Children of the Siege

Children of the Siege is a book by

William Heinemann

.

Summary

The book is an account of Cutting's time, 1985–1987, working as a surgeon in the Palestinian refugee camp of

British Medical Journal

, Cutting arrived in Beirut in December 1985.

At this period the Bourj al-Barajneh camp was under siege by

Phalangists

, - aided by the Syrians.

The book is also an account of her meeting the Dutch doctor Ben Alofs and of their growing closeness,- signaled by Alofs bringing her a copy of Ernest Hemingway's A Farewell to Arms - the story of a romance with a British nurse.

Though she arrived for humanitarian reasons by the summer of 1986 she says she had developed a strong sympathy for the Palestinian cause.

Reception

The New York Times described the book as being a clearly written account of the Beirut crisis, and stated that it was a "a frightening and inspiring account of the hour-by-hour struggle of life in a war zone".^[2] Publishers Weekly stated that the book "captures the spirit in which doctors and nurses from all parts of the world labored to save lives", and that "it will leave readers filled with admiration for those humanitarians who offered help in a hostile, politically and religiously complex environment".^[3]

References

^ Cutting, Children of the Siege, Pan Books, p.186
^ MacNeille, Suzanne (April 2, 1989). "IN SHORT; NONFICTION". The New York Times. Retrieved 17 December 2022.
^ "Review - Children of the Siege". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved 17 December 2022.

External links

interview [1]
[2] Clips 16,17,18 of 43 have material relating to the camps

[1] Cutting, Children of the Siege, Pan Books, p.186

[2] MacNeille, Suzanne (April 2, 1989). "IN SHORT; NONFICTION". The New York Times. Retrieved 17 December 2022.

[3] "Review - Children of the Siege". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved 17 December 2022.

[2]

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