Description
Book SynopsisTrade Review“The stories found within Defiance in Exile are an altogether human story of our species’ ability to enact unimaginable harm and suffering, while simultaneously illuminating the human capacity for hope and empathy. Athamneh and Masud are masterful storytellers, and they narrate the lives of the individuals they encounter with an emotional richness that brings the reader into the experiences without any hint of voyeurism.” —Hillary J. Haldane, co-editor of Applying Anthropology to Gender-Based Violence
“Defiance in Exile provides compelling first-person testimony of Syrian women’s experiences in the al-Zaatari refugee camp in Jordan. The accounts are vivid and well-presented, and we need to hear such voices to counteract the often hostile rhetoric about Syrian refugees that one hears in North Atlantic countries.” —Kim Shively, author of Islam in Modern Turkey
"If there is a 'must read' book inspired by what has happened to Syria and Syrians over the past decade, this is it. In telling the gripping stories of Syrian refugee women dealing with dispossession while leading their families and affirming themselves, Defiance in Exile speaks with penetrating insight and jarring directness to each one of us. No one will come away from reading this book unmoved or unchanged." —Ambassador Frederic C. Hof, diplomat-in-residence at Bard College and former US special envoy to Syria
"This hortatory collection of Syrian women refugees’ stories, this j'accuse against the evil Asad regime and a willfully oblivious world, is a call to awareness and action. Can you read these stories of loss, madness, despair, claustrophobia, and resilience without screaming that something must be done?" —Miriam Cooke, author of Dancing in Damascus
"Defiance in Exile is a powerful testimony of hope despite war, unimaginable heartbreak, and economic hardship. It is a book that delivers on its promise to truly reveal what it is like to be in a refugee camp. And it closes with a profoundly moving message of the need to care for and be in solidarity with the oppressed." —Dawn Chatty, author of Syria: The Making and Unmaking of a Refuge State
"If you want to be aware of the desperate life of Syrian refugees living in camps outside their lost home country, this book is a must. Defiance in Exile reflects an urgent call to do something about the Syrian refugee crisis." —Nikolaos van Dam, former ambassador of the Netherlands and special envoy for Syria and author of Destroying a Nation
"This slim volume by Athamneh and Masud movingly portrays the tragic condition of the millions of Syrians uprooted from their country because of the ongoing civil war that began in 2011. In particular, the authors focus on the impact on women living in the Zaatari refugee camp, located in the Jordanian desert." —Choice
Table of ContentsIntroduction: A Mission Is Born
1. A Chance To listen
2. How It All Started
3. Reaching The Camp
4. Memories And Tribulations
5. Saving The Children
6. Rising Amid The Pain
Conclusion
