Hannah Lucinda Smith Knihy

A moving and inspiring memoir by Afghanistan's youngest female mayor and human rights campaigner. I am one of the lucky ones, having escaped Afghanistan when the Taliban retook the country. Millions remain under one of the world’s most repressive regimes, where progress for women has been brutally reversed. Every day, I yearn for my motherland and feel a duty to ensure the world knows what is happening to women there. Zarifa Ghafari began her education in secret at age three when the Taliban banned girls from schools, and she was seven when American airstrikes began. At twenty-six, she became the only female mayor in Maidan Wardak, Kabul. Facing an extremist mob that barred her from her office, she endured six assassination attempts and the murder of her father. Despite these threats, she fought against corruption, promoted peace, and uplifted women. After the Taliban took Kabul in 2021, she fled on one of the last flights out, finding refuge in Germany. This memoir offers a unique perspective on Afghanistan's last two decades, detailing her work, the women she continues to support under Taliban rule, and her vision for grassroots activism to change lives everywhere. Written with honesty, pain, and hope, it is a testament to resilience and courage.

Was können vergessene Grenzregionen und umstrittene Territorien über die Zukunft Europas verraten? Dieser Frage geht die Journalistin Hannah Lucinda Smith in ihrem Buch nach. Es führt die Leser*innen in teils vergessene Konfliktzonen wie Bosnien, Bergkarabach und Transnistrien, wo alte Fehden und Machtkämpfe zwischen Russland, der Türkei und dem Westen neue Dynamiken entfalten. Basierend auf eigenen Reisen durch die Region, zeigt die Autorin mit eindringlicher Reportage, persönlichen Geschichten und präzisen Analysen, wie autokratische Regierungen erstarken, während westliche Institutionen wie die EU und die NATO an Einfluss verlieren. Anhand lebhafter Begegnungen mit Politikern, Spionen, aber auch einfachen Menschen, die sich im Kreuzfeuer befinden, liefert Smith ein packendes Bild von Europa an seinen Rändern – und von den Kämpfen, die seine Zukunft bestimmen werden.