Manal omar biography books

[Note: the copy I read was titled Barefoot in Baghdad.

Barefoot in Baghdad is going to be a hard book for me to review because I have very mixed feelings about it.

First, let me make it clear that I applaud the author for the work she was, and is, doing.

I have nothing but respect and admiration for that.

The author, who describes herself as an Arab, an American, a Palestinian, a Southerner, a Muslim, and a woman, traveled to Iraq as an American aid worker.

Manal omar biography books free Omar 1 book 7 followers. And at times dangerous. I did enjoy understanding more about the culture and the difficulty she had reconciling women given the Iraqi way. I liked that she was able to admit her failures just as much as her successes.

In addition, she chooses traditional dress, which is a help is some instances but establishes a barrier in others. She is caught between worlds, seen as too traditional by some and too modern and too American by others.

The story is touted as beautifully written but I didn't find it so. In the finished, published edition there were mistakes that grated.

When she was discussing the English language shortcomings of some of the Iraqis, did she really mean “an emerging pigeon English language”? And had Fadi really “slammed on the breaks”? Fortunately, either there were fewer mistakes in the later pages or I just didn't notice them as much.

The problems for me started in the introduction with the sentence, “But I could not exonerate the United States for its role in allowing Iraq to devolve into violence.” I am not and never have been a fan of the American war in Iraq and know that much has been handled very badly, but throughout the book she seems to blame the U.

S. for even the problems that were not of its making. As a humanitarian aid worker, she understandably wants to keep her distance from the military, and yet she relies on it for favors, including a ride out of the country when she had delayed too long for other options.

Manal omar biography books Manal was determined to make the lives of the women in Iraq better and kept returning until she could make that difference. Version papier du livre. View all retailers. Omar's story, and I did learn from it, but it wasn't for me.

It felt to me there was too much finger-pointing and not enough cooperation.

The author came across to me as too arrogant and self-important. Immediately on meeting her staff of men she writes:

I jumped in to try to break the ice again. “Well, that's all good. But at the end of the day it's still a bit odd.

Women for Women, and all I see in front of me are four men.

Manal omar biography books pdf I thought the book would be more about the women of Iraq, their stories and triumphs but instead the author talks about her own difficulties in working for a NGO in a worn torn country. So when the company I work for asked me to stop over in Baghdad on a 3-day mission, I took this book with me to read on the plane. Her middle eastern roots that she wants to discover is not necessarily her ancestoral roots it could he her cultural and religious roots. I particularly liked how she tries to find normal even amidst the chaos.

We are going to have to change that.”

I can't see it being a very effective ice-breaker to immediately make your new co-workers wonder if they are going to lose their jobs because they are not female. I have to say that the men with whom she worked closely were courageous, loyal, and helpful beyond any expectations.

I really admired them.

When Ms. Omar is trying to find a safe place for one year-old prostitute who ran away from her abusive husband whom she was forced to marry at 13, she speaks to a woman who runs an orphanage for girls but cannot take this one, or others like her, because of the cultural implications and dangers.

Before I left I asked her, “If you know the need is there, why don't you fight to create something for these girls?”

It seemed very judgmental to say such a thing to a woman trying to protect girls because the woman can't also protect the ones not allowed in the orphanage.

Yet a few pages later, the author, still trying to find a safe place for the girl, visits a “special needs” orphanage that was hell on earth, left the child there, and immediately returned to get her again because she couldn't leave her there.

Omar mateen biography Road Trip. Manal M. So overall, I did not like this book at all. If not for the description on the back, I would have been totally caught off guard in many scenes and utterly confused.

So the same could be said about the author: If you know the need is there, why don't you fight to create something for these children? I know that she cannot do everything, but neither could the woman running the girls' orphanage.

These are just some of the things that caused me to like the book less than I expected.

I wanted more stories of the women she helped, and she undoubtedly did help women, and less of her life in Iraq. The story was engaging but not as well written as I had hoped. Even after writing this review, I still have mixed feelings about the book.

A free copy of this book was provided to me by the publisher.