April 25, 2003

 Dear Friends and Readers: 

After writing THE RAPE OF KUWAIT in 1990-1991, I was intrigued by the number of Kuwaitis who told me that ordinary Iraqi people were wonderful people, and that the Iraqi government and government supporters were the problem.  I couldn’t believe how after a brutal invasion, Kuwaitis were so generous in spirit about ordinary Iraqis.  Their attitudes made me curious, and I knew then that one day I would go into Iraq myself and get to know these people.  And, so I did!

I had the most amazing experience in July 1998 when I traveled alone into Iraq and remained there for three weeks.  While in Baghdad, I spent time in the children’s leukemia wards, met many lovely Iraqi people and was even invited into their homes, where I sat in amazement as talented Iraqis entertained me with their musical talents and poetry readings.  But one of the most amazing women I met during my stay was a woman by the name of Mayada.  For now, I’ll call her by her first name only but when my next book comes out, Mayada’s full name and the history of her family will be revealed.  Readers will learn so much about Iraq and Iraqis and the torture cells, where Mayada herself was held after being arrested nearly a year to the day after I met her.

Mayada and I are closer than two sisters could ever be and once you read her story, you’ll know why I love this woman.  Unlike Sultana, who cannot reveal her true identity for security reasons, Mayada will accompany me on book tour.  So, you’ll get to meet her, as well…  She has a wonderful sense of humor that lightens every dark moment of life.  She keeps me laughing anytime we are together so for once in my life, I’m looking forward to a book tour!

I’m in the process of completing this book, titled:  Mayada, Daughter of Iraq:  A True Story of Life Under Saddam Hussein.  I hope to be finished within a month to six weeks.  I can’t wait for you to meet her when the book is published…  After this note is an overview of the book, so you’ll know what to expect!

 Thanks so much for caring about the books I write and the women I write about!

 Jean Sasson          

JEAN SASSON’S WORLD OF WOMEN

Mayada, Daughter of Iraq

A True Story of Life under Saddam Hussein

One grandfather fought alongside Lawrence of Arabia.  The other was the first true Arab nationalist.  Her uncle was Prime Minister of Iraq for nearly forty years, her mother an important government official.  Mayada was born to wealth, education and pride in her Iraqi heritage.  But then the unthinkable happened.  Saddam Hussein and his Ba’ath Party grabbed power and instituted a reign of terror that shook Iraq to its roots.  Gone were the lives of privilege and gracious living; in their place was a world of brutality and fear.  Mayada found herself alone, a single parent raising two children, earning a meager living printing brochures and flyers on used computers and obsolete printers, not realizing that this innocent occupation would be her downfall.

This is Mayada’s story, told against the backdrop of the torture-filled Baladiyat Prison, headquarters of Saddam’s notorious secret police, where this gentle, pious woman was dragged after being summarily arrested one morning in August, 1999, falsely accused of printing anti-government propaganda.  In prison, Mayada met a number of “shadow women,” imprisoned without knowing why, subjected to daily torture and subhuman living conditions, allowed no contact with families or any outsiders.  Mayada swore that if she escaped, she would tell the world of the plight of the women entrapped in the depths of physical, emotional and spiritual despair inside the prison’s walls.  Now, safely out of Saddam’s reach, her story cries out to be heard.

In this powerfully moving book, Jean Sasson relates, for the first time, the detailed stories of innocent Iraqis powerless to combat the twisted world of Saddam Hussein.   Seventeen women share Mayada’s tiny, filthy prison cell.  One of them, Samira, already imprisoned for eight months and tortured daily, becomes Mayada’s protector. To relieve their excruciating existence, the “shadow women” share stories of the torture they have undergone, of their dreams and nightmares, their families and lives, in counterpoint to the screams and moans of torture victims echoing throughout the prison.    As the women talk, Mayada returns to the gentler days of her family’s glory, when Iraq was a center of learning and culture.  She describes the world of society she knew, the kings, queen, royal friends and even Saddam’s former Chief of Secret Police, all violently assassinated. Mayada tells her astounded cellmates of her six meetings with Saddam Hussein, how he rewarded her for newspaper articles she wrote and how she had translated Nostradamus at his request.  She even recalls the dim green tribal tattoo he bears on his nose.

Until now, there has only been speculation around the world about the evils perpetrated by Saddam Hussein.  In Mayada, Daughter of Iraq, the world will finally learn what it was really like, both in the inner circles of power and in the unspeakable cells of the notorious Baladiyat Prison.  Not only the biography of a woman intimately connected to Iraq’s history, this book is also a powerful indictment of Saddam Hussein and the world of terror and intimidation he built in this honorable and ancient land.  At the same time, it offers a compassionate glimpse into the lives and souls of the brave citizens who have suffered immeasurably under one of the cruelest regimes in history.