The Rugmaker of Mazar-e-Sharif

This moving and poignant work gives the reader a rare insight into the contented 'milk and honey' life of a simple Afghan family before the civil war ripped their country apart. The lives and centuries-old livelihood of farmers, craftsmen and small business owners were destroyed in just weeks and months. As a member of the Hazara tribe, hated and targeted by the Taliban, Najaf was forced to flee the brutal attacks on his people when the Northern Alliance fell to the advancing Taliban insurgents. His flight to Pakistan, from there to Indonesia, then by boat to Australia, ends with incarceration in Woomera, where the story begins. From the compelling opening sentence to the beautiful final chapter, Najaf's integrity, his extraordinary optimism and his generosity of spirit will win the hearts and minds of all readers.

'An extraordinary account of an epic journey to freedom, told with great intelligence, humour, poetry and integrity. Even in his darkest hours of despair, Najaf clings to hope and his deep love of life and people.'
- Arnold Zable, award winning writer, storyteller, educator and human rights advocate.

Robert Hillman is a Melbourne-based writer of fiction and biography. His autobiography, The Boy in the Green Suit, won the Australian National Biography Award for 2005. His 2007 biography, My Life as a Traitor, written with Zarah Ghahramani, appeared in numerous overseas editions and was short-listed for the Prime Minister's Literary Awards in 2008. His first collaboration with Najaf Mazari, The Rugmaker of Mazar-e-Sharif, grew out of an abiding interest in the hardships and triumphs of refugees.

This moving and poignant work gives the reader a rare insight into the contented 'milk and honey' life of a simple Afghan family before the civil war ripped their country apart. The lives and centuries-old livelihood of farmers, craftsmen and small business owners were destroyed in just weeks and months. As a member of the Hazara tribe, hated and targeted by the Taliban, Najaf was forced to flee the brutal attacks on his people when the Northern Alliance fell to the advancing Taliban insurgents. His flight to Pakistan, from there to Indonesia, then by boat to Australia, ends with incarceration in Woomera, where the story begins. From the compelling opening sentence to the beautiful final chapter, Najaf's integrity, his extraordinary optimism and his generosity of spirit will win the hearts and minds of all readers.

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