Gaddafi's Harem
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The shocking true story of a schoolgirl's abduction into Colonel Gaddafi's secret harem of sex slaves. The shocking true story of a schoolgirl's abduction into Colonel Gaddafi's secret harem of sex slaves. Award-winning French journalist Annick Cojean has given a voice to the horrific and moving story of Soraya, a 15-year-old girl who was summoned to Gaddafi's palatial compound near Tripoli in Libya after the dictator 'chose' her on one of his school visits. There she joined dozens of young women who were systematically abused, raped and degraded by Gaddafi. In public, the women were disguised as Gaddafi's security personnel. In private, they were confined to basement apartments, on hand for the depraved and violent impulses of one of the twentieth century's most malevolent dictators. Cojean has interviewed many who were involved in this appalling regime, including those whose complicity helped keep the charade going for so long. A French bestseller, with more than 100,000 sold, GADDAFI'S HAREM is an astonishing portrait of the essence of dictatorship: how power gone unchecked can wreak havoc. Soraya's story is the first of many that are starting to emerge.'Kidnapping, rape, humiliation. This was the fate of so many women who were held at the mercy of Colonel Gaddafi. In this shocking book, Annick Cojean gives these women a voice ...Gaddafi's Harem will stay with you for a long time ...Cojean describes a terrifying system where young women were forced to satisfy the perverse desires of the Guide, under threat of terrible reprisals ...An exceptional piece of reporting.' - Elle (France)
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Who knew Gaddafi was not the eccentric comical lunatic that he was portrayed as in the Western press for the forty odd years he was the Libyan leader?
If the content of this book it to be believed, as despite a few randoms questioning the authenticity of it, I see no reason to question the stories told within, Gaddafi was a sex maniac, a rapist, and a control freak with a god complex. An evil man, to be sure, but a man surrounded by a network of sycophantic enablers, many of them women whose sole role was to go out to entrap young girls for rape and torture.
This book, written in French, so another translation into English (which may not have assisted the quality of the writing) is in two parts. The first is the story of Soraya, a 15 year old girl picked out from a visit Gaddafi made to her school. She was summoned to his palatial compound and systematically raped and abused, kept confined in a harem of other girls, and refused contact with her family. The second part of the book is a series of chapters telling the story of other girls, and interviews with some of those who worked for Gaddafi - military figures, drivers (in prison), and a chapter about the end of Gaddafi's life.
The book is readable, and not overly repetitive, considering the repetitive nature of the crimes, but it isn't fantastically presented. The anonymity of many of the interviewees doesn't hep that, as too much detail cannot be provided for fear of them being identified.
