A Desert Dies

“In 1982, the fierce, beautiful and drought-stricken Sahara desert was still a home for thousands of nomads.

By 1985 the Sahara had become a waste land. ‘For the first time the urban population saw proud Arab nomads begging in the streets, and beautiful Kababish girls working as prostitutes. For the first time destitute Arab children foraged in the dustbins of the hotels …’ The trickle of displaced people had rapidly become a flood.

A Desert Dies is Michael Asher’s first-hand account of living with the Kababish tribe as they roamed an area devastated by hunger, civil war and the blinkered indifference of politicians. Beginning as a brilliant piece of travel-writing, recording the Kababish’s everyday life and timeless traditions, it ends as a celebration of their generosity, hospitality and courage in the face of the tragedy of their Sahara, and the terrible prospect of extinction.”