
Tears of the Desert
A Memoir of Survival in Darfur
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
$0.99/mo for the first 3 months

Buy for $25.00
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Rosalyn Landor
About this listen
But shortly thereafter Janjaweed Arab militias began savagely assaulting the Zaghawa, often with the backing of the Sudan military. At first, Halima tried not to get involved. But in January 2004 the Janjaweed attacked her area, raping 42 schoolgirls and their teachers. Halima treated the traumatized rape victims, some of whom were as young as eight years old, then spoke up about what she had witnessed in Sudanese newspaper and to the UN charities. But the secret police came for her and Halima was interrogated and subjected to unspeakable torture and multiple rapes. She managed to escape into hiding in her home village, but Janjaweed raiders backed by helicopter gunships attacked her home. Halima's father was killed, her village turned into a smoking ruin. She knew that she had to leave for good.
Taking what little money her mother could spare her, Halima set out on an epic journey to escape the hell of Darfur. With little idea how she might get there, she chose to head for England, where a long-lost childhood cousin was waiting to marry her. Now she is determined to share her story with the world in hopes that her tale will help shed light on the hundreds of thousands of innocent and beautiful lives being snuffed out by what is quickly becoming one of the most terrible genocides of the 21st century.
©2008 Halima Bashir, Damien Lewis (P)2008 Brilliance Audio, Inc.Listeners also enjoyed...
-
In Order to Live
- A North Korean Girl's Journey to Freedom
- By: Yeonmi Park
- Narrated by: Eji Kim
- Length: 9 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In In Order to Live, Yeonmi Park shines a light not just into the darkest corners of life in North Korea, describing the deprivation and deception she endured and which millions of North Korean people continue to endure to this day, but also onto her own most painful and difficult memories. She tells with bravery and dignity for the first time the story of how she and her mother were betrayed and sold into sexual slavery in China and forced to suffer terrible psychological and physical hardship before they finally made their way to Seoul, South Korea - and to freedom.
-
-
Wow. What a story!
- By Jfm on 02-01-16
By: Yeonmi Park
-
The Last Girl
- My Story of Captivity, and My Fight Against the Islamic State
- By: Nadia Murad
- Narrated by: Ilyana Kadushin
- Length: 12 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Nadia Murad was born and raised in Kocho, a small village of farmers and shepherds in Northern Iraq. A member of the Yazidi community, she and her brothers and sisters lived a quiet life. Nadia had dreams of becoming a history teacher or opening her own beauty salon. On August 15, 2014, when Nadia was just 21 years old, this life ended. Islamic State militants massacred the people of her village, executing men who refused to convert to Islam and women too old to become sex slaves.
-
-
A Heartbreaking Tale of Survival and Hope
- By Leahmgordon on 11-08-17
By: Nadia Murad
-
Slave
- By: Mende Nazar, Damien Lewis
- Narrated by: Adjoa Andoh
- Length: 10 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Mende Nazer tells the story of her kidnap, at age 12, from an idyllic life with her family in a village in Sudan, and being sold into slavery. Trafficked to Europe and the London home of a diplomat, Nazer escaped - only to find she had to fight for asylum.
-
-
Heartbreaking dose of reality
- By Sarah on 09-02-09
By: Mende Nazar, and others
-
The Girl Who Escaped ISIS
- This Is My Story
- By: Farida Khalaf, Andrea C. Hoffmann
- Narrated by: Lara Sawalha
- Length: 7 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the early summer of 2014, Farida Khalaf was a typical Yazidi teenager living with her parents and three brothers in her village in the mountains of Northern Iraq. In one horrific day, she lost everything: ISIS invaded her village, destroyed her family, and sold her into sexual slavery. The Girl Who Escaped ISIS is her incredible account of captivity and describes how she defied the odds and escaped a life of torture in order to share her story with the world.
-
-
Wow....a must read!
- By Kelly Miller on 08-09-16
By: Farida Khalaf, and others
-
Princess
- A True Story of Life Behind the Veil in Saudi Arabia
- By: Jean Sasson
- Narrated by: Catherine Byers
- Length: 7 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Princess describes the life of Princess Sultana Al Sa'ud, a princess in the royal house of Saudi Arabia. Hidden behind her black veil, she is a prisoner, jailed by her father, her husband, and her country. Sultana tells of appalling oppressions, everyday occurrences that in any other culture would be seen as shocking human rights violations: 13-year-old girls forced to marry men five times their age; young women killed by drowning, stoning, or isolation in the "women's room". Princess is a testimony to a woman of indomitable spirit and courage.
-
-
Good story but...
