- that's the last fixed and lucid image I have : the laundry and my trembling hands. The last words I heard from him were ' You did it on purpose to hide it.'
He didn't say anything more , I kept my head down in shame, a little relieved that he didn't ask me any more questions. Suddenly I felt a cold liquid running over my head and I was instantly on fire. Now it was like a movie that had speeded up , images racing. I started to run in the garden . I slapped at my hair. I screamed. My dress billowed out behind me. Was it on fire , too ?
I smelt petrol and I ran, the hem of my dress getting in the way. My terror led me instinctively away from the courtyard. I ran towards the garden as it was the only way out. I know I was running and I was on fire screaming. But I remember almost nothing after that. How did I get away ? Did he run after me ? Was he waiting for me to fall so he could watch me go up in flames ?
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This is a must read book according to me , very interesting . Please buy and read the book . Not like any other random novels , reading it is worthwhile . Thought I would share it and spread the word (besides it has been quite awhile since I posted something).
Anyways take care
Always keep smiling.
Hope you had a good reading it as much as I did typing.
Jezi.
First of all I would like to apologise for the delayed post. But I seriously did not know what to write about but now I do ! Its about this book I read called Burned Alive written by a Palestinian woman named Souad.
Burned alive is a shocking testimony , a true story of almost unbelievable cruelty that speaks of amazing courage and of one woman's (Souad:The author of the book) determination to survive.It is a also a call to break the taboo of silence that surrounds this most brutal of practices that ignores the plight of so many other woman who are also victims of traditional violence.
Here is the summary of the story from the back of the book cover:
When Souad was seventeen she fell in love. In her village, as in so many others, sex before marriage was a grave dishonour to one's family-a dishonour punishable by death.This was her crime,and her brother-in-law was given the task of arranging her punishment.One morning he crept up on her, poured petrol over her and set her alight. In the eyes of their community he was a hero. (Horrible isn't it ? )
Miraculously, Souad survived, rescued by the woman of her village, although she suffered horrific burns.It was the only intervention of a European aid worker that enabled her to recieve the care she desperately needed.She has now decided to tell her story to uncover the barbarity of honour killings, a practice which continues to this day.
Here is a sneak peak from inside the book:
He came towards me , my brother-in-law Hussein in his work clothes, old trousers and a T-shirt. He stood infront of me and said , with a smile : 'Hi. How goes it ?' He's chewing a blade of grass. 'I'm going to take care of you.'
That smile, and he said he was going to take care of me. I hadn't been expecting that. I smiled a little to, to thank him , not daring to speak.
'You've got a big belly, huh ? '
I lowered my head , ashamed to look at him. My forehead was on my knees.
'You've got a spot. Did you put some henna there on purpose?'
'No, I put the henna on my hair. I didn't do it on purpose.'
'You did it on purpose to hide it.'
I looked at the laundry I was holding in my trembling hands- that's the last fixed and lucid image I have : the laundry and my trembling hands. The last words I heard from him were ' You did it on purpose to hide it.'
He didn't say anything more , I kept my head down in shame, a little relieved that he didn't ask me any more questions. Suddenly I felt a cold liquid running over my head and I was instantly on fire. Now it was like a movie that had speeded up , images racing. I started to run in the garden . I slapped at my hair. I screamed. My dress billowed out behind me. Was it on fire , too ?
I smelt petrol and I ran, the hem of my dress getting in the way. My terror led me instinctively away from the courtyard. I ran towards the garden as it was the only way out. I know I was running and I was on fire screaming. But I remember almost nothing after that. How did I get away ? Did he run after me ? Was he waiting for me to fall so he could watch me go up in flames ?
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This is a must read book according to me , very interesting . Please buy and read the book . Not like any other random novels , reading it is worthwhile . Thought I would share it and spread the word (besides it has been quite awhile since I posted something).
Anyways take care
Always keep smiling.
Hope you had a good reading it as much as I did typing.
Jezi.
