"By this time tomorrow she would be in Dar es Salaam, or at the bottom of the Indian Ocean, or perhaps in Zanzibari detention."
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Zanzibar Kwa Heri
(Farewell, Zanzibar) by Patricia K. Polewski Trafford Publishing
book review by Annie Laura Smith
The author's Prologue sets the historical background for this story. After the revolution overthrows the Arab government in 1964, the new regime will not let young women leave Zanzibar without a payment of 56,000 shillings to the government. This prohibitive amount—equivalent to the seven year total salary of a businessman—keeps many young women from leaving the country. These Arab girls will be forced into becoming second and third wives. Thus this is the plight of the main character, Melissa, in the story.
The author lived in Tanzania and wrote Melissa's story based on real events, although with fictionalized characters. Seventeen-year-old Melissa's fictitious life is seamlessly woven into these events. After her father dies in the revolution and her mother dies soon afterwards, Melissa makes arrangements to leave Zanzibar illegally. She does not have the funds required by the government, and is unaware of the dangers that lie ahead. Her encounters include blackmail, a Masai country stranding, and a poisonous mamba snake bite. She also endures attempts made on her life and witnesses the massacre of her uncle and his family.
Circumstances eventually allow her to marry her life-long sweetheart, Tonio. Their journey to safety finally ends in Australia. The reader agonizes throughout her difficult escape from Zanzibar and subsequent perilous encounters, and trusts that she and Tonio will find a safe harbor. The photograph on the cover of beached dHows (i.e. a traditional Arabic sailing vesel) foreshadows how Melissa escapes from Zanzibar and begins her dangerous journey. Additional black and white photographs of the region supplement the text.