Showing posts with label Non-Fiction. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Non-Fiction. Show all posts
The Raqqa Diaries - Samer* Published by Cornerstone
- I was kindly sent a copy by the publishers -
I think it's fair to say that I'm not alone when I say I know little to nothing about Syria. I know it's bad, I know people are dying and I know ISIS is involved. That's about the extent of it. And because like me, most people don't really know what's happening it's very hard to actually form an opinion more nuanced than 'this is shit and we should help', or in some cases 'this is shit, and not our problem.'
The Raqqa Diaries is the testimony of Samer, not his real name, a 24 year old man living in the city of Raqqa, territory that is completely occupied and controlled by ISIS. We watch as he attempts to make a life for himself in a city where the economy has been destroyed by heavy and seemingly arbitrary taxes, people are publicly beaten and executed for crimes such as 'wearing trousers that are too long', and all contact with the outside world is cut off under threat of death. From all that, Samer and his fellow activists have managed to smuggle out his account of life under the rule of ISIS.
If the idea of struggling through a dry and heavy piece of non-fiction is daunting, please don't be put off. The Raqqa Diaries is actually incredibly engaging and accessible. The narrative is broken up into short fragments describing a few scenes from his life, and it is presented with these sparse but powerful illustrations that really add texture to his words.
It is such a critical piece of media, because it adds a sense of humanity to the glimpses of war torn streets that we see on the news. It is so easy to allow ourselves to see something so alien and so far away, and forget that the people involved are human beings. Judith Butler (social humanities scholar and general hot bitch in charge) wrote a book called Frames of War in which she argues against the way in which we show war and strife in the media, how we encourage this dehumanising and othering of the people involved. The Raqqa diaries rails against this overarching scope of complex blame-gaming and political tip-toeing and shows, through the eyes of a single person, the horrors that make up the day to day lives of the people living through it all.
It's also incredibly important to understand this when we talk about 'dealing with Syria', I genuinely once had a conversation with a man on twitter who said that bombing Syria was a no brainer, because there was nobody left down there but ISIS. This seemed like a ridiculous thing to say to me, but in reality the coverage of Syria and the people living there is so sparse and so vague that maybe someone really could think that.(Partly because, as Samer says, foreign journalists have no access to these places and contacting them from the inside is incredibly dangerous) I hope this book falls into that man's hands and he has a chance to see that the innocent people of Raqqa and places like it have quite enough to deal with without us dropping shit on them from the sky (which the Russians are already doing constantly and which, as Samer shows, actually forces the people of Raqqa to endure heavier oppression. Big help guys.)
I think the biggest shock for me is that this is what many of the refugees who come to our country have had to face, this is what they have escaped, and what we, as a country, have said is "No, you can't come here, we won't give you somewhere safe to live." I think this should be on our required reading, it is engaging and accessible enough to absolutely keep the attention of a GCSE student, far more so than bloody 'Of Mice and Men.' Reading this and discussing what it must be like to live in Raqqa, talking about how things got to this point, and asking why we and countries like us aren't doing anything about it would be an excellent way to spend a few PSHE lessons. Rather than the usual 'Read this sheet on what BMI is, then do whatever for forty minutes while I catch up with my marking'.
So in short: Please read this, it's not very long and it's very very interesting and if we all knew more about what people were facing in ISIS occupied cities then maybe we could have a more educated and conscious discussion about it which might lead to change. Samer has escaped and is now in a miserable refugee camp along with hundreds of others stuck in limbo, with little food or shelter and next to nothing in the way of medical aid or prospects of getting to safety. And there are thousands upon thousands of men, women and children who are not so lucky.
Thanks for reading
Part spoof, part pep talk, part genuine reflection on the every day ways we waste our time, energy and money on things that just don't matter. I absolutely loved this book, and have every intention of reading it again in the next few days just to really let things sink in.
The basic premise of Sarah Knight's book is that in our everyday lives so much time, energy and money gets wasted on things that just don't matter to us, because we feel some sort of obligation, or because we're so worried about what people think of us. Knight argues that we only have limited resources of said time, energy and money to give and she calls these 'fucks'. When we use up all our fucks on things we don't truly care about we're left without enough time/energy/money to actually use living a life that makes us happy. Much of the book is spent helping you figure out where you are giving these fucks, and which ones matter and which you can let go. The rest involves navigating the tricky worlds of family ties, friendships and work obligations, and working to set your boundaries, using honestly, politeness and a sprinkle of sass to remove the unnecessary fucks from your life, leaving you plenty to be used on things you actually give a shit about.
Sarah Knight writes the whole book in a very pally, dont-give-a-fuck-big-sister way. The book is liberally sprinkled with swear words so if that bothers you, either get over yourself or give it a miss. Knight does a great job of avoiding the preachy rhetoric that a lot of self help books have. It's your mate giving you a pep talk, not a guru helping you improve your pathetic existence.
