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WORK TITLE: A Disappearance in Damascus
WORK NOTES:
PSEUDONYM(S):
BIRTHDATE: 1970
WEBSITE: http://deborahcampbell.org/
CITY:
STATE: BC
COUNTRY: Canada
NATIONALITY:
RESEARCHER NOTES:
PERSONAL
Born 1970.
ADDRESS
CAREER
Author and journalist. University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, instructor; guest lecturer, Harvard University, University of California—Berkeley, and Zayed University, Dubai.
AWARDS:Hilary Weston Writers’ Trust Prize, 2016, Freedom to Read Award, Hubert Evans Prize, and New York Times Editors’ Choice citation, all for A Disappearance in Damascus.
WRITINGS
Contributor to periodicals, including Economist, Foreign Policy, Guardian, Harper’s, and New Scientist.
SIDELIGHTS
Award-winning journalist Deborah Campbell, wrote the contributor of a biographical blurb to the author’s eponymous home page, the Deborah Campbell Website, is best known for her on-site reporting in the Middle East “in places such as Iran, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt, Qatar, the UAE, Israel, [and] Palestine.” Her first book, a collection of essays titled This Heated Place: Encounters in the Promised Land, talks about her understanding of the Middle East conflicts at the beginning of the twenty-first century. While most reporting in the region centers on conflict, This Heated Place looks at the ordinary lives local residents pursue in the midst of the decades-long struggle. “The very human perspective Campbell brings to the ongoing conflict, as well as her talent for storytelling,” said Emira Mears in Herizons, “make This Heated Place a compelling read.”
Campbell’s A Disappearance in Damascus: A Story of Friendship and Survival in the Shadow of War grows out of the journalist’s attempts to understand the situation that Iraqi refugees from the Iraq War faced in neighboring Syria in 2007. In order to meet with the people whose stories she wanted to tell, she began an arrangement with an Iraqi refugee named Ahlam. “Campbell hired Ahlam as a `fixer,’ a local who helps journalists arrange interviews, interprets and provides context to what journalists see and hear,” said Alice Cary in BookPage. “She quickly became Campbell’s cherished friend.” While working with Campbell, however, Ahlam was arrested by Syrian forces. Campbell was worried; “Ahlam had already been captured, pistol-whipped, and tortured back in Iraq by insurgents,” declared a Publishers Weekly reviewer, “for performing intelligence work.” She abandoned her reporting and went to search for her friend.
Critics found Campbell’s account of her search for her friend evocative and moving. A Disappearance in Damascus “can be read on a number of different levels,” stated Adnan R. Khan, writing in Maclean’s. “On the surface, it is a detective story, a eulogy to the dying art of immersive journalism. Slightly deeper is a story of love and friendship, and the forces that can tear them apart.” The author’s “captivating writing,” said Laura Chanoux in Booklist, “allows readers to see inside the life of a foreign correspondent and the bonds forged and broken.” A Disappearance in Damascus “includes not only [Campbell’s] stark and frightening experiences in Damascus,” declared a Kirkus Reviews contributor, “but also her fracturing love life back home as well as background on the Iraq War and ensuing civil war.”
BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Booklist, August 1, 2017, Laura Chanoux, review of A Disappearance in Damascus: Friendship and Survival in the Shadow of War, p. 17.
BookPage, September, 2017, Alice Cary, review of A Disappearance in Damascus, p. 24.
Herizons, summer, 2004, Emira Mears, review of This Heated Place: Encounters in the Promised Land, p. 37.
Kirkus Reviews, June 15, 2017, review of A Disappearance in Damascus.
Maclean’s, October 3, 2016, Adnan R. Khan, review of A Disappearance in Damascus, p. 69.
Publishers Weekly, August 7, 2017, review of A Disappearance in Damascus, p. 65.
ONLINE
Deborah Campbell Website, http://deborahcampbell.org (March 21, 2018), author profile.
Deborah Campbell is an award-winning writer known for combining immersive fieldwork with literary journalism in places such as Iran, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt, Qatar, the UAE, Israel, Palestine, Cuba, Mexico and Russia. Her work has appeared in Harper’s, the Economist, Foreign Policy, the Guardian, New Scientist and other publications. Her writing has been published in 11 countries and six languages. Her latest book, A Disappearance in Damascus, won the 2016 Hilary Weston Writers’ Trust Prize, the largest literary award for nonfiction in Canada. It also won the Freedom to Read Award and the Hubert Evans Prize, and was named a New York Times Editors’ Choice.
