Review of A Dream For Peace
Posted: 24 Mar 2022, 08:01
[Following is a volunteer review of "A Dream For Peace" by Dr. Ghoulem Berrah.]
A Dream for Peace is a memoir by Dr. Ghoulem Berrah. He tells the story of his life from Algeria to France to America and a long stay as the presidential advisor in Côte d'Ivoire. He struggles with racism in his country of birth, such as the case when Mr. Malpel kisses a French girl on the cheek and congratulates her for earning the award, yet he shoves an award to the author, avoiding skin contact. A Dream for Peace by Dr. Ghoulem Berrah covers the lack of peace due to racism, religious differences, colonization, civil wars, and political differences.
Dr. Berrah gets a scholarship to study medicine in Bordeaux. He teams up with other marginalized students from French colonies. They work to help segregated workers and strike due to killings back in Algeria. He finds himself under heavy police surveillance and being jailed without a sentence. He gets back to Algeria, fights for liberation, and is awarded a scholarship to study in America, where he is recognized as a scientist and becomes a professor. Due to his passion for Africa, he leaves a comfortable life and goes to Côte d'Ivoire to serve the people of African nations.
I liked the narration of the story. We get to know other people who influenced the life of Dr. Berrah. His mother was his pillar of strength and his professor, Dr. Konetzka, president Houphouët-Boigny he referred to as 'papa', his friends, and his wives. The dialogues are natural as well as relationships with other people. His first two marriages fail to work, and he isn't on good terms with Titi's parents for ten years. The political history included is accurate, and I found it relevant to the story. I liked that the author was brave and fought for what he believed in. He brings attention to Algeria's need for independence. He worked for peace through effective means that are peaceful by themselves. He marries a catholic while he is a staunch Muslim. He oversees the construction of a church and a mosque nearby and always steered toward dialogue in cases of conflicts.
I did not find a thing to dislike. There are terms from French and Arabic languages which may confuse a reader who is not acquainted with those languages. I found that they gave the story an aesthetic feel. I could not find typos, hence the book is professionally edited.
I rate A Dream for Peace 4 out of 4 stars. I could not give this writing a lesser star because I loved the story. It was a long read with every page worth reading. There are lessons for the reader such as there is hope in difficult cases, peace is possible through dialogues and humanity is above all.
I recommend this book to people interested in the political history of Africa, people of Algeria, Côte d'Ivoire, and lovers of political memoirs. Anyone interested in the life of a diplomat will find this book an eye-opener. This book mentions religions but will be wonderful even for other people. It bridges religions, among other principles.
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A Dream For Peace
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
A Dream for Peace is a memoir by Dr. Ghoulem Berrah. He tells the story of his life from Algeria to France to America and a long stay as the presidential advisor in Côte d'Ivoire. He struggles with racism in his country of birth, such as the case when Mr. Malpel kisses a French girl on the cheek and congratulates her for earning the award, yet he shoves an award to the author, avoiding skin contact. A Dream for Peace by Dr. Ghoulem Berrah covers the lack of peace due to racism, religious differences, colonization, civil wars, and political differences.
Dr. Berrah gets a scholarship to study medicine in Bordeaux. He teams up with other marginalized students from French colonies. They work to help segregated workers and strike due to killings back in Algeria. He finds himself under heavy police surveillance and being jailed without a sentence. He gets back to Algeria, fights for liberation, and is awarded a scholarship to study in America, where he is recognized as a scientist and becomes a professor. Due to his passion for Africa, he leaves a comfortable life and goes to Côte d'Ivoire to serve the people of African nations.
I liked the narration of the story. We get to know other people who influenced the life of Dr. Berrah. His mother was his pillar of strength and his professor, Dr. Konetzka, president Houphouët-Boigny he referred to as 'papa', his friends, and his wives. The dialogues are natural as well as relationships with other people. His first two marriages fail to work, and he isn't on good terms with Titi's parents for ten years. The political history included is accurate, and I found it relevant to the story. I liked that the author was brave and fought for what he believed in. He brings attention to Algeria's need for independence. He worked for peace through effective means that are peaceful by themselves. He marries a catholic while he is a staunch Muslim. He oversees the construction of a church and a mosque nearby and always steered toward dialogue in cases of conflicts.
I did not find a thing to dislike. There are terms from French and Arabic languages which may confuse a reader who is not acquainted with those languages. I found that they gave the story an aesthetic feel. I could not find typos, hence the book is professionally edited.
I rate A Dream for Peace 4 out of 4 stars. I could not give this writing a lesser star because I loved the story. It was a long read with every page worth reading. There are lessons for the reader such as there is hope in difficult cases, peace is possible through dialogues and humanity is above all.
I recommend this book to people interested in the political history of Africa, people of Algeria, Côte d'Ivoire, and lovers of political memoirs. Anyone interested in the life of a diplomat will find this book an eye-opener. This book mentions religions but will be wonderful even for other people. It bridges religions, among other principles.
******
A Dream For Peace
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon