The bus gathered speed. My wife’s hand sought mine, and the small, fragile fingers twined around my larger ones. The Sahara had wrought few changes in that hand. It was exactly as it had been on the day I had slipped a gold ring over one of the fingers and promised that I would protect her always. It was as small and soft and delicate as a child’s. A nice hand, I thought.
Acknowledgements
The journey recorded in this book could not have succeeded without the help and goodwill of a great many people. I should like particularly to thank the following.
In London: Martin Soames, formerly of Penguin Books, for initial support; Anthony Goff, my agent, and his former assistant, Suzanne P. Breen, who performed the almost impossible task of sending us money in the Sahara; Lady Ewart-Biggs of the UK UNICEF Committee for allowing us to send films via the UNICEF pouch; Nick Cater and Caroline Penn for stimulating media interest; Professor Harry Norris of SOAS for advice on learning Tamasheq; Nigel and Shane Winser of the Expedition Advisory Centre for their advice; John Garvey, for being a friend for as long as I can remember; Omar Alim, of the Sudanese Embassy, for his enthusiastic assistance; all those who answered my letters, including Geoffrey Moorhouse, Squadron Leader Tom Sheppard, Ken and Julie Slavin, Jean Abdallahi, and Ted Edwards.
In Paris: Philippe Davide and family for their hospitality and help; Professor Theodore Monod for advice and enthusiasm.
In Nouakchott: Charles and Mariana Habis, without whose help there might have been no expedition; Abbas of the USAID office; Peace Corps volunteers Nancy Lock, Cathy Chilson, and Karen Targerson for their kindness; Lelio Bernardi, Mr Jacomini, David Fletcher, Malik Sene; Father Istifan Stirnemann and his colleagues at the Catholic Mission.
In Niamey: Mr Bashizi, UNICEF representative; Giovanni Di Cola of UNICEF for his hospitality; Auda for help in negotiating Nigerien bureaucracy; the British Honorary Vice-Consul, Mr A. Santoni.
In N’Jamena: All members of UN Chad who gave us friendship and help.
In Ati: Maurie-Laure Glandor, Eva Hensel, and Margrit Kapelli, nurses for UNICEF/INTERAID, for putting ourselves and our camels up in their house.
In Gineina: the District Commissioner for allowing us to stay in the rest house there; Mohammid Zakkaria for customary help and generosity.
In El Fasher: Rob ‘Rabi’ Hydon for the loan of his house; Bob Siddell, UNDP, for interceding with the authorities on our behalf.
In Egypt: the four members of the military patrol at Jebel Ussa, but for whose kindness we might never have reached journey’s end; Abdal Sayyid of Abu Simbel Border Intelligence for helping to persuade the authorities to let us stay; the manager of the Cleopatra Hotel, Aswan, for his generosity and hospitality.
In Stamford: Ms Susan Wheatley for typing the manuscript; Dr Mitchell for his advice and assistance with our medical kit.
In London: the staff of Cetaprint for their patient work on the photographs; Eleo Gordon for raising the book eighty-five notches!
Finally, I should like to thank my parents for their invariable support and for their courage in meeting us in Cairo during an unusually hot summer. I am most grateful to General and Mrs Peru, not only for their support and for allowing me to write this book at their cottage in Sardinia, but also for bringing into the world the bravest woman I have ever met, my wife. She was by my side constantly while I wrote this book, and for 4,500 miles across the greatest desert on earth. This work is dedicated to her.
M. J. A.
Frazione Agnata, Gallura, Sardinia 1st October 1987
About the Author
Michael Asher has traveled a total of seven thousand miles by camel and is an authority on Northern Africa. He is the author of A Desert Dies, an account of the three years he spent living among the Kababish in the western region of the Sudan. In 1985, Mr Asher organised and participated in the first UNICEF camel expedition to take aid to nomads in the Red Sea Hills. It was at this time that he met Italian Arabist and photographer Mariantonietta Peru, whom he married in 1986.
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© 2012 by Michael Asher
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