Hope and Despair: My Struggle to Free My Husband, Maher Arar [IMPORT] (Hardcover)

~ Monia Mazigh (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review

“A fascinating book.”
— Quill & Quire

“A great love story for our times … a stirring, inspiring tale of a woman who would not give up on her husband, who steadfastly believed in him despite a chorus of powerful voices condemning him.”
— Calgary Herald

Product Description

The inspiring story of Monia Mazigh’s courageous fight to free her husband, Maher Arar, from a Syrian jail.

On September 26, 2002, Maher Arar boarded an American Airlines plane bound for New York, returning early from vacation with his family because a work project needed his attention. He was a Canadian citizen, a telecommunications engineer and entrepreneur who had never been in trouble with the law. His nightmare began when he was pulled aside by Immigration officials at JFK airport, questioned, held without access to a lawyer, and ultimately deported to Syria on the suspicion that he had terrorist links. He would remain there, tortured and imprisoned for over one year. Meanwhile his wife, Monia, and their two children stayed on visiting family in Tunisia, unaware that their lives were about to be torn apart.

Upon her return to Canada, Monia was horrified at the media’s and public’s willingness to assume that the Canadian police and intelligence agencies, and their American counterparts, take on her husband as a terrorist was correct. She began a tireless campaign to bring public attention and government action to her husband’s plight, eventually turning the tide of public opinion in Arar’s favour, and gaining his release and return to Canada. Of her willingness to speak out, she has said that she was never afraid: “I had lost my life. I didn’t have more to lose.”

This is a remarkable story of personal courage, and of an extraordinary woman who lets us into her life so that other Canadians can understand the denial of rights and the discarding of human rights her family suffered. Candid, poignant, and inspiring, this is the most important book of the season.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 272 pages
• Publisher: McClelland & Stewart (November 4, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 077105758X
• ISBN-13: 978-0771057588
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,048,101 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A triumph of courage and decency, December 14, 2008

By	John Kittridge - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Like many Canadians, I witnessed the unfolding of Maher Arar's story with a mixture of shock and shame, feelings of fear yielding to incredulity, outrage and disgust. The so-called war on terror and the subsequent stifling of civil liberties has made it easy to feel despair, and has given us very little about which to feel hopeful.

Here is a book that does give us hope, whether we are worthy of such redemption or not. Monia Mazigh's account of her battle is one of courage and conviction. She chose to take on the cruelty and indifference of government officials, jailers and journalists armed with intelligence, perseverance and faith in the rule of law. Her choice to keep to herself the terrible emotional cost of her struggle is preserved in the narrative of this wonderful book, but not so completely as to prevent the reader from frequently being moved to tears.

This is a book that must be read and re-read, for the sake of Maher Arar and Monia Mazigh and their children, and for the sake of all our children, who share an instinctive understanding of justice and deserve to understand the meaning and the value of human rights and the terrible cost we ultimately pay when we are willing to sacrifice innocent individuals.

5.0 out of 5 stars Very simply, everyone should read this book., January 8, 2009

By	Rachael Craig (Halifax, Nova Scotia) - See all my reviews

John Kittridge had already said much of what I would say, and in better words. Instead, I say that I read Dr. Mazigh's book in an evening and was deeply moved. I think that women especially will be able to relate to her struggle and wonder, "Could something like this happen to my family?"

The following quotation from the epilogue is worth repeating, so that everyone knows and so that we do not forget.

"Human rights will always be fragile - this is demonstrated again and again, even in democratic societies. We cannot afford to let down our guard." -- Monia Mazigh

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing book, January 7, 2009

By	Hichem Bouslama - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I enjoyed this True story, one of the best I have ever read about Human courage and faith. The timing of this book makes no doubts that a positive change is occurring. I appreciate Dr Mazigh's sincere devotion to defend Human rights and speak out against injustice. The years to come will reveal many elements about why all that happened: The sep 11 Tragedy, Maher Arar's Tragedy..the Evil hands that tries to manipulate public opinion. After every night, there is a bright day waiting. After all, this book is a message of hope.