SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., Jan. 12, 2006 (PRIMEZONE) -- Why is the caste system still prevalent in modern day America? Why prejudice? Why discrimination? These thoughts continue to run through the minds of all races facing castigation, oppression and labeled as inferior by those who claim to be superior. In the 1700s to 1800s, the Irish were castigated "savages" by the English who also enslaved them. About the year 385, Saint Patrick was born in Great Britain. He was sold into slavery and forced to rear sheep. For years he was forced to endure hardship until he escaped and entered the seminary to become a priest. He later became a bishop and worked hard at converting the Irish while establishing a church. He died in Down in 461. Stories of this sort exist today.
The Shackles of Oruku Threats underscores the underprivileged status of the "ohu" caste. This theory is embedded in the socio-cultural and harmful and traditionally political rhetoric that is so ancient, but has surfaced in the year 2005. The Shackles investigates the lower class position placed on women in the West African village of Oruku. Males are preferred. Females are shunned. Only the noble "shons of the shoil" can inherit land, assets and property including children. Women are prohibited from buying ancestral land, but can become tenant and migrant farmers who are not paid and are discriminated against. Children are used for cheap and sweat labor.
In this true story, one woman goes beyond the call of her benevolent spirit, chi to organize communal farming to boost economic sustenance for her impoverished society. Her progress and efforts are stalled because she is an "ohu." Her barn is burned, her children are expelled from school and the Oruku village is thrown into chaos as many people are maimed, killed, displaced and made homeless. It is an unforgettable story of courage. The Shackles and The Serenity can both make excellent New Year's gifts. It teaches courage, hope and faith. Both books are available at Barnes and Noble.com and at Xlibris.com
About the author
Lynda Ukemenam's literary credits include articles, essays for the New York Amsterdam Newspaper in Harlem, New York, and the essay "African Women and Development" for World Wise International Newspaper in New Hampshire. She wrote editorials and leisure columns for the African News Weekly based in Asheville, North Carolina, and African Profiles International Magazine in New York. Her columns appeared in the Nigeria Abroad Newspaper in New Jersey and the Nigerian News Digest in Asheville, North Carolina.
She is an independent writer currently working on a sequel to The Shackles of Ohuku Threats entitled The Avalanche of Ohuku Shackles. Her other books include Taking A Bath? a non-fiction text on circumcision and female genital mutilation. A fiction text entitled: The Silver Screen. Her poems entitled "The Third World," "Grasshoppers Invade New Territory," and "Somalia" were published in the Maryland Review. Her alma mater was the College of Journalism, the Fleet Street District of Central London, England.
The Shackles of Oruku Threats -- By Lynda Ukemenam
Trade Paperback; $22.99; 326 pages; 1-4134-5095-4
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