Tears of the desert - Halima bashir

The first memoir from a woman born and raised in South Darfur is an incredibly powerful account of the horrors of the genocide.

Born into the Zaghawa tribe in the remote western deserts of the Sudan, Halima Bashir had a wonderfully rich childhood in a close-knit family where she flourished. She went to university to study medicine and returned to her people as their first practising doctor.

But this happy environment was shattered when Janjaweed Arab militias began savagely attacking her tribe, gang raping schoolgirls and innocent women. Unable to stand by and do nothing, Halima spoke out to a Sudanese newspaper and to the UN. But then her own nightmare began. She was captured, tortured and raped. Although she finally escaped, the army followed her and she knew she would have to leave for good. Halima then set out on an epic journey to escape the hell of Darfur.

This inspiring story tells of one woman's determination to survive and her passion to defend her people. Personal and profound, her story presents a stark reality so often deadened by the anonymity of news reports.