Stolen Lives [Large Print] [Hardcover]

If this had been a book of fiction, I would have found it hard to believe, but as it is not, that makes it all the more remarkable. I found the writing a bit uneven, but I think that might be due to translation. I can highly recommend this book. It certainly makes our daily problems seem trivial and it is a testament to the human spirit and the drive to survive, no matter what the conditions.

Stolen Lives ï¿ Twenty Years in a Desert Jail is an important book. This is a compelling true story. It outlines the life of Malika Oufkir, daughter of Moroccan general Oufkir.

Malika Oufkir has lead a unique life. Her story does not begin with imprisonment. It begins with being taken from her parents at age five to live in the palace. She becomes the adopted daughter of the ruling monarch, Muhammad V of Morocco. Although it is never fully explained, it appears that Malika is brought to the palace to be the companion for the kingï¿s daughter. She is distraught; her parents acquiesce. It is the first lesson in the power of the monarchy. Muhammad V dies and is replaced by his son Hassan II. You might expect Malika to be returned home. But no, Hassan might be offended if the it appears that the Oufkir family thinks less of him than of his father. And so, Malika stays in the palace. But this is just the beginning.

Eventually, Malika returns to her family as a young adult. Later General Oufkir, Malikaï¿s father, who is also a high placed advisor to the king, leads a coup dï¿etat. He is killed. Now the familyï¿s story of imprisonment begins.

The King has the family removed from Rabat by police. Throughout the story, the police, and army are used to keep the family imprisoned. Some knew the general and were sympathetic to the family. Others had lost family in the coup dï¿etat and were filled with hatred. The conditions for the family were continually reduced, until they were put in solitary confinement for seven years. The treatment of the Oufkir family reads like a Nazi concentration camp story, with brutal guards, arbitrary punishments, malnutrition, and the loss of humanity. Remember that their crime was being the family of General Oufkir. The youngest child at the time of their arrest was three!

There is an escape that reads like fiction. The country is put on high alert while the police search for the four Oufkir children who managed to dig a tunnel to escape. It is only through contact with the French press and the outside world that they are finally saved. Even then it takes seven more years (with the family under house arrest) before they are finally allowed to leave the country.

I find that I agree with most of the negative reviews. The book is poorly written, and poorly edited. There are contradictions, and incomplete explanations. It is confusing. It was originally published in France and this book is a translation from French. These shortcomings are annoying. But this is more than a story of a family who has been through a rough time. It is a chronicle of human rights violations that occurred in the last quarter of the 20th century. It is a story of people who ï¿disappearedï¿ and lived to tell about it. This was worth a better effort by the co-author, who is supposed to be a professional writer, and the editor, who should have done a better job. Even with these serious shortcomings, this is an important story, and an important book. It is recommended.

I saw an interview with Malika Oufkir on Oprah Winfrey's show and was so taken by her courage, her incredible spiritual strength and the unbelievable horror of her tale, that I felt I had to know more. I found this version to be an inspiring testimony to the human spirit but also an honest account of the terrible toll of this family's ordeal, leaving one brother "a permanent child" in Malika's own words, a brother who found adjusting to a normal, free life nearly impossible and who is still suffering the effects of his imprisonment.For their part, Oufkir and her sisters were left suspicious of men, emotionally scarred by what they survived...and yet they also managed to find the strength to serve as witnesses to their injustice and to find the courage to speak out. This is one of the most inspiring true-life accounts I've read in the last year and one I'd put on any "must read" list. If you dont know the details of Oufkir's story, here's a brief summary: At the age of 5, Malika Oufkir, eldest daughter of General Oufkir, was adopted by King Muhammad V of Morocco, a man who wanted an available playmate for his young daughter. While in the palace, Oufkir led a life of a fairy princess, in total luxury --- until her father was found guilty of treason as part of a coup to overthrow the new regime (led by King Hassan II). Malika's father was executed and she, her mother and her brother and sisters were immediately imprisoned. From one day to the next, Oufkir went from luxury to a struggle for her very existence, living in conditions that you can't believe until you read about it. There were times when one or the other would try and commit suicide (her brother when he was only 7) or be forced to eat food drenched in rat urine. And yet they DID persevere and manage to escape to tell their tale. Please don't assume that the grim details in this book (and I won't pull any punches; there are parts of this book that are difficult to read0 take away from the inspiration to be found here. After finishing this book, I actually felt uplifted and was amazed that I did, buoyed by the fact that this family went through such horror and yet managed to find the courage to survive - and then to tell about it.