Review of A Dream For Peace
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Ashiyya Tariq
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Review of A Dream For Peace
[Following is a volunteer review of "A Dream For Peace" by Dr. Ghoulem Berrah.]
A Dream for Peace is a brilliant autobiography by Dr. Ghoulem Berrah whose staunch desire for peace, freedom and interfaith harmony led him to embark on some of the most challenging ambitions of his life.
Some painful realities of the colonial period compelled Dr. Berrah to switch from his medical studies in Bordeaux (France) to become a freedom fighter for Algeria’s independence. He became an active member of several organizations and had to bear detention and forced labor during this period of turmoil. Thereon, he got a Fulbright scholarship and went to the USA to get his Master's and Ph.D. degrees in Biology from Indiana University (1961 and 1963, respectively). He also taught at Yale School of Medicine for two years. However, his inner spirit and call of President Houphouët Boigny of Côted'lvoire to serve his brothers in Africa made him reevaluate his options, and finally, he quitted his scientific career and chose to become a diplomatic advisor and special emissary of president Houphouët to fully utilize his God-gifted talent.
In this chronically written 632-pages book, the author fabulously flashes on the reminiscence of his life events. Born in Beïda (Constantine, Algeria), he thoroughly covers the culture and taboos of his native land, its politics, and the impact of colonialism on ordinary people. He marvelously captured the details of his freedom struggle, the pain and suffering of his people in Africa, and what he could do as a diplomat to bring harmony and fraternity among different religions to secure the overall objective of bringing peace in the region.
At one glance, Dr. Berrah’s life is full of accomplishments. His conscientious approach to dealing with matters helped him come out victorious from seemingly unattainable objectives, whether it was the field of science or solving complex diplomatic assignments. His determination and perseverance remained the guiding force for him in helping his brothers in distress and achieving some high-profile goals.
In 1960, when the scientific world was dealing with the inhibition of DNA synthesis, Dr. Berrah was the first person who discovered a chemical compound that selectively inhibited DNA synthesis without interfering with RNA and proteins. On the diplomatic front, he did the utmost effort for the independence and progress of African countries. He worked on Palestinian- Israel issues and other critical global issues.
High and low, I feel inspired by his thrilling life story filled with many obstacles, hopes, triumphs, love, and more. His astuteness helped him find the solution to many burning issues of those times.
He gave a riveting account of President Houphouët Boigny and strong bonding with him. Like his other life events, his love story was also unique and thrilling. Moreover, this book gives a broad picture of the economy of African countries, particularly of Côted'lvoire, factors that kept Africa lagging among nations, and the roadmap to help the region regain economic stability, mutual harmony, and peaceful coexistence. Besides, the pictures added in the book were quite delightful and fully exhibited his life struggle from youth to old age.
By and large, his memoir reflects some momentous global events of the twentieth century he himself participated. Despite being lengthy, this book is absolutely engaging with gentle humor. I like how easily he walks the reader through the most difficult terrains of his life. The book is perfectly edited with no sensitive content. Except for some of his views, I don’t have any incongruence. I rate this informative memoir 4 out of 4 stars and recommend it to fans of autobiography and readers having a keen eye on the political and diplomatic issues of Africa and Côted'lvoire.
******
A Dream For Peace
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
A Dream for Peace is a brilliant autobiography by Dr. Ghoulem Berrah whose staunch desire for peace, freedom and interfaith harmony led him to embark on some of the most challenging ambitions of his life.
Some painful realities of the colonial period compelled Dr. Berrah to switch from his medical studies in Bordeaux (France) to become a freedom fighter for Algeria’s independence. He became an active member of several organizations and had to bear detention and forced labor during this period of turmoil. Thereon, he got a Fulbright scholarship and went to the USA to get his Master's and Ph.D. degrees in Biology from Indiana University (1961 and 1963, respectively). He also taught at Yale School of Medicine for two years. However, his inner spirit and call of President Houphouët Boigny of Côted'lvoire to serve his brothers in Africa made him reevaluate his options, and finally, he quitted his scientific career and chose to become a diplomatic advisor and special emissary of president Houphouët to fully utilize his God-gifted talent.
In this chronically written 632-pages book, the author fabulously flashes on the reminiscence of his life events. Born in Beïda (Constantine, Algeria), he thoroughly covers the culture and taboos of his native land, its politics, and the impact of colonialism on ordinary people. He marvelously captured the details of his freedom struggle, the pain and suffering of his people in Africa, and what he could do as a diplomat to bring harmony and fraternity among different religions to secure the overall objective of bringing peace in the region.
At one glance, Dr. Berrah’s life is full of accomplishments. His conscientious approach to dealing with matters helped him come out victorious from seemingly unattainable objectives, whether it was the field of science or solving complex diplomatic assignments. His determination and perseverance remained the guiding force for him in helping his brothers in distress and achieving some high-profile goals.
In 1960, when the scientific world was dealing with the inhibition of DNA synthesis, Dr. Berrah was the first person who discovered a chemical compound that selectively inhibited DNA synthesis without interfering with RNA and proteins. On the diplomatic front, he did the utmost effort for the independence and progress of African countries. He worked on Palestinian- Israel issues and other critical global issues.
High and low, I feel inspired by his thrilling life story filled with many obstacles, hopes, triumphs, love, and more. His astuteness helped him find the solution to many burning issues of those times.
He gave a riveting account of President Houphouët Boigny and strong bonding with him. Like his other life events, his love story was also unique and thrilling. Moreover, this book gives a broad picture of the economy of African countries, particularly of Côted'lvoire, factors that kept Africa lagging among nations, and the roadmap to help the region regain economic stability, mutual harmony, and peaceful coexistence. Besides, the pictures added in the book were quite delightful and fully exhibited his life struggle from youth to old age.
By and large, his memoir reflects some momentous global events of the twentieth century he himself participated. Despite being lengthy, this book is absolutely engaging with gentle humor. I like how easily he walks the reader through the most difficult terrains of his life. The book is perfectly edited with no sensitive content. Except for some of his views, I don’t have any incongruence. I rate this informative memoir 4 out of 4 stars and recommend it to fans of autobiography and readers having a keen eye on the political and diplomatic issues of Africa and Côted'lvoire.
******
A Dream For Peace
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Make your ideals high enough to inspire you and low enough to encourage you.
