Allah's Garden

In 1979, young medical graduate Azeddine Benmasour started his Moroccan military service in Western Sahara. He was captured by the Polisario in August of that year, and remained a prisoner of war in the Sahara until his release in September 2003.


This remarkable book by American writer Thomas Hollowell has just been published. The true story of Azeddine's life in the camps over almost 25 years is woven into Hollowell's own story of being drawn to Morocco and his experiences over several years in the country. The author interviewed Azeddine over many months and carried out a great deal of research on the subject.

Dr Azeddine Bensamour as a young recruit

It's a harrowing tale of the fate of more than 1700 Moroccans held as POWs over this period and is told with great sensitivity. For many years, the Polisario managed to pull the wool over the eyes of many human rights organisations until eventually the organisations, such as the Red Cross and Red Crescent, started to realise how badly the POWs were being treated physically, mentally and emotionally. Azeddine rarely received letters from his family and missed his father's death.

Says James N. Sater, author of Morocco: Challenges to Tradition and Modernity (New York: Routledge, 2009),
"The agony of Azeddine, a Moroccan prisoner of war in the camps run by Polisario, is a sad reminder of the cost of war in Western Sahara paid by men, women and children far removed from the centers of power in Rabat, Algiers, Washington DC and European capitals ... Thomas Hollowell's powerful narrative ... is an excellent account of a humanitarian disaster that started more than 35 years ago."

Allah's Garden will be launched from 17h00-19h00 on 21 June at Cafe Clock with a book signing and reading. There's also a competition: once 5000 books have been sold, there'll be a draw with a prize of a 10-night trip to Morocco. If you purchase the book from the publisher, you'll be entered automatically; those who buy it elsewhere can register for the draw on the sponsor's website here.



Tags: Moroccan Morocco Fes, Maghreb news