Image taken from Merlin
This is probably one of the most influential books that has made an impact in my life, second only to Christobel Mattingley's No gun for Asmir. It is the ficitonalised account of Iqbal Masih, a child slave who escaped from his captors to become a crusader against child slavery, only to be murdered on Easter Sunday of 1995. He was about 13 years old.
I read the German translation of the original Italian text, but I do believe there is also an English translation out there somewhere; I just haven't found it yet. I've also seen a French translation somewhere online, so it has been translated into a number of languages, and is accessible in most parts of the world.
Francesco D'Adamo is a very good story-teller. Although he admits having never visited Pakistan or walked through the streets of Lahore, he describes the scenery as though he has been there before. His brilliant imagination allows us to think about what it would be like to live in child slavery, and what it would feel like to not know what freedom is. Often sad at times, the book stirs up our emotions, and leaves us questioning why child slavery still exists, and why so little has been done to stop it from continuing.
Overall, I definitely recommend this book to anyone who is interested in politics and human rights.
