Dear all,
For so long now have the subdued, the depressed and the voiceless wallowed into silence, accepting the painful and the unjust. Tears keep rolling down pale cheeks, on haggard faces, as enslaved women and mutilated children cower in tightest despair. Is it tradition or culture that justifies these deeds or has religion no means of deterring such injustice? In this collection of stories, we discover the horrible and hair-raising accounts of true experiences that only befit a crime fiction movie or a fantasy.
Amie Sillah has taken a bold step and has become the first woman to use words as a weapon as she makes us discover the stunning ability of the silenced triumphing over adversity. The eleven stories have swept through pertinent themes such as early marriage, the caste system, betrayals, complexity in polygamy, difficult relationships with in-laws and mutilations meted out to young innocent girls. These issues have haunted our communities and people for years and the intricacy continues to lie in the misconceptions and misunderstandings they have engendered.
It is an act of courage for Amie Sillah to write and release such vital secrets that many continue to consider taboo to question. Questioning is provoking a fit of the fantods.
To borrow from Yvonne Vera, in this collection, the text ‘is granted its intimacy, its privacy, its creation of a world, its proposals, its individual characters [and] its suspension of disbelief’. A pace is set by the emboldened Sillah to deal with such complex issues by opening the cupboard and exposing the skeletons. A new era of Gambian women’s literature is emerging.
BOOK LAUNCHING:
Amie Sillah is finally launching her much awaited collection of short stories. A fervent gender activist and a promoter of the cultural rights of Gambian women, Amie has set her mark by maintaining a column on social and cultural issues affecting women and relationships between men and women on the Foroyaa Newspaper for several years now. She has also actively taken part in conferences both within and outside the country as an ambassador of women affairs and women right activist. It should be quickly explained that she is not a feminist but a woman who believes that women (the child and adult alike) have a fundermental role to play from the family to the international level. She believes our society needs only give them the due right to fully show their potentials. Do not miss this unique launch which will set it unique in its genre.
When
Mon, 29 November, 4pm – 8pm GMT+00:00
Where
Paradise Suites Hotel
(Guest list has been hidden at organiser's request)
Our sister, Amie Sillah is launching her book entitled The Silent Voices at the Paradise Suites Hotel, on Monday 29 November from 16hrs onwards. This is a unique occasion in that it is the first time we have a collection of stories revealing some of the most painful experiences within our socio-cultural ways of life. Amie Sillah has pledged to donate any funds raised in the sale of her books to the Women welfare in the form of grants.
All participants to the launched are kindly urged to bring along at least D200 and but a book. Institutions, organisations and individuals are encouraged to make make pledges, philanthropic or personal, to donate books to schools or libraries, so that not only are people aware of these issues raised in the stories (which is the primary objective) but funds are also raised to help the poor woman who strives hard to help support her family.
Further information will be provided shortly (a scan of the book cover, the blurb and a short profile of the author).
Best regards.
Cherno Omar Barry
General Secretary
Writers Association of The Gambia
Tel: 9904617 / 3612612
Cherno Omar Barry
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