- By Jay Friedman on 07-25-14
By: Jean Sasson
-
The Girl with Seven Names
- A North Korean Defector’s Story
- By: Hyeonseo Lee, David John
- Narrated by: Josie Dunn
- Length: 10 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
As a child growing up in North Korea, Hyeonseo Lee was one of millions trapped by a secretive and brutal communist regime. Her home on the border with China gave her some exposure to the world beyond the confines of the Hermit Kingdom and, as the famine of the 1990s struck, she began to wonder, question and realise that she had been brainwashed her entire life. Given the repression, poverty and starvation she witnessed surely her country could not be, as she had been told, 'the best on the planet'?
-
-
Did not like narrator
- By Linda H. Andreae on 10-09-19
By: Hyeonseo Lee, and others
-
In Order to Live
- A North Korean Girl's Journey to Freedom
- By: Yeonmi Park
- Narrated by: Eji Kim
- Length: 9 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In In Order to Live, Yeonmi Park shines a light not just into the darkest corners of life in North Korea, describing the deprivation and deception she endured and which millions of North Korean people continue to endure to this day, but also onto her own most painful and difficult memories. She tells with bravery and dignity for the first time the story of how she and her mother were betrayed and sold into sexual slavery in China and forced to suffer terrible psychological and physical hardship before they finally made their way to Seoul, South Korea - and to freedom.
-
-
Wow. What a story!
- By Jfm on 02-01-16
By: Yeonmi Park
-
The Last Girl
- My Story of Captivity, and My Fight Against the Islamic State
- By: Nadia Murad
- Narrated by: Ilyana Kadushin
- Length: 12 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Nadia Murad was born and raised in Kocho, a small village of farmers and shepherds in Northern Iraq. A member of the Yazidi community, she and her brothers and sisters lived a quiet life. Nadia had dreams of becoming a history teacher or opening her own beauty salon. On August 15, 2014, when Nadia was just 21 years old, this life ended. Islamic State militants massacred the people of her village, executing men who refused to convert to Islam and women too old to become sex slaves.
-
-
A Heartbreaking Tale of Survival and Hope
- By Leahmgordon on 11-08-17
By: Nadia Murad
-
Slave
- By: Mende Nazar, Damien Lewis
- Narrated by: Adjoa Andoh
- Length: 10 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Mende Nazer tells the story of her kidnap, at age 12, from an idyllic life with her family in a village in Sudan, and being sold into slavery. Trafficked to Europe and the London home of a diplomat, Nazer escaped - only to find she had to fight for asylum.
-
-
Heartbreaking dose of reality
- By Sarah on 09-02-09
By: Mende Nazar, and others
-
The Girl Who Escaped ISIS
- This Is My Story
- By: Farida Khalaf, Andrea C. Hoffmann
- Narrated by: Lara Sawalha
- Length: 7 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the early summer of 2014, Farida Khalaf was a typical Yazidi teenager living with her parents and three brothers in her village in the mountains of Northern Iraq. In one horrific day, she lost everything: ISIS invaded her village, destroyed her family, and sold her into sexual slavery. The Girl Who Escaped ISIS is her incredible account of captivity and describes how she defied the odds and escaped a life of torture in order to share her story with the world.
-
-
Wow....a must read!
- By Kelly Miller on 08-09-16
By: Farida Khalaf, and others
-
Princess
- A True Story of Life Behind the Veil in Saudi Arabia
- By: Jean Sasson
- Narrated by: Catherine Byers
- Length: 7 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Princess describes the life of Princess Sultana Al Sa'ud, a princess in the royal house of Saudi Arabia. Hidden behind her black veil, she is a prisoner, jailed by her father, her husband, and her country. Sultana tells of appalling oppressions, everyday occurrences that in any other culture would be seen as shocking human rights violations: 13-year-old girls forced to marry men five times their age; young women killed by drowning, stoning, or isolation in the "women's room". Princess is a testimony to a woman of indomitable spirit and courage.
-
-
Good story but...
- By Jay Friedman on 07-25-14
By: Jean Sasson
-
The Girl with Seven Names
- A North Korean Defector’s Story
- By: Hyeonseo Lee, David John
- Narrated by: Josie Dunn
- Length: 10 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
As a child growing up in North Korea, Hyeonseo Lee was one of millions trapped by a secretive and brutal communist regime. Her home on the border with China gave her some exposure to the world beyond the confines of the Hermit Kingdom and, as the famine of the 1990s struck, she began to wonder, question and realise that she had been brainwashed her entire life. Given the repression, poverty and starvation she witnessed surely her country could not be, as she had been told, 'the best on the planet'?
-
-
Did not like narrator
- By Linda H. Andreae on 10-09-19
By: Hyeonseo Lee, and others
-
Yasmeena's Choice
- A True Story of War, Rape, Courage and Survival
- By: Jean Sasson
- Narrated by: Parisa Johnston
- Length: 7 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This is the true story of Yasmeena, a bright and beautiful young Lebanese woman who was imprisoned in Kuwait during the first Gulf War. Yasmeena's shocking journey is a tale of the madness of war, of the sexual brutality unleashed by chaos, and of one woman’s courage to stand in danger’s way to aid her fellow sufferers.
