Book: Slave

Book: Slave

Authors: Mende Nazer and Damien Lewis

Publisher: Virago

Reviewer: Namhla Tshisela

A lot of effort has been made by scientists and fundamentalists to prove Africans an inferior race.

This seems to have been the reason behind the cruel treatment that Africans have suffered over centuries.

Slavery is one of these forms. You'd be forgiven if you thought it was long dead and buried.

The modern-day version of slavery is once again exposed in Mende Nazer's memoirs.

Born in the Nuba mountains of Sudan, her idyllic childhood comes to an abrupt end during a civil war when her village is raided and pillaged by Arab extremists.

She is kidnapped, raped and separated from her loving family.

She is then forced to flee Khartoum where her life as a slave begins.

Sold to a snooty family in the city, she endures tremendous cruelty.

Though also a Muslim, she is denied the right to practice her religion, touch and play with her master's children and share the same utensils and space as that of her master.

Her "lucky break" comes after more than seven years when she is "passed on" to another prominent family in England. Though they seem kind at first, they subject her to the same cruel treatment as her previous masters.

Through sheer guts and perseverance, she manages to escape. Read about her remarkable attempts at freedom to appreciate the strengths of the human spirit. Slave is an extraordinary account of human trial and triumph.