Fashion model, UN ambassador and courageous spirit, Waris
Dirie is a remarkable woman, born into a traditional family of
tribal desert nomads in Somalia. She told her story - enduring, at
five years old, the ancient and savage custom of female
circumcision; running away at twelve on foot through the desert in
order to escape an arranged marriage; being discovered by Terence
Donovan as she worked as a cleaner in London; and becoming a top
fashion model - in her book, the worldwide bestseller, Desert
Flower. Although Waris Dirie fled her homeland, she never forgot
the country and culture that moulded her. The world of famine and
violence, where women have no voice and no place - the very world
that nearly destroyed her also gave her the tools to survive. She
traces the roots of her courage, resilience and humour back to her
motherland, and most particularly to her mother. Desert Dawn is the
story of that return and a testimony to the stubborn fact that you
can love something dearly and yet not love all that it represents.
Desert Dawn is about coming home.
關於作者:
Waris Dirie is an internationally renowned model. In 1997 she
was appointed by the UN as special ambassador for women''s rights in
Africa, in its efforts to eliminate female genital mutilation. She
lives in Wales with her son and is an active campaigner for the Red
Cross.