Memories of Eden

"Memories of Eden" evokes a bygone era - when pre-WW2 Baghdad was one-third Jewish and interfaith relations were harmonious. When Violette was born, Mesopotamia had been Ottoman for some 600 years, until redrawn as Iraq by the British when Violette was eight years old. This bittersweet memoir tells of a childhood spent in the city of Caliphs, Scheherazade and the land of the Garden of Eden, of traditions passed down over the generations, and captures vividly the elusive quality of a scene totally at odds with our image of today's Iraq. As a privileged young woman growing up with her extended family in the city of The Thousand and One Nights, Violette re-lives the excitement of a vibrant society coming to terms with daily life, first under Ottoman, then British, and finally, pro-Nazi rule, which ended in disaster for the Jews of Iraq, who were brutally attacked in two days of slaughter in May 1941 while British troops stood by, under orders not to intervene.The pogrom, which sounded the death-knell for the oldest community in the Diaspora, has been sidelined in history. Now, in a final section in the memoir, the editors reveal the steps that led to the catastrophe and the British bungling that brought it about. Like Anne Frank's diary, "Memories of Eden" tells of an easy and happy childhood, of growing maturity and sophistication, and then shrinking circumstances, victimisation and, finally, flight.

1. The castle. From the teeming alleyways of Old Baghdad, Violette's family moves to a new home on the riverbank surrounded by palms and orchards. Water and heat dominate their lives.2. Childhood. The country is still primitive, with river craft that pre-date Noah, and country girls bearing 40kg loads of yohgurt piled in baskets on their heads. Violette goes to school on donkey-back.3. Shebbath. Food for the sabbath has to be special. Violette explains the rituals of the kitchen and the hammam (Turkish bath), the care with which the dishes are prepared, the table set and the blessings said.4. Iraq. The Jews settled in Mesopotamia in biblical times and live in harmony with their Muslim neighbours. By the time the British arrive and re-name the country the community represents almost 40 per cent of the population.5. The Twenties. Modernisation begins to reshape the country. Trade and commerce flourish. The street scene is 'a wonderful stage' of pavement vendors, peddlers of home-made cures, jostling shoppers, sights and smells.6. High Holidays. The community preserves ancient tradition through scorching summer and the mercifully cooler time of September, when everything in the home is made new or replaced and special food is prepared for the festivities.7. Qahwat Moshi. The coffee shop of this name is the heart of the city where all business is conducted and we meet the matchmaker, learn about worry beads, superstitions and enjoy stories from the past.8. Love and marriage. Arranged marriages are still very much the rule of the day. Violette explains the bargaining processes, the dowry system, the party traditions and rituals involved.9. The Thirties. A new and sinister mood sweeps the country when Iraq gains independence. With Nazism on the rise in Europe, Arab sympathies begin shifting to embrace German doctrine. Suddenly, the Jews find themselves persecuted and reviled.10. Revolution. By 1939 Violette has been married for two years. A period of uncertainty follows when a rabidly pro-Nazi called Rashid Ali seizes power. Violette and her husband decide they must leave the country - but she is pregnant.11. Curfew. It is 1941. The 'black month of Rashid Ali' is all curfew and attacks by 'Hitler Youth'-style gangs. Sheltering with the family, Violette gives birth to Mira by candlelight in a blacked-out room.12. Farhud. The horror of what happened over two days of full-scale pogrom, when some 200 Jews were killed and damage equivalent to GBP13m today was caused.13. First flight. Six months later, Violette and her young family flee, having escaped the pogrom through the kindness of Muslim neighbours.14. Last flight. Violette recounts the dramatic story of her sister's escape from Baghdad in 1969 after being jailed for two years.15. Postscript. Violette muses on the plight of Iraq today, reflecting on its regression into tyranny and mayhem and comparing it with her Baghdad, gone forever.

This is an extraordinary, unique and invaluable book. Violette Shamash, who died in 2006, tells the story of the Jewish community in Baghdad in the first half of the 20th century. She writes beautifully and her book is superbly readable. She describes in exquisite detail the histories, lives and customs of Iraq's Jews through the evocative stories of her own family. This astonishing record has been put together by Violette's daughter Mira and her husband Tony Rocca from letters, notes and essays written by Violette over a period of 20 years. These tell the story of a cultivated and well integrated Jewish community in the heart of Muslim Arabia during the end of the Ottoman Empire and the British Mandate. Memories of Eden is a superb account of a long forgotten time - indeed a time which is barely imaginable now, given the hatreds that currently exist in the Middle East. Until the Second World War, Jews and Muslims lived side by side, she writes. "We were treated as equals and accepted on our own merit until the poison of Nazism and Arab nationalism entered the bloodstream. The evil spread like a bad, contagious disease." It still does so - William ShawcrossHer book provides a unique insight into the culture, customs, and everyday life of the Jews of Iraq. It paints a sensitive portrait of an ancient civilization which was swept away by the violent current of modern nationalism. The contrast between the harmony and peaceful coexistence depicted here and the mayhem and destructiveness of present-day Iraq could hardly be starker - Professor Avi Shlaim, St Antony's College, OxfordIt is full of detail: the heat, the holy days, the rituals, food, smells and sounds of the souq; the river Tigris, its water and fish; the costumes and clothes people wore; schooldays and rides on donkey-back before motorised transport became available...A treasure house of information - Professor Shmuel Moreh, The Hebrew University, Jerusalem (from the Foreword)

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