Joumana Haddad > Quotes

“Don't be afraid of books, even the most dissident, seemingly 'immoral' ones. Culture is a sure bet in life, whether high, low, eclectic, pop, ancient or modern. And I am convinced that reading is one of the most important tools of liberation that any human being, and a contemporary Arab woman in particular, can exploit. I am not saying it is the ONLY tool, especially with all the new alternative - more visual, interactive and hasty - ways of knowledge, learning and growth. But how could I not be convinced of literature's power, when it has been my original emancipator?”
― Joumana Haddad, I Killed Scheherazade: Confessions of an Angry Arab Woman

“Surviving war is an excellent training process. If it weren't so brutal, I 'd recommend it as an excellent start-up course in life. I feel that over years of endurance, hard work and perseverance of determination and conviction, of claiming our rights to stay alive, to be free and to be ourselves, of fighting the biggest wars as much as the smaller ones, our will can indeed move mountains for us.”
― Joumana Haddad, I Killed Scheherazade: Confessions of an Angry Arab Woman

“When your eyes meet my solitude
Silence ripens, a fruit,
And sleep turns into storm.
Forbidden doors fling open
And water learns to suffer.”
― Joumana Haddad

“As for the errors I make, the only punishment I acknowledge for having made them is my awareness of those errors, and having to live with it: there is, there should be, no heavier penalty on a person's soul, mind and heart.”
― Joumana Haddad

“ربما تسبب لي تمرّدي بمشكلات كثيرة على مرّ السنوات ، لكنه الشعلة التي تضيء طريقي ، وأعلم في قرارة نفسي أنه يستحق كل المشقات التي أتكبدها . أمّا الكتب ، فهي كانت ، ولمّا تزل ، حليفتي الأولى : هي التى فتحت عينى وحضتنى على اختيار الطريق الشائك من هنا الخطر الذي تمثله الثقافة والتعليم بالنسبة إلى مجرمين ظلاميين ومتخلفين أمثال داعشش وطالبان ، فالرغبة في التعلم تهديد ، لأنها تحض على الجرأة والتمرّد .”
― Joumana Haddad, الجنس الثالث

“Ceux qui meurent à nos côtés y restent, même quand on les laisse derrière soi.”
― Joumana Haddad, Le Livre des reines

“Ser escritora en un país árabe significa estar obligada a ser astuta y ambigua, enseñar un poco aquí y ocultar un poco allá.
Ser escritora en un país árabe significa escribir en clave, de manera que un “amante” se convierte en un “buen amigo”.
Ser escritora en un país árabe significa tener que enfrentarte con la ofensiva sospecha de que un hombre en la sombra está escribiendo lo que tú publicas con tu propio nombre.”
― Joumana Haddad, I Killed Scheherazade: Confessions of an Angry Arab Woman

“Uno no puede ser un ser humano viviente sin haber adquirido alguna forma de desorden mental para contrarrestar la brutalidad de este mundo. Para poder justificarla o al menos tolerarla.”
― Joumana Haddad, La hija de la costurera

“Il est des personnes dont la compagnie ne fait qu'aiguiser la lame de la solitude.”
― Joumana Haddad, Le Livre des reines