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Maison Rouge by Liliane Leila Juma
Liliane Leila Juma was sixteen years old when her family home in the Democratic Republic of the Congo was destroyed by rebel soldiers. She gives an account of her life before and after her family was torn apart. Maison Rouge is a story of war and unspeakable loss. It is also the story of survival. Eventually, through the United Nations refugee program, Leila and her family were finally able to relocate to Canada.
Review from Booklist:
At 16, Liliane Leila Juma’s life was blissfully unremarkable, with a stable family and a house bustling with friends, relatives, and community members—everything in abundance. Maison Rouge was her family home, which she describes as every bit as colorful as the name indicates. Her father was a respected member of the town of Uvira and taught his children to be humble and generous with their prosperity. Then life as she knew it was destroyed when, in 1993, rebel soldiers from the Democratic Republic of Congo took over their town, snatching young boys into their army and killing anyone who resisted. Liliane’s family was forced to leave, and this is a terse, raw account of their journey to safety. This memoir draws readers in, causing us to love the people she loved and rage at the ones who hurt her. There cannot be too many stories of the lives of displaced people in today’s world, and this one both blends in with and stands apart from this growing body of work.
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