Book Talk: Sherine Tadros, Taking Sides: A Memoir about Love, War, and Changing the World

The Centre for Comparative Muslim Studies jpsted a book talk with Sherine Tadros on her new book, Taking Sides: A Memoir about Love, War, and Changing the World. Leaning on this powerful and incisive memoir, humanitarian advocate and once-journalist Tadros talked about her experiences reporting in Gaza during Israel’s 2014 war, her work since then in advocating for human rights, her involvement in the United Nations, and other topics with CCMS Director, Adel Iskandar.

Bio:

Sherine Tadros is the deputy director of advocacy and representative to the United Nations for Amnesty International. She leads a team of senior advocates to lobby for the protection and promotion of human rights around the world. Prior to that, Tadros was a Middle East correspondent and news anchor for Al Jazeera English and Sky News, where among other events she reported on the 2008 and 2014 Gaza Wars, the Arab Uprisings, and the rise of the Islamic State group in Iraq. The accolades for her work in human rights and journalism include a Peabody Award, an Emmy nomination, and several Royal Television Society Awards. Tadros is an experienced speaker and moderator. Her engagements include speaking at the UN General Assembly, as well as a peacebuilding conference in Rwanda and moderating the FIFA Conference for Equality and Inclusion in Zurich. Tadros grew up in the United Kingdom, graduating with a degree in politics from SOAS University of London and master’s degree in Middle East Politics.

About the Book:

The deeply moving memoir of an award-winning war correspondent turned activist—and her rousing defense of human rights in times of resurgent authoritarianism.

As a broadcast journalist for Sky News and Al Jazeera, Sherine Tadros was trained to tell only the facts, as dispassionately as possible. But how can you remain neutral when reporting from war zones, or witnessing brutal state repression?

For twenty-six years, Tadros grew up in the quiet surroundings of her family’s London home, and yet injustice was something her Egyptian immigrant parents could never shelter her from. From her first journalistic assignment trapped inside a war zone in the Gaza Strip, to covering the Arab uprisings that changed the course of history, Tadros searched for ways to make a difference in people’s lives. But it wasn’t until her fiancé left her on their wedding day, and her life fell apart, that she found the courage to find her true purpose. It was the beginning of a journey leading to her current work for Amnesty International at the United Nations, where she lobbies governments to ensure that human rights are protected around the world.

With the compassion and verve of a clear-sighted campaigner and a natural storyteller, Tadros shares her remarkable journey from witnessing injustice to fighting it head-on in the corridors of power.