She has won three National Magazine Awards for her foreign correspondence. Besides Middle Eastern Studies, her academic interests include languages, politics and history. She has guest lectured at Harvard, Berkeley and Zayed University in Dubai, and teaches at the University of British Columbia.
A Disappearance in Damascus
Alice Cary
BookPage.
(Sept. 2017): p24.
COPYRIGHT 2017 BookPage
http://bookpage.com/
Full Text:
By Deborah Campbell
Picador
$27, 352 pages ISBN 9781250147875 eBook available
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]
Canadian journalist Deborah Campbell traveled to Damascus, Syria, in 2007 to report on the mass exodus
of Iraqis into Syria in the wake of sectarian violence after the overthrow of Saddam Hussein. There, she met
an Iraqi woman named Ahlam who would not only change her life but also draw her into the very story on
which she was reporting.
Campbell hired Ahlam as a "fixer," a local who helps journalists arrange interviews, interprets and provides
context to what journalists see and hear. Ahlam was one of the best: A smart, bold and kind mother of two,
she spent her life helping others, even starting a school in her apartment for refugee girls. Not only was she
an invaluable resource, she quickly became Campbell's cherished friend.
A Disappearance in Damascus: Friendship and Survival in the Shadow of War is the fascinating account of
both Ahlam's story and Campbell's life posing as a professor while working as an "undercover" journalist in
Syria. Although the country's civil war had yet to start, Syria was a dangerous place. One day, Ahlam was
suddenly arrested and imprisoned, whisked away to an uncertain fate. Desperately worried and fearing that
their work together may have contributed to Ahlam's arrest, Campbell upended her life to try to help her
friend. "Caught in a web of fear and suspicion," she writes, "I wanted to run for cover but knew I had to stay
and look for her." In riveting, heartbreaking detail, Campbell seamlessly weaves together her own search
and investigation with Ahlam's horrific imprisonment and interrogation.
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Campbell also provides an excellent primer on how the Middle East's complex history has contributed to
the area's strife. This is an important, chilling book that explores the ongoing plight of Syria's citizens and
refugees, as well as the perilous struggles of the journalists who deliver their stories to the rest of the world.
Source Citation (MLA 8th
Edition)
Cary, Alice. "A Disappearance in Damascus." BookPage, Sept. 2017, p. 24. General OneFile,
http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A502517426/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=bad5afe2.
Accessed 3 Mar. 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A502517426
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A Disappearance in Damascus:
Friendship and Survival in the Shadow of
War
Publishers Weekly.
264.32 (Aug. 7, 2017): p65.
COPYRIGHT 2017 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
Full Text:
A Disappearance in Damascus: Friendship and Survival in the Shadow of War
Deborah Campbell. Picador, $27 (352p) ISBN 978-1-2501-4787-5
Journalist Campbell spotlights the life of an exceptional Iraqi woman, Ahlam, who was her guide and
companion as she reported for Harper's magazine in 2006 about the years following the fall of Saddam
Hussein. Campbell, who was assigned by the magazine to write about the exodus of displaced Iraqis into
Syria, here explores the lethal factions and political minefields in Syria at the time, and recalls recruiting
Ahlam as a "fixer" to secure information for her. Ahlam had already been captured, pistol-whipped, and
tortured back in Iraq by insurgents for performing intelligence work for Americans, so Campbell
particularly admired her for continuing to do the same dangerous job in Syria. When Ahlam is detained by
the Syrian government for her work with Campbell, whom the Syrians suspect of being a Mossad or CIA
agent, Campbell embarks on a quest to secure her release. The author's devotion to her friend will open
hearts as Campbell and Ahlam's family try every option to gain her freedom. Campbell's work is an
informed, fascinating account of one courageous source. (Sept.)
Source Citation (MLA 8th
Edition)
"A Disappearance in Damascus: Friendship and Survival in the Shadow of War." Publishers Weekly, 7 Aug.
2017, p. 65. General OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A500340387/ITOF?
u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=be16d941. Accessed 3 Mar. 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A500340387
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A Disappearance in Damascus:
Friendship and Survival in the Shadow of
War
Laura Chanoux
Booklist.
113.22 (Aug. 1, 2017): p17.
