Jebel Marra

About

When war breaks out, a swarm of other industries quickly surrounds the battlefield; aid agencies, NGOs, international media corporations, mercenaries and private investors… all descend on the conflict like a second wave of invaders. Never was this more so than in 2004 when Darfur, in western Sudan, erupted into civil war. Accusations of government-sponsored ethnic cleansing and what the UN described as ‘the world’s worst humanitarian crisis’ combined to put this previously unheard-of region under the world’s spotlight. Yet, for all the influx of foreign agencies and outside interest, very little was (and still is) known about the causes of this conflict.

Here, Mish Green – a former aid worker in Darfur – re-tells the story of the war from 15 different perspectives, capturing by turns the brutal indifference of the government war machine, the terrible scars inflicted on individuals caught in its path, and the complex melting pot of experiences that constitutes any relief effort. Though fictional, these stories reach beyond the myths so often used to simplify this crisis and offer moving, first-hand insights into a tragedy that – like so many others – disappeared from our headlines all too quickly.

‘At a time when we claim we suffer from ‘compassion fatigue’ and we hope that clicking ‘yes’ on an online petition will effect actual change, Michelle Green’s stories about aid workers and refugees and war-torn, far-away places remind us that, yes, this matters, and yes, it is urgent, and yes, these stories are here to help us remember what it all means.’ – Kate Pullinger

Shortlisted for the Saboteur Awards 2015, in the 'Best Short Story Collection' category.

Longlisted for the Polari First Book Prize, in the 'Best Short Story Collection' category.

Press

'Serious, thought-provoking, memorable' - The Guardian

'Jebel Marra is a red mountain of intrigue, humour, love, hate and suffering.' - Max Dunbar Blog 

'Jebel Marra is an original and intelligent collection.' - Bookmunch

'Exceptionally good writing; 15 shards of shrapnel that will take your head off.' - The Irish Times

'Green excels when it comes to conveying another side of the aid industry- its misanthropy.' - Times Literary Supplement

'There is a tumble of characters through these stories, and a welter of detail which threatens to overwhelm the reader.' - Sabotage Reviews

'In this heart breaking collection, Michelle Green has written a humanizing series of stories that give the reader a vision of a complex and harrowing conflict.' - The Manchester Review

'Some of the experiences are very different but they still strike chord.' - Africa, Journalism, The World

READ

Read Michelle's interview with The Big Issue.

Read Michelle's feature for The Irish Times, 'Being Gay in Darfur: The Fight to be Yourself in a Hostile War Zone':
"Only a few of the stories in my collection feature main characters who are named as gay or bisexual, but all were written from that same place between hiding and revealing, just below the surface, where unspoken things rise from the deep for air"