Ali Ahmida to publish book on Libyan genocide this August

 

The book, “Genocide in Libya: Shar, a Hidden Colonial History,” recovers the hidden history of fascist Italian concentration camps in Libya between 1929 and 1934 through Libyan survivors’ oral testimonies, which took over 10 years of fieldwork to collect. 

 

The book links the Libyan genocide through cross-cultural and comparative readings to the colonial roots of Holocaust and genocide studies. It provides a new and original history of the genocide and is a key resource for readers interested in genocide and holocaust studies, colonial and post-colonial studies, and African and Middle Eastern studies. James C. Scott, Ph.D., Sterling Professor of political science at Yale University, called the Ahmida's book a "masterpiece of oral history" that "recaptures the full texture of a great but little known atrocity."

 

Ahmida is an expert on North African and Libyan relations and is one of three scholars chosen by the United Nations to work on The Libya Socioeconomic Dialogue Project. 

 

The project is designed to provide a platform for a broad and inclusive range of Libyan experts and stakeholders to jointly formulate a long-term future vision for the socioeconomic development of Libya and to devise policy options that would enable Libyan decision-makers to realize that vision.

 

“Genocide in Libya: Shar, a Hidden Colonial History” is available for pre-order through Routledge and will ship after Aug. 7.