Adult/High School-This riveting collection of 17 narratives puts a human face on the human-rights tragedy of Sudan. Several victims recount their stories from Cairo, where numerous refugees lead marginalized lives. Many wait in lines at the office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees to obtain yellow cards for official status. However, the UNHCR at times seems bureaucratically insensitive and ineffective as protectors. Some common themes emerge from the diverse stories. Several of the women have suffered forced marriages, repeated rape, and being sold into slavery. Sudanese boys and young men in Cairo get sucked into self-destructive gangs such as the Lost Boys and the Outlaws. Many refugees suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder. Health care is mostly nonexistent in refugee camps and, even in public hospitals in Cairo, it is hazardous to the patient. Organ harvesting is not uncommon among such "disposable" people. Almost all of the narrators have a fair degree of education and value learning as the hope for rebuilding their country. Many admire John Garang and the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) and place hope in the 2011 Self-Determination Referendum. Students of global studies and international relations will find an abundance of research information in the excellent appendixes, but the heart and soul of the book is most certainly in the heart-wrenching narratives of these people.-Paula Dacker, Charter Oak High School, CA Copyright 2009 Reed Business Information. From: Reed Elsevier Inc. Copyright Reed Business Information