In a
Northern Italian city back in the early 80s I met a young black woman with two
young children. Actually I was
introduced to this young woman, by an Italian friend who thought I might like
meeting another black female in Europe.
My Italian
friend had very little previous exposure to black people except through
American movies and television. Little
did this friend know that the two black women about to meet would have less in
common than would an Italian and a French person.
The young
woman from Uganda told her story of escaping the nefarious dictator, Idi Amin’s,
violently
oppressive regime. She said that she was
part of a group of children on a class trip to Europe to visit art museums in
Rome.
They were
then released into Italy to fend for themselves. It was assumed that these youngsters would
have a better chance of surviving on the streets of Europe than in their native
African country.
She
survived. She learned Italian. She is a mother of two healthy children. She was at that time studying restoration in
Italy.
Now, this
brings me to the harrowing memoir, How to
Die in Paris, by Naturi Thomas. Thomas is American. A black, American female running from her
demons, quickly finding herseldf homeless on the streets of Paris.
There was
no Jim Crowe, American apartheid, KKK, or on the other hand any Idi Amins, Hitlers,
Francos or Stalins.
Only her
parents.
All I can
say about this book is that I am confounded to find that such a thing would
happen to an educated, bilingual citizen of the wealthiest country in the
world.
Perhaps, if
Americans would read this memoir, there will no longer be resistance to
Universal Health Care for it’s citizens.
By anyone.
Never!
I
understand that the author of this memoir eventually made it home to America,
but now lives in England.
Read this
book. Share it with everyone. Talk about it in your book groups.
Let’s do
something!
For the children.
 |
| author Naturi Thomas |
For the children.
