BROKEN CIRCLE
Following the overwhelming success of Hidden Bars, Hameeda Lakho’s second book is about lost family ties, her own expectations, and her quest for unconditional love.
A Dutch-Pakistani woman tries with all her might to close the broken circle of her mother-daughter relationship.
In Broken Circle, Hameeda writes about what has happened to her since. The Secretary of State for Justice intervenes and Hameeda’s fervent wish is finally granted; she receives permission to invite her family to join her. The family rushes to The Netherlands to escape the threatening situation that develops in Pakistan after 11th September. Hameeda looks forward to their arrival with great excitement. But what ought to be the highpoint of her life turns into a reunion involving very mixed emotions.
Once the family arrives, practical limitations and unexpected cultural differences disturb the fairy tale. The residence permit turns out to be of very limited effect, not even allowing separate housing or insurance. Hameeda has to bear complete financial responsibility. Since it turns out there is no tight family bond to speak of, the reunion amounts to a harsh confrontation with her own traumatic past.
Disappointed and hurt, but as assertive as ever, Hameeda decided to set down on paper her feelings of anger, privation and distress, again with the help of writer Magda van der Rijst. The result is a remarkably moving and profound portrait of a woman who has spent her whole life searching for the family relationships she was cruelly denied at an early age.
A Dutch-Pakistani woman tries with all her might to close the broken circle of her mother-daughter relationship.
In Broken Circle, Hameeda writes about what has happened to her since. The Secretary of State for Justice intervenes and Hameeda’s fervent wish is finally granted; she receives permission to invite her family to join her. The family rushes to The Netherlands to escape the threatening situation that develops in Pakistan after 11th September. Hameeda looks forward to their arrival with great excitement. But what ought to be the highpoint of her life turns into a reunion involving very mixed emotions.
Once the family arrives, practical limitations and unexpected cultural differences disturb the fairy tale. The residence permit turns out to be of very limited effect, not even allowing separate housing or insurance. Hameeda has to bear complete financial responsibility. Since it turns out there is no tight family bond to speak of, the reunion amounts to a harsh confrontation with her own traumatic past.
Disappointed and hurt, but as assertive as ever, Hameeda decided to set down on paper her feelings of anger, privation and distress, again with the help of writer Magda van der Rijst. The result is a remarkably moving and profound portrait of a woman who has spent her whole life searching for the family relationships she was cruelly denied at an early age.