COPYRIGHT 2017 American Library Association
http://www.ala.org/ala/aboutala/offices/publishing/booklist_publications/booklist/booklist.cfm
Full Text:
* A Disappearance in Damascus: Friendship and Survival in the Shadow of War. By Deborah Campbell.
Sept. 2017.352p. Picador, $27 (9781250147875). 956.7044.
In 2007, Campbell meets Ahlam in Damascus while reporting on Iraqi refugees in Syria. Ahlam is a highly
recommended and well-educated fixer: an interpreter and guide who can help journalists find sources and
make connections. A refugee herself, Ahlam fled Iraq after she had been kidnapped and threatened for her
work with American soldiers. In Damascus, Ahlam sets up a school for young girls and continues working
with foreign journalists. Her work is risky, as the government fears American interference in Syria. During
Campbell's return to Damascus for a new story, Syrian authorities arrest Ahlam. Campbell struggles to find
where Ahlam is being held and on what charges, but there seems to be no way for her to help. A
Disappearance in Damascus, winner of Canada's 2016 Hilary Weston Writer's Trust Prize for Nonfiction,
tells Ahlam's remarkable story of tragedy and resilience while situating her experience within the larger
context of the war in Iraq. Campbell's captivating writing allows readers to see inside the life of a foreign
correspondent and the bonds forged and broken through investigative reporting.--Laura Chanoux
YA: Young adults interested in the human side of war will appreciate Campbell's nuanced, thoughtful
writing. LC.
Source Citation (MLA 8th
Edition)
Chanoux, Laura. "A Disappearance in Damascus: Friendship and Survival in the Shadow of War." Booklist,
1 Aug. 2017, p. 17. General OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A501718714/ITOF?
u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=c73d3907. Accessed 3 Mar. 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A501718714
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Campbell, Deborah: A
DISAPPEARANCE IN DAMASCUS
Kirkus Reviews.
(June 15, 2017):
COPYRIGHT 2017 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
Full Text:
Campbell, Deborah A DISAPPEARANCE IN DAMASCUS Picador (Adult Nonfiction) $27.00 9, 5 ISBN:
978-1-250-14787-5
A Canadian journalist covering the plight of Iraqis who fled to Syria a decade ago enlists the help of an
Iraqi woman in Damascus--friendship and disaster ensue.In 2007, Campbell (Creative Writing/Univ. of
British Columbia), a three-time National Magazine Award winner for foreign correspondence, was working
on a major story for Harper's about Iraqi refugees when she first made contact with Ahlam, an Iraqi woman
who served as her "fixer" (one who clears paths for journalists). Their professional relationship soon grew
personal, and the author chronicles what went well and what went terribly wrong. Told principally in the
first person, Campbell's story includes not only her stark and frightening experiences in Damascus, but also
her fracturing love life back home as well as background on the Iraq War and ensuing civil war and the
frangible stability in Syria, the only country to accept large numbers of Iraqi refugees. As she worked on her
story, Campbell's friendship with Ahlam flourished and continued when the author left the country. Then
Campbell found out that Ahlam had been arrested. The author, feeling profound guilt (was it because of
her?), employed numerous strategies to find out why she was arrested, where she was being held, and what
the charges were. Campbell's text races along--catching readers' hearts as it goes--and after the arrest, the
author includes sections of "Ahlam's Story," grim third-person accounts about the experience of prison:
deprivation, interrogations, violence, and terror. These sections increase the tension in readers, who have
known since the beginning that dark things were on the way. The author sometimes veers a little toward the
melodramatic near the ends of chapters, but it's a small quibble in a powerful book. In the stormwater's
swirl, Campbell has found a bright and tender leaf to follow, and the effect on readers will be
transformative.
Source Citation (MLA 8th
Edition)
"Campbell, Deborah: A DISAPPEARANCE IN DAMASCUS." Kirkus Reviews, 15 June 2017. General
OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A495427409/ITOF?
u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=63e3c95a. Accessed 3 Mar. 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A495427409
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A Disappearance in Damascus
Adnan R. Khan
Maclean's.
129.39 (Oct. 3, 2016): p69.
COPYRIGHT 2016 Rogers Publishing Ltd.
http://www2.macleans.ca/
Full Text:
A DISAPPEARANCE IN DAMASCUS
Deborah Campbell
Subtitled A Story of Friendship and Survival in the Shadow of War, this book's name is a bit misleading, a
sly bit of narrative trickery. Vancouver writer Campbell is no stranger to trickery: after years of being
immersed in some of the world's least friendly places for journalists, she has mastered the art of
masquerade.
