mmenke0226's Full Review: Malika Oufkir and Michele Fitoussi - Stolen Lives:...
Imagine being taken away from your beloved parents at the age of five and adopted by your father’s boss, being treated literally like a princess for most of your childhood, then returning to your natural parents for a short time and finally, through no fault of your own, being imprisoned for 20 years. If you can imagine, then you have a good idea of what life has been like for Malika Oufkir.
Stolen Lives, written by Malika Oufkir and Michele Fitoussi, gives us a detailed account of Malika Oufkir’s life.
Malika was born in 1953 to General Muhammad Oufkir and his wife, Fatima. General Oufkir was the closest aide to King Muhammad V. The Oufkir family were the only outsiders allowed free access to the palace, so when the King said he wanted Malika to come live with the royal family as a playmate for his daughter, Lalla Mina, there was no question that they would comply. Although Malika initially rebelled - what normal five-year-old wouldn’t balk at being torn away from her family? - she eventually adjusted to her lot.
Malika was allowed to return to her parents’ home when she was 16. No longer part of the royal family, she nevertheless lived a life of great privilege. Dreaming of one day being a movie star, she traveled the world, buying couturiers’ collections, and hanging out with the likes of Alain Delon and Steve McQueen.
The life of luxury came to a screeching halt in August, 1972, when General Oufkir was implicated in an attempted coup d’etat and summarily executed. Hassan II, who had succeeded his father Muhammad V after the latter‘s death, placed the traitor’s family under house arrest. Several months later, told that they were being taken to southern Morocco and advised to pack what they would need for two weeks, the Oufkir family, including Malika, her mother, five siblings and two friends, were exiled to the desert.
Fifteen years later, Malika, a sister and two brothers dug their way to freedom, albeit a short-lived one, since they were recaptured five days later. However, their escape had created such a stir that the king was compelled to lighten their punishment considerably; once again, the family were placed under house arrest, where they would remain for four years. On February 26, 1991, they were “freed,” only to spend the next five years under close surveillance. The family were finally given passports and allowed to leave Morocco in 1996.
The axiom, “Truth is stranger than fiction” definitely applies here. While Stolen Lives is undoubtedly an accurate first-person account of man’s inhumanity to man, I sometimes felt as if something were missing, as if more detail were needed. I’m admittedly not an expert on foreign affairs, but in reading the book, I never quite understood what it was that made General Oufkir turn on King Hassan, knowingly risking his own life and that of his family. There were other things that could have benefitted from more explanation, also. I sometimes felt as though important details were omitted, as though Malika were so familiar with the story that she forgot that her audience may not share that familiarity.
One thing that was clear was the torment that Malika felt in being torn between her two fathers. It’s obvious that she loved, and ultimately felt betrayed by, both men.
Stolen Lives is a moving account of a family’s will to survive against all odds. Their seldom-flagging courage in the face of unfathomable deprivation is admirable; that Malika still struggles with overcoming hatred for their oppressors is indeed understandable.
The adopted daughter of the king of Morocco, whose father was arrested and executed for a 1972 attempt to assassinate the king, tells the story of how...More at Buy.com Marketplaces
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