Stolen Lives: Twenty Years in a Desert Jail
Encyclopedia
Stolen Lives: Twenty Years In A Desert Jail (1999) (original title in French
: La Prisonnière or The Prisoner) is an autobiographical
book by Malika Oufkir
, about a woman who was essentially a prison
er all her life.
As the right hand man of king Hassan II in the 1960s and early 1970s, Oufkir led government supervision of politicians, unionists and the religious establishment. He forcefully repressed political protest through police and military clampdowns, pervasive government espionage, show trials, and numerous extralegal measures such as killings and forced disappearances. A feared figure in dissident circles, he was considered extraordinarily close to power. One of his most famous victims is believed to have been celebrated third-world politician Mehdi Ben Brka, who was "disappeared" in Paris in 1965. A French court convicted him of the murder.
In 1967, Oufkir was named interior minister, vastly increasing his power through direct control over most of the security establishment. After a failed republican military coup in 1971 he was named chief of staff and minister of defense, and set about purging the army and promoting his personal supporters. His domination of the Moroccan political scene was now near-complete, with the king ever more reliant on him to contain mounting discontent.
The following year, he turned on the monarchy, ordering the Moroccan air force to open fire at the king's jet and organizing a takeover on the ground. Hassan survived, however, and some sources indicate he personally shot Oufkir after securing power. The official line, however, was and is that Oufkir committed suicide upon hearing of the coup's failure
While the book describes the life of its protagonist
, it also discusses the nature of freedom. From someone who has lived most of her life as a prisoner, readers come to learn that real freedom is a question of the mind.
The book was formerly banned in Morocco
, but it is now reportedly available.
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
: La Prisonnière or The Prisoner) is an autobiographical
Autobiography
An autobiography is a book about the life of a person, written by that person.-Origin of the term:...
book by Malika Oufkir
Malika Oufkir
Malika Oufkir is a Moroccan writer and former "disappeared". She is the daughter of General Mohamed Oufkir and a cousin of fellow Moroccan writer and actress Leila Shenna....
, about a woman who was essentially a prison
Prison
A prison is a place in which people are physically confined and, usually, deprived of a range of personal freedoms. Imprisonment or incarceration is a legal penalty that may be imposed by the state for the commission of a crime...
er all her life.
Summary
The book contains three major parts:- A description of her early life as the daughter of the powerful General Mohamed OufkirMohamed OufkirGeneral Mohammad Oufkir was a Moroccan Berber politician.As the right hand man of king Hassan II in the 1960s and early 1970s, Oufkir led government supervision of politicians, unionists and the religious establishment...
and adoptive daughter to the MoroccanMoroccoMorocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
king Hassan IIHassan II of MoroccoKing Hassan II l-ḥasan aṯ-ṯānī, dial. el-ḥasan ettâni); July 9, 1929 – July 23, 1999) was King of Morocco from 1961 until his death in 1999...
. She was taken into the palacePalaceA palace is a grand residence, especially a royal residence or the home of a head of state or some other high-ranking dignitary, such as a bishop or archbishop. The word itself is derived from the Latin name Palātium, for Palatine Hill, one of the seven hills in Rome. In many parts of Europe, the...
as a child to be a companion to the king's daughter, PrincessPrincessPrincess is the feminine form of prince . Most often, the term has been used for the consort of a prince, or his daughters....
AminaPrincess Lalla Asma of MoroccoPrincess Lalla Asma of Morocco is the second daughter and third eldest child of Hassan II of Morocco and his wife Lalla Latifa Hammou.Lalla Asma married Khalid Bouchentouf in 1987...
. Although she led the life of a princess during these years, she was not one, and she always longed to go home to her real family. She was eventually released for two years to live with her family. - The details of her family's lives in a various desert prisons. While Malika was living with her family, her father was involved in a coup d'etatCoup d'étatA coup d'état state, literally: strike/blow of state)—also known as a coup, putsch, and overthrow—is the sudden, extrajudicial deposition of a government, usually by a small group of the existing state establishment—typically the military—to replace the deposed government with another body; either...
attempt on the king. Her father was then executed and she and her five siblings, mother, and two maids, were political prisonerPolitical prisonerAccording to the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, a political prisoner is ‘someone who is in prison because they have opposed or criticized the government of their own country’....
s for the next twenty years. - A description of the escape of four of the siblings, the house arrestHouse arrestIn justice and law, house arrest is a measure by which a person is confined by the authorities to his or her residence. Travel is usually restricted, if allowed at all...
of the entire family in Morocco, and their final escape to freedom.
As the right hand man of king Hassan II in the 1960s and early 1970s, Oufkir led government supervision of politicians, unionists and the religious establishment. He forcefully repressed political protest through police and military clampdowns, pervasive government espionage, show trials, and numerous extralegal measures such as killings and forced disappearances. A feared figure in dissident circles, he was considered extraordinarily close to power. One of his most famous victims is believed to have been celebrated third-world politician Mehdi Ben Brka, who was "disappeared" in Paris in 1965. A French court convicted him of the murder.
In 1967, Oufkir was named interior minister, vastly increasing his power through direct control over most of the security establishment. After a failed republican military coup in 1971 he was named chief of staff and minister of defense, and set about purging the army and promoting his personal supporters. His domination of the Moroccan political scene was now near-complete, with the king ever more reliant on him to contain mounting discontent.
The following year, he turned on the monarchy, ordering the Moroccan air force to open fire at the king's jet and organizing a takeover on the ground. Hassan survived, however, and some sources indicate he personally shot Oufkir after securing power. The official line, however, was and is that Oufkir committed suicide upon hearing of the coup's failure
While the book describes the life of its protagonist
Protagonist
A protagonist is the main character of a literary, theatrical, cinematic, or musical narrative, around whom the events of the narrative's plot revolve and with whom the audience is intended to most identify...
, it also discusses the nature of freedom. From someone who has lived most of her life as a prisoner, readers come to learn that real freedom is a question of the mind.
The book was formerly banned in Morocco
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
, but it is now reportedly available.