In this, her second book, Campbell goes undercover in Damascus in 2007, four years before the onset of the
Syrian conflict. Her goal is to document the stories of Iraqi refugees who have fled the brutal war next door,
but in the process she finds herself-implicated in the arrest of her local guide and confidante, Ahlam. A
Disappearance is billed as the true story of Ahlam and the author's obsessive quest to find out what
happened to her.
But the salient truths are not to be found in the facts of the events themselves, or in the title. They pounce
unannounced out of the tangled background scenery. "As she led me ever deeper inside the hidden world of
the war she had fled," Campbell writes of Ahlam in her opening paragraph, "and into the increasingly
unstable country of Syria where she had sought refuge from Iraq, she showed me what survival looks like
with all the scaffolding of normal life ripped away." Campbell's exploration of "hidden" worlds, where past
and future conflicts converge and confront the intricacies of human relationships, invests A Disappearance
with the kind of immediacy rarely found in war reporting. The story of Ahlam is not the story of a Syrian--
she is an Iraqi refugee--but the war in Iraq is integral to understanding the Syrian war, and so Ahlam's story
begins there. Nor is A Disappearance specifically about Syria's brutal conflict. It is, however, suggestive of
it and the forces that led Syria down its dark path.
The book can be read on a number of different levels. On the surface, it is a detective story, a eulogy to the
dying art of immersive journalism. Slightly deeper is a story of love and friendship, and the forces that can
tear them apart or make them stronger. Deeper still is a political exegesis exposing the arrogance and folly
of the great (and not so great) powers, which willingly sacrifice humanity on the altar of self-preservation.
Campbell deftly unravels all of these complexities, gives them a face, makes them human, so we can finally
start to make sense of the incomprehensibility of the world's most intractable conflict.
Caption: 'A Disappearance in Damascus': Before the Syrian civil war, the country took in Iraqi refugees;
one of them became Campbell's guide and confidante
----------
Please note: Illustration(s) are not available due to copyright restrictions.
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Source Citation (MLA 8th
Edition)
Khan, Adnan R. "A Disappearance in Damascus." Maclean's, 3 Oct. 2016, p. 69. General OneFile,
http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A466297410/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=ad551d35.
Accessed 3 Mar. 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A466297410
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This Heated Place
Emira Mears
Herizons.
18.1 (Summer 2004): p37+.
COPYRIGHT 2004 Herizons Magazine, Inc.
Full Text:
THIS HEATED PLACE
Deborah Campbell
DOUGLAS & MCINTYRE, 2002
For the most part, modern accounts of the Middle East paint a harrowing picture of conflict and hopeless
despair. But from Deborah Campbell's This Heated Place, a sense of hope emerges. While she does not
gloss over any of the complex and violent facts of "one of the world's most intractable conflicts," her
approach goes beyond the headlines to document conversations with people in the region. She offers a view
that we don't often see reflected in the media, or even in other books on the subject. The very human
perspective Campbell brings to the ongoing conflict, as well as her talent for storytelling, make This Heated
Place a compelling read.
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]
Campbell's collection of essays, each focused around her own interactions with people from all sides of the
conflict, describes the everyday realities of the people who inhabit that contested land. Her conversation
subjects range from an Israeli soldier who takes her through the Occupied Territories, in an armoured SUV,
to a member of the peace activist group Women in Black. Through documenting her journey and
chronicling the everyday activities in Israel and the Occupied Territories Campbell also offers a perspective
on how the quotidian is affected by the ongoing conflict.
Over lunch with a Palestinian Christian university student in Bethlehem, Campbell experiences the conflict
first-hand as gunfire erupts outside interrupting their meal. In addition to noting the political conversation
that follows amongst the adults, she chronicles the reaction of the children: "The children listen for the
gunfire to stop. The moment they are certain it is over, they will race outside to collect the bullet casings.
They are like kids everywhere with their collecting crazes."
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Campbell's talents as a journalist come through in her insightful storytelling. At the same time, she reminds
us that for the human spirit, politics is not always all-encompassing.
Review by Emira Mears
Mears, Emira
Source Citation (MLA 8th
Edition)
Mears, Emira. "This Heated Place." Herizons, Summer 2004, p. 37+. General OneFile,
http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A118584413/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=a6e19f4f.
Accessed 3 Mar. 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A118584413