I think a lot of people feel like something like this encourages an attitude that is mean and apathetic. It couldn't be further from the truth. Sarah actively encourages you to conserve your 'fucks' without being an asshole and has a lot of tips on getting out of seemingly obligatory fuck-giving without hurting feelings in the process. There is also a lot of emphasis on the transferring of fucks from stuff that's making you annoyed or angsty to things that give you joy. The money you save not going to that second cousin's wedding in Vietnam? That can go into the fund for the kid's trip to Disneyland! Time saved no longer going to the gym means time used going to a book group instead, and energy saved trying to keep that toxic friendship going can now be spent doing good for that charity you feel strongly about. The book is ultimately is about putting your life in perspective, and realising that there might be some fucks you HAVE to give no mater how much you don't want to, but there are plenty that you can work out of your life to make room for things that make you happy.
There is a lot in this book that is hyperbolic and facetious and silly, and I did feel that maybe that was paper wasted on spoofing rather than actually being helpful, but the moments of humour do make the book more engaging and enjoyable so I should probably just shut up.
I would definitely recommend this little delight, it's not going to change your life, but it might make you see just how much of it you're wasting on bollocks you don't care about and how you can change that and live a life that is more free, more healthy and more satisfying.
Hibo Wadere's memoir is utterly devastating, but should be compulsory reading around the globe. I read this in less than 48 hours, unable to really focus on anything else. I had no idea the brutality of the practice, and more shocking was how prevalent it is, even here in the UK.
We follow Hibo from a six year old awoken in the early hours of the morning, led into a tent at the bottom of her garden by her mother, held down by her aunts and mutilated in a painful, undignified and barbaric manner. It does not make easy reading, Wardere spares no details of her ordeal, however the descriptions of the pain and fear she felt are incredibly powerful, and truly bring home how hideous the practice is.
We follow Hibo from a six year old awoken in the early hours of the morning, led into a tent at the bottom of her garden by her mother, held down by her aunts and mutilated in a painful, undignified and barbaric manner. It does not make easy reading, Wardere spares no details of her ordeal, however the descriptions of the pain and fear she felt are incredibly powerful, and truly bring home how hideous the practice is.
Her story describes growing up, living with FGM; the shame, the pain, the constant infections, and the now destroyed relationship with her mother who she saw as the reason for her troubles, until she grew up and decided to start a new life in England, where she could protect her own future daughters from the fate she suffered. She begins her new life, falls in love, settles into the English culture, and has some minor surgery to relieve some of the difficulties of her mutilation. However she comes to realise that her new sanctuary isn't as safe as she had first thought and slowly faces the reality that FGM is a prevalent problem in many communities in the UK, and that there were girls at the school in which she worked who could be in danger.
Hibo could have buried her head in the sand, ignored the issue and continued to live peacefully. Instead she decided this was her chance to take a stand. She used her position as a classroom assistant to bring attention to the teachers, many of whom knew little to nothing about the practice. A few even thought it was a harmless, even joyful, coming of age ritual. Wardere used her own testimony to educate the staff, and she found herself being invited to speak at other schools, explaining the reality of FGM and it's consequences, and teaching them to spot the warning signs of vulnerable girls. Hibo's message has since spread and she is nationally recognised as one of the leaders in the movement against FGM today.
Her story is harrowing all the way through, however it is ultimately one of triumph. She has survived one of the most disgraceful abuses still considered acceptable in parts of the world and used her experience to save other women. She talks with grace and conviction and her testimony is engaging. She highlights the importance of the role men must play in ending FGM, by taking a stand and saying that preserving a woman's supposed purity is no justification for removing sections of a child's genitals and stitching them up, leaving them with a hole the size of a hole-punch puncture through which they must urinate and bleed. All so that their husband can be assured that his wife is untouched on their wedding night... before getting to break her in... leading to several days in hospital.... But y'know we don't need feminism anymore. She also does a beautiful job of talking delicately about the women who allow the practice to continue, and get their daughters cut. Rather than vilifying them, she looks instead at the culture that fears female sexuality, and brainwashes them into prioritizing purity over all else, because it will ensure a good marriage, and therefore a good secure future for their daughters, who have no other opportunity to create a good life for themselves.
I would urge anyone to read this book, it has truly opened my eyes to something that I have allowed myself to ignore for too long. Maybe I don't have any power to stop this happening as an individual, but part of eradicating this is creating the conversation, ensuring that we as a society are informed and united against this practice. Only by creating an open dialogue about a problem that is so taboo can we begin to develop legal policies protecting children, and perhaps engage with supporters of FGM and present a united front against their way of thinking. Steps have already been taken in the right direction but there is a long way to go. It's not simply a matter of implementing laws or catching the cutters, it's a case of changing a cultural mindset that has gone mostly unchallenged for generations. It's a long uphill struggle but Hibo Wardere's passion and power make me feel like perhaps it can be done.
