Omwa Ombaras beautifully written account speaks volumes to those who have become victims of circumstances and targeted for honesty. An innocuous, truthful interview from the past develops into a looming spectre forcing her to flee the country and profession she loves. A must read for journalists and the public at large Tom Rhodes, East Africa Consultant, Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).
Although this is a dramatic experience, its educational. For those who think journalism is this cushy glamorous career, hold tight. Yes, you get to travel and meet both important and dangerous others; thus, you have to be oh so careful. Who do you trust? Criminals want positive words to describe themselves. If an apple is rotten, it is rotten. Sometimes, your life is not your own. Knowing the truth can put you in grave danger. The story is definitely a page-turner (Monique Gordon, author, Binkys Words).
Leaving your family, possessions, boyfriend, pets behind is devastating. I race with the author from safe house to safe house, imagining how one manages to cope. I become Omwas weary mother worried about her childs safety. I am kidnapped, have my six lower teeth removed. The book is authentic and draws the reader close to the heart of African culture (Paula Gordon, artist).
Riveting and fast-paced as Omwa, a rare breed of principled but naive local Kenyan journalist, determined not to die, hides and flees for her life with her enemies in hot pursuit. It all starts with a single phone call, which turns the quiet life of Omwa into the dangerous unenviable life of an ICC potential witness against powerful dark forces who control loyal, devoted, ruthless thugs, state security, and intelligence. A must read (Joab Okello, attorney, New York).
American blacks discuss returning to the motherland but fail to understand what returning entails. You cant return to a place that has failed you and where youve never been. Sniff! Sniff! (Endo Fur-coats king of the park).
This well-written book gives me a view of a real world that is completely strange to me. Many people have not experienced that dark world or how stark the manmade hell is or can be. Omwa has a unique way with words that gives a colorful description of that life. If you ever read The Trial by Kafka, you will feel a bewilderment of the accused but never will you know what the case was really about, mainly since the accused never knew himself. The book portrays a foggy world seen through a foggy haze of fear and alienation (Thor Bergers, computer and information scientist).
This highly humorous book is intense, captivating, candid, engaging, inspiring. The author does not dwell on self-pity but draws from her deep well of positive energy to travel the rough corners of her dangerous journey. A must read for anyone who is stuck and wants to move on (Korlu Ezike, medical case manager/therapist, Philadelphia FIGHT).
As a reader, am sympathetic with the trailing of the journalist that leads to an adventurous journey which involves traveling in the country, hiding at the coast and in a bar. This fear drives the narrator to find anywhere that could feel safe. In the end, the narrator secures asylum. Job Mokaya, Senior Editor, East African Educational Publishers (EAEP).
New Year is one of the sweetest moments in Kenya, the climax of Christmas festivities that gather family from distant ends of the country for two weeks of laughter, sunshine, hugs,
