Book Review: Tears of the Desert by Halima Bashir

Tears of the Desert: A Memoir of Survival in Darfur follows Halima Bashir through her childhood in a remote African village, to her education at University, through her practicing of medicine and eventually to her escape from Darfur.  During her life, war and genocide loom over her as she tries desperately to avoid the conflict even though she see’s the affect of the war on her people in her work.  Eventually the war finds her and she must pay a horrible price for the help she has given her people.

Halima’s story begins with her childhood.  She tells fond stories of her brothers and sister.  She recounts tales of her grandmother’s superstitious ways that often leads to more misfortune.  She tells of her mother’s kindness.  Above it all, she recounts the love that she felt for her father.  Her father pushes for her education and helps Halima fulfill her dream of becoming a doctor.  All of her stories seem typical of any family.  Love is what binds them.

The only part of her childhood that made me start to become disconnected from Halima’s blissful stories of childhood was her circumcision. The scene in the novel made me back a little farther away from her family as Halima recounts the horror of what was done to her.  The scene reminded me of the foot binding scene in Snow Flower and the Secret Fan.  The atrocity that was committed to these girls is heart-breaking and, to me, what made it even more heart-breaking is that their mothers’ did this to them.  On one hand, I can see how the mother’s believed that this is an act of love.  On the other hand, I can see how this would leave a permanent rift between mother and daughter.

As Halima becomes a doctor, the war in Darfur grows stronger and stronger until no one is safe.  Sadly, Halima’s story was not new to me.  I have listened to several programs on Minnesota Public Radio about the war and I watched a Frontline episode, On Our Watch, about the conflict.  The stories are so horrifying that they seem somewhat unreal and I felt the same way in reading Halima’s story.  There is a particular scene involving young school girls that I cannot stop thinking about, because no matter how far away Africa may seem to us, those little girls were someone’s daughters.  I have a daughter and I have no idea how I could bear it if my child was hurt in the same way these girls were.

Halima’s story is one that needs to be told.  It must be told.  It must be told again and again so that we never forget and we try to help.   Although, she may seem so far away from us, she isn’t.  She is someone’s daughter, someone’s wife and someone’s mother.  All of these things are what bind people to each other because no matter how far away they are, we all can connect to someone’s pain if we let ourselves.

I first saw this book on Maw Book’s Blog.  So, thank you, Natasha for bringing this book to my attention!  I think it is vitally important to learn about the world and books are an excellent way of becoming educated on other cultures and political issues.

Book Source: Hennepin County Library, Eden Prairie Location