Zeitoun

Originaire de Syrie, Abdulrahman Zeitoun est arrivé à La Nouvelle-Orléans dans les années 1990 et a épousé Kathy, une jeune Américaine convertie à l’Islam. Il y a fondé une entreprise de bâtiment qui s’avérera très prospère. Ce récit relate l’expérience de cette famille lors du passage de l’ouragan Katrina durant l’été 2005. Malgré l’évacuation de la ville et la fuite de sa famille, Zeitoun décide de rester sur place pour surveiller sa maison et ses nombreux chantiers. Sur un petit canoë, il explore la ville engloutie, vient en aide à des personnes prisonnières chez elles, contacte les secours, nourrit les chiens abandonnés. Sa femme, qui découvre à la télévision la violence et les pillages qui sévissent à La Nouvelle-Orléans, supplie Zeitoun de quitter la ville. Mais ce dernier se sent investi d’une mission et veut sauver le plus de gens possible. Un jour, il disparaît, laissant sans nouvelles sa famille qui l’imagine noyé ou victime de violence. Zeitoun, accusé d’être un pilleur de rue, s’est fait arrêter par la Garde Nationale. Alors que l’ouragan est passé, le cauchemar américain de Zeitoun ne fait que commencer... Zeitoun est une histoire vraie, le récit saisissant du courage et de l’humanité d’un homme confronté aux forces déchaînées de la nature, puis aux injustices d’une société violente qui n’a pas renoncé à ses réflexes carcéraux... Dave Eggers est l'éditeur de la revue McSweeney's et l’auteur de romans et de recueils de nouvelles parmi lesquels, aux Éditions Gallimard, Suive qui peut (2003), Pourquoi nous avons faim (2007) et Le grand Quoi (2009). Il a créé à San Francisco 826 Valencia, une fondation à but non lucratif qui vient en aide aux enfants pauvres. "Beverly Monroe spent seven years in prison for murdering her companion of thirteen years; in fact, he had killed himself. Christopher Ochoa was persuaded to confess to a rape and murder he did not commit, and served twelve years of his life sentence before he was freed by DNA evidence. Michael Evans and Paul Terry each spent twenty-seven years in prison for a brutal rape and murder they did not commit. They were teenagers when they entered prison; they were middle-aged men when DNA proved their innocence. After spending years behind bars, hundreds of men and women with incontrovertible proof of their innocence including 120 from death row have been released from America's prisons. They were wrongfully convicted because of problems that plague many criminal proceedings: inept defense lawyers, overzealous prosecutors, deceitful and coercive interrogation tactics, bad science, snitches, and eyewitness misidentification. The lives of these victims of the U.S. criminal justice system were effectively wrecked. Finally free, usually after more than a decade of incarceration, they re-enter society with nothing but the scars from a harrowing descent into prison only to struggle to survive on the outside. The thirteen men and women portrayed here, and the hundreds of others who have been exonerated, are the tip of the iceberg. There are countless others thousands by all estimates who are in prison today for crimes they did not commit. These are the stories of some of the wrongfully convicted, who have managed, often by sheer luck, to prove their innocence. Their stories are spellbinding, heartbreaking, unimaginable, and ultimately inspiring. After reading these deeply personal accounts, you will never look at the criminal justice system the same way."--Publisher's website Millions of people have fled from conflicts and persecution in all parts of this Northeast African country, and many thousands more have been enslaved as human spoils of war. In this book, refugees and abductees recount their escapes from the wars in Darfur and South Sudan, from political and religious persecution, and from abduction by militias. In their own words, they recount life before their displacement and the reasons for their flight. They describe life in the major stations on the "refugee railroads:" in the desert camps of Khartoum, the underground communities of Cairo, the humanitarian metropolis of Kakuma refugee camp, and the still-growing internally displaced persons camps in Darfur. My life is a broken puzzle -- [Christopher Ochoa] My mama didn't raise no killers -- [Juan Melendez] I stepped into a dream -- [Gary Gauger] I am the expert -- [James Newsome] Thank God for DNA -- [Calvin Willis with Janet Gregory and Hugo Holland] If a five-year-old says you did it, you did it -- [John Stoll] Now I question everything -- [Beverly Monroe] Sheep among wolves [Michael Evans and Paul Terry] -- [Michael Evans and Pamela Hawkins] Flowers in your hair -- [David Pope] I'm a dead man walking -- [Joseph Amrine] Family man -- [Peter Rose] Bad things happen to good people -- Kevin Green Exoneree roundtable. Underground America Presents The Remarkable Oral Histories Of Men And Women Living Without Legal Status And Struggling To Carve A Life For Themselves In The U.s.--[book Jacket]. Diana -- Mr. Lai -- Saleem -- Roberto -- Liso -- Hector -- Olga -- Abel -- Polo -- Dixie -- El Curita -- Julio -- Lorena -- El Mojado -- Yogesh -- Jose Garcia -- Elizabeth -- Nsombo -- Desiree -- Farid -- Rose -- Adela -- Estrella -- Enrique. Edited By Peter Orner ; Associate Editors, Annie Holmes, Jaykumar Menon ; Assistant Editors, Tom Andes ... [et Al.] ; Interviews By Tom Andes ... [et Al.] ; [foreword By Luis Alberto Urrea]. My life is a broken puzzle / Christopher Ochoa -- My mama didn't raise no killers / Juan Melendez -- I stepped into a dream / Gary Gauger -- I am the expert / James Newsome -- Thank God for DNA / Calvin Willis -- If a five-year-old did it, you did it / John Stoll -- Now I question everything / Beverly Monroe -- Sheep among wolves / Michael Evans and Paul Terry -- Flowers in your hair / David Pope -- I'm a dead man walking / Joseph Amrine -- Family man / Peter Rose -- Bad things happen to good people / Kevin Green -- Exoneree roundtable. People don't know how lucky they are to have their liberty -- Underground America tells the stories of men and women who have come to the United States seeking a better life for their families, only to be subjected to dehumanizing working conditions. Supporting myriad industries, these workers form an essential part of our economy often by working the least desirable jobs without the most basic legal protections. Underground America allows this largely ignored part of our country to finally share its experiences. Millions of immigrants risk deportation and imprisonment by living in the U.S. without legal status. They are living underground, with little protection from exploitation at the hands of human smugglers, employers, or law enforcement. Underground America presents the remarkable oral histories of men and women living without legal status and struggling to carve a life for themselves in the U.S Refugees And Abductees Recount Their Escapes From The Wars In Darfur And South Sudan And Describe Life In The Major Stations On The 'refugee Railroads'--publisher Description. Edited By Craig Walzer ; With Additional Interviews And A Foreword By Valentino Achak Deng And Dave Eggers ; And An Afterword By Emmanuel Jal. Using personal narratives of illegal aliens, describes the risks and challenges that face those immigrating to the United States illegally, including human trafficking, discrimination, and deportation.