All of this aside, go read the fucking book. Deal with the discomfort and come out a more educated person, with a deeper knowledge of something that is often treated as a shameful secret. You will not regret it.
Here are a few other resources for anybody interested in finding out more.
Hibo could have buried her head in the sand, ignored the issue and continued to live peacefully. Instead she decided this was her chance to take a stand. She used her position as a classroom assistant to bring attention to the teachers, many of whom knew little to nothing about the practice. A few even thought it was a harmless, even joyful, coming of age ritual. Wardere used her own testimony to educate the staff, and she found herself being invited to speak at other schools, explaining the reality of FGM and it's consequences, and teaching them to spot the warning signs of vulnerable girls. Hibo's message has since spread and she is nationally recognised as one of the leaders in the movement against FGM today.
Her story is harrowing all the way through, however it is ultimately one of triumph. She has survived one of the most disgraceful abuses still considered acceptable in parts of the world and used her experience to save other women. She talks with grace and conviction and her testimony is engaging. She highlights the importance of the role men must play in ending FGM, by taking a stand and saying that preserving a woman's supposed purity is no justification for removing sections of a child's genitals and stitching them up, leaving them with a hole the size of a hole-punch puncture through which they must urinate and bleed. All so that their husband can be assured that his wife is untouched on their wedding night... before getting to break her in... leading to several days in hospital.... But y'know we don't need feminism anymore. She also does a beautiful job of talking delicately about the women who allow the practice to continue, and get their daughters cut. Rather than vilifying them, she looks instead at the culture that fears female sexuality, and brainwashes them into prioritizing purity over all else, because it will ensure a good marriage, and therefore a good secure future for their daughters, who have no other opportunity to create a good life for themselves.
I would urge anyone to read this book, it has truly opened my eyes to something that I have allowed myself to ignore for too long. Maybe I don't have any power to stop this happening as an individual, but part of eradicating this is creating the conversation, ensuring that we as a society are informed and united against this practice. Only by creating an open dialogue about a problem that is so taboo can we begin to develop legal policies protecting children, and perhaps engage with supporters of FGM and present a united front against their way of thinking. Steps have already been taken in the right direction but there is a long way to go. It's not simply a matter of implementing laws or catching the cutters, it's a case of changing a cultural mindset that has gone mostly unchallenged for generations. It's a long uphill struggle but Hibo Wardere's passion and power make me feel like perhaps it can be done.
All of this aside, go read the fucking book. Deal with the discomfort and come out a more educated person, with a deeper knowledge of something that is often treated as a shameful secret. You will not regret it.
Here are a few other resources for anybody interested in finding out more.
A Guardian Article about FGM becoming increasingly medicalised for profit
A Map showing the rates of FGM across England.and Wales
A Map showing the rates of FGM across England.and Wales
Thank you for reading
Isabelle
xox
How do we reconcile the imperfections of feminism with all the good it can do? In truth, feminism is flawed because it is a movement powered by people and people are inherently flawed.
Bad Feminist was the second book I read this year, the first being Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone and the two in succession kicked off my reading year beautifully. Bad Feminist is a collection of essays in which Gay talks about a range of social issues, centering around gender and race.
| I think this is what How to Be a Woman by Caitlin Moran was trying to be. It covers feminism in all it's complexity, in a broad and accessible way, drawing on examples from pop culture, such as movies like Django and The Help and of course Robin Thicke's infamous Blurred Lines, to show the ways in which social inequality of both sex and race still exist in a world that many claim treats everybody as equal. The majority of the ideas in essays focusing on inequality between the sexes were familiar to me, though it was very interesting and somewhat horrifying to learn more about the Southern states of America and the political struggles over rights to contraception and terminations. I didn't realise it was so damn terrible. What I really enjoyed was the insight I got into the black experience, which is something I hadn't been expecting to be included to the degree it was. A major flaw in 'liberal white feminism' is the tendency to ignore racial inequality as interwoven with gender inequality. The two come from the same place, the same set of cultural priorities, and it is a huge failing of anyone who advocates for one, to disregard the other. I was also really happy to see her discuss 'feminism' as a term for a very broad ideology, which can be applied to a wide range of different ways of thinking. Often feminism is thought of as this hive of borg queens all working to topple men into the dust. *eye roll*. Instead Gay argues that feminism is simply the desire for equality and freedom between the sexes, and that freedom and equality mean different things for different people. Roxanne Gay is fun and engaging and has a real gift for discussing ideas and building arguments with passion and personal experience, without sacrificing intelligent, critical thought. It's not exactly the magnum opus of the current fight for equality, nor is it going to spark massive debates and create some kind of new wave of feminism, but it's an excellent place to start
Isabelle
xox
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