Sunday, August 31, 2008

Hashima Bashir of Darfur

Tears of the Desert, a memoir by Dr. Hashima Bashir of Darfur, Sudan, will be released on September 10, 2008. Thank you to Nicholas D. Kristof, New York Times columnist, for alerting us to her book in his column, "Tortured but Not Silenced," in the op-ed pages, August 31, www.nytimes.com.

Kristof says that Bashir's book records the rape of dozens of schoolgirls aged 7-13 at a school near her medical clinic in Darfur, followed by her own repeated rape and beating for telling about this event.

She's now seeking asylum in Britain and applying for a US visa to publicize her book and cause. Kristof wonders whether Bush will facilitate this application or ignore her.

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