Zeitoun by Dave Eggers – My Review
A vitally important, and excellently written book.
When Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans, Abdulrahman Zeitoun, a hard-working and successful Syrian-American, chose to stay through the storm to protect his family’s home and contracting business. As the water rose after the storm, Zeitoun paddled a canoe through the streets, saving people, reporting people in need to authorities, helping stranded animals, and safeguarding property to the extent possible. His pleas to authorities to assist others were unheeded. Then, he was arrested, in his own home, with friends, and incarcerated by the U.S. government, without charges, defense, or ability to contact his wife and family. He was accused of looting, but also of being a suspected terrorist. It appears that FEMA, our federal agency, had developed theories that terrorists could infiltrate during a major disaster. Because of his ethnic background, the color of his skin, and his nationality, our government as a whole, and individual contracted police and National Guard, determined the worst, with no proof. No proof was presented to anybody. He was simply kept in jail.
The book is non-fiction, but written in a fictional style. It is detailed, and slowly paced. A few times, I felt maybe it was a little too slow and detailed, but I’ve decided that every detail was necessary.
The author frequently jumps back in time to Zeitoun’s and his wife’s memories of the past. These flashbacks and the story itself offer a perfect development of character.
The author shows that Zeitoun is a good, caring person. Even when he takes abandoned food and drink, he does so for other stranded people, because no authorities are present to evacuate people or provide them food.
The legal situation in which Zeitoun finds himself is hard to believe, but at the same time, easy to understand. The government was not prepared for the disaster. The government brought police, National Guardsmen and others from all over the country. These people had little or no training, and were given ludicrous instruction as to what to do. Those who are in charge, also have little communication.
Prejudice and discrimination, on the institutional level and on the individual level, caused a travesty of justice to occur. This book shows that discrimination can and does occur, and it’s not just based on race. In this case, it’s race, but also based on ethnic background and nationality. He’s presumed to be a looter because of the color of his skin. He’s presumed to be a terrorist because of his Syrian nationality.
This book is the most important book I have read in a long time. Everybody should read it and learn from its lessons.
