Read Zainab Salbi's bio

THE OTHER SIDE OF WAR:
Women's Stories of Survival and Hope

September 19, 2006, WASHINGTON, DC -- This fall, National Geographic presents an important book for our era, THE OTHER SIDE OF WAR: Women’s Stories of Survival and Hope (National Geographic Books, ISBN 0-7922-6211-5, Sept. 19, 2006, $28). Sharing firsthand experiences of women in many of the world’s most war-devastated areas, author Zainab Salbi opens a window onto the often unseen costs of conflict, personal realities behind the headlines, and the resilient individuals who manage not only to live through their worst nightmares, but to find ways to keep on living.

THE OTHER SIDE OF WAR, with a thoughtful and powerful preface by renowned novelist and human rights activist Alice Walker, looks at the lives of women in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Colombia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Afghanistan, Sudan and Rwanda — six very different countries whose citizens face the common horrors of war. Walker and Salbi both note that it is of no small importance that even before the wars came, gender inequality ruled these cultures.

Even though the women’s stories are marked by unthinkable brutality — rape, mutilation and murder — they are also marked by courage, hope, healing and renewal. Some 120 intimate pictures by award-winning photographers Susan Meiselas, Sylvia Plachy and Lekha Singh introduce readers to these remarkable women.

While this is not a tome of statistics, the numbers presented are shocking: A century ago, 90 percent of war casualties were male soldiers. Today, an estimated 90 percent of casualties are
civilians, and 75 percent of these are estimated to be women and children.

In her introduction, Salbi shares her mission. “If we are to understand war fully, we need to understand not only what happens on the front lines, but what happens on the back lines as well, where women are in charge of keeping life going. This book is meant to go beyond the bullets, the battles, and the politics to present nuanced views of war held by the women who have lived through it. The stories they tell are of incredible loss and cruelty, but they reveal an equally incredible degree of courage and creativity that shows women in their full agency, not merely as victims.”

Salbi, a survivor of war herself, who grew up in Iraq where her father was Saddam Hussein’s pilot, is the founder of Women for Women International, a nonprofit organization that provides women survivors of war, civil strife and other conflicts with tools and resources to move from crisis and poverty into stability and self-sufficiency.

Organized by geographic location, each chapter in THE OTHER SIDE OF WAR features a map and an overview of how that nation’s history led to — or fueled — its recent conflict. Stories of individual women are then told through Salbi’s writing as well as the women’s own illuminating words. The quotes and evocative portraits of these survivors present a dynamic, engaging and often heartrending
interaction of text and images.

The atrocities are difficult to read about. Esperance, a Congolese woman, was raped, kidnapped, impregnated and enslaved by soldiers when she was 17. A border away, in Rwanda, Beatrice survived a machete massacre, only because she was hidden beneath the dead bodies of her seven children. Milena fights for property rights for women in her rural Colombian community, even while outspoken leaders, including her husband, have been assassinated around her.

Yet, as the sensitive photographs illustrate, there is another dimension to the women’s stories — one of hope. Images of women smiling, of working in new businesses, of dancing in celebration, or
teaching their children to read and write are as uplifting as the stories are tragic and heroic. Esperance has returned to school and aspires to be a nurse. Beatrice adopted five children orphaned by the genocide in her homeland. Milena is a community leader, managing a chicken cooperative and pondering her next organizational goals.

In her preface, Walker gives voice to the motivation she believes is present in these survivors and indeed in all women. “We help each other. We never forget what war has taught us… We, having been so nearly destroyed, can use what we learned from our destruction to start the world again.”

THE OTHER SIDE OF WAR tells stories of pain and of healing. Against all odds, these women have repaired communities, raised children, returned to school, started businesses and shed their shame and silence about what they have endured. Their courage will enrich, inspire and challenge those who read this timely volume.

Salbi’s first book, a memoir titled Between Two Worlds: Escape from Tyranny: Growing up in the Shadow of Saddam, with Laurie Becklund, covers her childhood as part of Saddam Hussein’s inner circle. It was released in paperback on August 17 (Gotham Books, $14).

Vilma, a Colombian mother of three, was also fighting a battle against lung cancer when she returned to school to get her high-school diploma.  photo: Susan Meiselas

A muddy street in Afghanistan, once the site of hand-to-hand combat, leads to Azada's home. photo: Lekha Singh

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