-
-
Not what I expected.
- By Kelleefornia on 03-13-15
By: Jean Sasson
-
The Warmth of Other Suns
- The Epic Story of America's Great Migration
- By: Isabel Wilkerson
- Narrated by: Robin Miles
- Length: 22 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From 1915 to 1970, this exodus of almost six million people changed the face of America. Wilkerson compares this epic migration to the migrations of other peoples in history. She interviewed more than a thousand people, and gained access to new data and official records, to write this definitive and vividly dramatic account of how these American journeys unfolded, altering our cities, our country, and ourselves.
-
-
Superior non-fiction
- By Lila on 05-20-11
By: Isabel Wilkerson
-
A River in Darkness
- One Man's Escape from North Korea
- By: Masaji Ishikawa, Risa Kobayashi - translator, Martin Brown - translator
- Narrated by: Brian Nishii
- Length: 5 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Half-Korean, half-Japanese, Masaji Ishikawa has spent his whole life feeling like a man without a country. This feeling only deepened when his family moved from Japan to North Korea when Ishikawa was just thirteen years old, and unwittingly became members of the lowest social caste. His father, himself a Korean national, was lured to the new Communist country by promises of abundant work, education for his children, and a higher station in society. But the reality of their new life was far from utopian.
-
-
Awful! And I don't mean the book . . .
- By DJW on 01-03-18
By: Masaji Ishikawa, and others
-
The Devil Came on Horseback
- Bearing Witness to the Genocide in Darfur
- By: Brian Steidle, Gretchen Steidle Wallace
- Narrated by: Jeff Cummings
- Length: 7 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Devil Came on Horseback is an intense, vivid autobiographical report from the heart of violent Darfur and a call to action by a former American Marine who became a military observer for the African Union. The first extensive on-the-ground account of the genocide in Sudan, it leads us through the tragic impact of an Arab government bent on destroying its black African citizens and the frustrating complexity of international inaction.
-
-
A review from a local point of view
- By Ahmed on 11-12-12
By: Brian Steidle, and others
-
Wild Swans
- Three Daughters of China
- By: Jung Chang
- Narrated by: Joy Osmanski
- Length: 22 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Few books have had such an impact as Wild Swans: a popular best seller which has sold more than 13 million copies and a critically acclaimed history of China; a tragic tale of nightmarish cruelty and an uplifting story of bravery and survival.
-
-
Accurate, moving and chilling
- By David on 12-15-12
By: Jung Chang
-
Infidel
- By: Ayaan Hirsi Ali
- Narrated by: Ayaan Hirsi Ali
- Length: 16 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This New York Times best-seller is the astonishing life story of award-winning humanitarian Ayaan Hirsi Ali. A deeply respected advocate for free speech and women's rights, Hirsi Ali also lives under armed protection because of her outspoken criticism of the Islamic faith in which she was raised.
-
-
Tough, Candid Assessment
- By Paul Mullen on 02-18-08
By: Ayaan Hirsi Ali
-
Guest House for Young Widows
- Among the Women of ISIS
- By: Azadeh Moaveni
- Narrated by: Sarah Agha
- Length: 13 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Among the many books trying to understand the terrifying rise of ISIS, none has given voice to the women in the organization; but women were essential to the establishment of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi’s caliphate. Responding to promises of female empowerment and social justice, and calls to aid the plight of fellow Muslims in Syria, thousands of women emigrated to join the Islamic State. Guest House for Young Widows charts the different ways women were recruited, inspired, or compelled to join the militants.
-
-
An important topic, but a problematic book
- By Amazon Customer on 06-03-20
By: Azadeh Moaveni
-
An American Bride in Kabul
- By: Phyllis Chesler PhD
- Narrated by: Janet Metzger
- Length: 10 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Few westerners will ever be able to understand Muslim or Afghan society unless they are part of a Muslim family. Twenty years old and in love, Phyllis Chesler, a Jewish-American girl from Brooklyn, embarked on an adventure that has lasted for more than a half-century. Drawing upon her personal diaries, Chesler recounts her ordeal, the nature of gender apartheid - and her longing to explore this beautiful, ancient, and exotic country and culture.
-
-
An Exceptional Book
- By Elaine Fresco on 04-16-19
-
Broken
- The Most Shocking Childhood Story Ever Told. An Inspirational Author Who Survived It.
