|
|
By Malika Oufkir, Michele Fitoussi, Ros Schwartz (Translator)
Oprah Winfrey’s Book Club Selection: 2001
At the age of 5, Malika Oufkir, eldest daughter of General Oufkir, was adopted by King Muhammad V of Morocco and sent to live
in the palace as part of the royal court. There she led a life of unimaginable privilege and luxury alongside the king's own
daughter. King Hassan II ascended the throne following Muhammad V's death, and in 1972 General Oufkir was found guilty of
treason after staging a coup against the new regime, and was summarily executed. Immediately afterward, Malika, her mother,
and her five siblings were arrested and imprisoned, despite having no prior knowledge of the coup attempt.
They were first held in an abandoned fort, where they ate moderately well and were allowed to keep some of their fine clothing
and books. Conditions steadily deteriorated, and the family was eventually transferred to a remote desert prison, where they
suffered a decade of solitary confinement, torture, starvation, and the complete absence of sunlight. Oufkir's horrifying
descriptions of the conditions are mesmerizing, particularly when contrasted with her earlier life in the royal court, and many
graphic images will long haunt readers. Finally, teetering on the edge of madness and aware that they had been left to die, Oufkir
and her siblings managed to tunnel out using their bare hands and teaspoons, only to be caught days later. Her account of their
final flight to freedom makes for breathtaking reading. Stolen Lives is a remarkable book of unfathomable deprivation and the power
of the human will to survive.
|
