Description: A memoir from a political prisoner in Morocco's notorious Tazmamart prison.
On July 10, 1971, during birthday celebrations for King Hassan II of Morocco, attendant officers and cadets opened fire on visiting dignitaries. A young officer, Aziz BineBine, arrived late and witnessed the ensuing massacre without firing a single shot, yet he would spend the next two decades in a political prison hidden in the Atlas Mountains--Tazmamart. Conditions in this now-infamous prison were nightmarish. The dark, underground cells, too small for standing up in, exposed prisoners to extreme weather, overflowing sewage, and disease-ridden rats. Forgetting life outside his cell--his past, his family, his friends--and clinging to God, BineBine resolved to survive. Tazmamart: 18 Years in Morocco's Secret Prison is a memorial to BineBine and his fellow inmates' sacrifice. This searing tale of endurance offers an unfiltered depiction of the agonizing life of a political prisoner.Brief description:
Aziz BineBine is a Moroccan author, former army officer, and survivor of Tazmamart prison. He now lives in Marrakech.
Review Quotes: "BineBine exposes the reader to a system that withholds medicine, personal and communal hygiene, sustenance, light, and any hope of law or freedom. This memoir is the story of all prisoners kept in these conditions as much as it is BineBine's . . . . The book displays innate gifts within the human, and how, with quiet resistance, the spirit can survive."-- "Wasafiri Magazine"