- By: Shy Keenan
- Narrated by: Judy Mason
- Length: 10 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
I was born and broken in Birkenhead, abused from infancy by a network of every kind of pervert from ‘thinks it’s love’ to ‘show it hurts’. I was unwanted, beaten, sold, swapped, photographed, filmed, left for dead, corrupted, blamed, betrayed, ignored and orphaned. But I was also born with a fire inside me. I call it my Phoenix Fire. I am no victim—that word only describes what happened to me. Nor am I a survivor because that implies I am over it. I am a Phoenix—a work in progress. This is my story....
-
-
Unbelievable Story
- By Amazon Customer on 09-07-23
By: Shy Keenan
-
Rebel
- My Escape from Saudi Arabia to Freedom
- By: Rahaf Mohammed
- Narrated by: anonymous
- Length: 7 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In early 2019, after three years of careful planning, Rahaf Mohammed finally escaped her abusive family in Saudi Arabia—but made it only to Bangkok before being stripped of her passport. If forced to return home, she was sure she would be killed, like other rebel women in her country. As men pounded at the door of her barricaded hotel room, she opened a Twitter account. The teenager reached out to the world, and the world answered—she gained 45,000 followers in one day, and those followers helped her seek asylum in the West. Now Rahaf Mohammed tells her remarkable story in her own words.
-
-
incredible story even for me as a Saudi man
- By Amer on 03-12-22
By: Rahaf Mohammed
-
Left to Tell
- Discovering God Amidst the Rwandan Holocaust
- By: Immaculée Ilibagiza
- Narrated by: Immaculée Ilibagiza
- Length: 5 hrs and 12 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In 1994, Immaculee Ilibagiza's world was ripped apart when her native country of Rwanda descended into a bloody genocide. Her family was brutally murdered during a killing spree that lasted three months and claimed the lives of nearly a million Rwandans. Miraculously, Immaculee survived the slaughter.
-
-
What a triumphant spirit
- By Kim on 01-22-07
-
Breaking Free
- How I Escaped Polygamy, the FLDS Cult, and My Father, Warren Jeffs
- By: Rachel Jeffs
- Narrated by: Rachel Jeffs
- Length: 8 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this searing memoir of survival in the spirit of Stolen Innocence, the daughter of Warren Jeffs, the self-proclaimed Prophet of the FLDS Church, takes you deep inside the secretive polygamist Mormon fundamentalist cult run by her family and how she escaped it. Born into the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, Rachel Jeffs was raised in a strict patriarchal culture defined by subordinate sister wives and men they must obey.
-
-
Heart breaking addition to the FLDS cult story
- By Abby Martin on 12-10-17
By: Rachel Jeffs
What listeners say about Tears of the Desert
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
- kristin
- 07-10-10
Very heartbreaking
This story was written very well and some parts are very hard to listen to, my face was cringing. On the other hand it has made me very curious about the war in Sudan, something I really hadn't known about until I read the book Slave, which led me to reading this book, I just can't believe that this is still going on today!!!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Justicepirate
- 05-22-17
A story that takes you there
What made the experience of listening to Tears of the Desert the most enjoyable?
I truly felt as if I was Halima while reading this. I felt her emotions so much and saw the images she described. It was really amazing how real and raw it was.
Who was your favorite character and why?
Halima's dad seemed like a really great man. He was invested in his children and never looked down on Halima for being a girl, but helped her pursue her dreams. He was very loving and caring. I truly appreciated hearing her fondness in her descriptions of him.
What about Rosalyn Landor’s performance did you like?
She just did a really beautiful job and had a soothing voice.
Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?
I did a bit of both because there were a couple funny stories, but most were very sad, especially when you listen to her stories of how she was treated in school and buy those who went out to harm her in various ways. It broke my heart.
Any additional comments?
This book explains FGM and rape. It is not easy to handle, so beware that you will learn things that might really upset you and make you mad.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- guy mostoller
- 09-13-22
I never had a story effect me so strongly then this one !
This story was so unbelievable and truly very very sad ! Never has such a story effected me so much as this one !
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Amazon Customer
- 07-21-19
absolutely amazing and heartbreaking
despite all the challenges she faced she persevered
and did not change her heart or beliefs she stood true to her people and spoke up when no one else would no matter the consequences.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- P. Blair
- 01-17-19
deceitful book
this book takes an anecdote about a tiny minority of atrocities and tried to pass it off as the norm in the ethnic cleansing of South Sudanese Christians by war criminal Omar Al-Bashir. it's deceptive and unfair to the victims. it also helps embolden the supporters of the ethnic cleansing in Saudi Arabia etc.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Always Honest
- 08-14-16
A Bit Slow
The story was interesting and enlightening. I had no knowledge of the horrrors that some people endured in Darfur. Halima Bashir relays the story of her journey through hell to freedom. Overall, I am glad to have read it, but found it a litte slow sometimes. It was not a book I couldn't put down.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful