Between Two

Worlds: Escape from Tyranny:

Growing Up in the Shadow of Saddam

By: Zainab Salbi

Salbi, Z. & Becklund, L. (2005). Between two worlds: Escape from tyranny: Growing up in the shadow of Saddam. New York, NY: Penguin Group.

Overview

ò  In this autobiography, we are introduced to Zainab, a girl who grew up in Iraq during Saddam Hussein's rise to power and subsequent rule.

ò  The book follows Zainab from a very early age through adulthood and shows Saddam’s rise through her eyes.

ò  We come to see that Zainab didn’t see Saddam the way the rest of us do. This causes her to wrestle with the man she knew versus the man the rest of the world saw.

ò  Eventually, Zainab comes to terms with the life she has lived, and forms Women for Women International to help other women in situations like hers.

The Early Years

ò  Zainab Salbi (Maiden Name) was born in Baghdad, Iraq in 1970 and grew up a fairly privileged child.

ò  She was the daughter of a pilot and teacher, and they lived in the Airlines Neighborhood of Baghdad.

ò  Parents were progressive thinkers, and part of the privileged few in Iraq. Their social group had lots of parties, and were not very religious, meaning that they did not stick to most of the rules that govern the Muslim faith.

ò  She has two younger brothers, one 5 years younger and one 10 years younger, so her cousins and friends that were her age became like siblings to her.

ò  Zainab was 11 when her father was chosen as Saddam Hussein’s personal pilot. This forever changed the direction of her family’s life. After that, she was referred to as “The Pilot’s Daughter” in Iraq and everyone knew who she was.

ò  Zainab was instructed to call Saddam “Amo”, which is was all his friends called him and means uncle.

Teenage Years ò  Zainab went to a different secondary

school than most of her friends. She wanted to be more independent, and learn without being around the girls who gossiped so much.

ò  There, for the first time she learned of some of the things going on outside her social circle, like public executions, because it was not the privileged school that could hide everything from her.

ò  She realized that during this time, she had to guard herself from the people she met, no matter who they were. There is one instance in the book where her father tells her to get their phone number back from a friend she had made because you never knew who’s side anyone was on.

ò  In addition, she learned that most people had family who was going to war while hers was not because they were protected by “Amo”.

Zainab with Saddam, a family friend

Teenage Years Continued

ò  During this time, Zainab and her family spent every weekend at the “farmhouse” as it was referred to. This was one of Saddam’s many compounds where his “friends” lived.

ò  Her parents were asked to live at the Palace, but refused because it would be too far for her to go to school. In reality, this was an excuse, they didn’t want to be around Saddam 24/7 because they knew what was going on behind the scenes.

ò  During these weekends, Zainab said that they would all get dressed up and just wait for Saddam to show up at their house. Sometimes he would show up and sometimes he wouldn’t. There would also be shopping trips funded by Saddam, and all sorts of other things that most girls in Iraq were not afforded at that time.

ò  One day, Saddam took Zainab and two of her friends on a ride and tour of the compound in his sports car. The parents were all very worried about the girls because they knew about Saddam’s reputation.

ò  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LaN_aF1_vkg This video is of Zainab talking about life with Saddam.

An Arranged Marriage

ò  Zainab decided this might be a good idea since her way didn’t work out so well the first time.

ò  Unfortunately, after the engagement and marriage, Zainab’s husband changed into a man that she didn’t recognize. He was caring and loving in front of other people, but mean and demanding to her when they were alone.

ò  Eventually one day her husband raped her, and she decided that she was not going to take someone emotionally and physically abusing her anymore, so she left.

ò  Zainab moved to California and lived there for a time with an uncle. Her mother was not pleased with her, and she couldn’t understand how her super progressive mother had changed so much.

ò  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C9fLR_XVATs This video will tell you a little more about the arranged marriage Zainab was in.

Zainab went to college and met a man who she fell in love with. However, after she was engaged, she began to realize that one of the reasons he

wanted to be with her was so he could get close to Saddam. This did not sit

well with her, so she broke off the engagement.

A little while later, Zainab’s mother told her that she had gotten a call from

one of her friends in the US who wanted to talk about Zainab getting

engaged to her son.

Moving to DC

ò  Christmas of 1991, Zainab moved to DC determined to start fresh.

ò  Worked as an assistant to the ambassador in the League of Arab States.

ò  Met Amjad Atallah, a Palestinian-American who had recently graduated from the University of Virginia.

ò  Zanib eventually told Amjad all her secrets including about her ex-husband, and he kept her confidences.

ò  They married in January of 1993.

ò  Through Amjad, Zainab’s eyes were opened to all the information that had been kept from her during her formative years in Iraq, including who really started the war between Iraq and Iran and all the atrocities being committed.

Founding Women for Women International In 1993, Zainab heard about what was happening during the war to women in Bosnia

and Herzegovina and decided it was time to do something. Instead of going on a honeymoon like they had planned, she and Amjad went to Bosnia and Herzegovina

to find out what they could do to help. They met with women who were in rape camps where they were continually raped by soldiers, and who had no one left

because their families had been annihilated. This was the beginning of Women for Women International, which now helps women in eight different countries who have been negatively affected by war. You can learn more about what they do, and find out

how to help here: www.womenforwomen.org

Coming to Terms

ò  Zainab decided it was time to go back to her home country to help women like herself, but when she talked to her old friends and family, they wouldn’t acknowledge what had been happening, especially to women.

ò  There, she realized that in order to help the women of her own country, she had to first be honest about what had happened to her so many years ago.

ò  Eventually, Zainab and her mother talked about her ex-husband. Her mother admitted that she had wanted the arranged marriage for Zainab so that she could leave Iraq. Apparently, Saddam had his eye on Zainab to be one of the many women in his life, and her mother didn’t want that life for her. In the end, Zainab realized that although it was a bad marriage, it got her out of what could have been an even worse situation.

ò  The most amazing part of the whole story is that it came full circle. The Iraqi office of Women for Women International is actually in the home that Zainab’s mother grew up in in Baghdad overlooking the Tigris river.

It wasn’t until 9-11-2001 that Zainab even started to come to terms with

what had happened to her and where she had come from.

She said that her mother, over the years kept asking her why Zainab kept going to places that were war torn and

exactly the same as where her mom worked so hard to get her out of. Zainab didn’t really have a good

answer. However, everything changed when the US invaded Iraq.

Recommended for Youth Development

Professionals

ò  This book is a first person account of the side of war we don’t get to see much. It is in stark contrast to what has previously been known about the society and people around Saddam Hussein. Because this book comes from someone who was not on his staff, it makes it that much more interesting to read.

ò  In addition, this book shows that even the most privileged of people come out with scars from war, sometimes physical, and most definitely mental.

ò  This video is Zainab discussing her book and her work with Women for Women International. It is long, but worth the watch as a good synopsis of the book and explanation of what Women for Women International does. http://dev.forum-network.org/lecture/zainab-salbi-between-two-worlds

ò  I highly recommend this book to everyone. It was very interesting to me to read about the more personal side of Saddam, especially being at an age where my who life he has been a fixture of some sort. It also gave me a huge wake up call as to what is going on in these war-torn countries. I honestly had no idea, and am encouraged now to try and help where I might be able to.

YES!