Desert Flower
Waris Dirie was born into a family of nomads in a Somalian desert. Growing up, she was privileged to run free with nature's most majestic animals, and learned a respect for nature that many of us as Americans could never fathom. However, these thrills are just on the surface of what life is really like for African women. She suffered through intense traditional mutilation in her childhood, and endless hours of hard labor in the fields everyday. At the age of 13, she ran away to escape the marriage that her father had arranged for her to a sixty-year-old man in exchange for five camels. She left with nothing but the swaddling clothes on her back not even shoes to protect her feet from the scorching African sun. Her journey on foot went on for weeks, until she found her sister, who had also ran away five years earlier for the same reasons. After getting reacquainted with an aunt and her ambassador husband, Waris moved to England with them. When her uncle's term was up, she stayed in England where a photographer, who eventually put her on the cover many major magazines, discovered her. In describing her remarkable journey through life, Waris demonstrates examples of a masculine culture with elements high un
Regardless of her strictly collectivistic upbringing, Waris throughout her life demonstrated her own individualism. First, by running away to avoid marriage. Though her family would benefit from her marriage, she knew it would not make her happy. She stood up for herself, and ran away to start a new life. After enduring years of urinating drop at a time and unbearable menstruation periods, Waris acted independently and went to the doctor. The translator's comments, as I mentioned earlier, made her think twice. Despite her doubts, she had the surgery; she writes, "there's no way to explain what a freedom that was." Later, Waris sought out her mother in Somalia after years of separation. Her mother wasn't sure about Waris's new way of life, but was most adamant about the fact that she was not married. Waris expressed her individualistic views by remarking, " Mama, do I have to be married? Don't you want to see me a success-strong and independent?" This is an idea her mother had probably not ever entertained; she didn't question their culture as Waris did. She just responded with "Well, I want grandchildren." Waris's individualism may be looked at as rebellion or selfish. Whichever way it is viewed, her independent nature is a key factor in how she ended up a successful woman. Waris's story also demonstrates a collective culture. When writing about her life growing up, she mentions "my life had been built around nature and family." Waris was always tending to the crop of watching the goats to ensure that the family had food. Everything that was done was done for the good of the family and everyone was expected to act unselfishly. She mentions that none of her family members, including herself, have any idea how old they are. In a society that throws huge celebrations when someone turns a year older, and almost everything is based on age, this is "weird" to us as Americans. However, it is completely normal for them, because they are not preoccupied with "I". Americans worry about age because they long for
Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1375
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)
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