Going under the wire of the army compound where he was posted, Lewis was shot in the leg, making his escape - which required a gruelling journey in disguise across the desert at night with a group of Bedouin, at the mercy of ravenous wolves - all the more arduous. This left him with only one option - to escape from his native land, leaving his family behind him. Things went from bad to worse once his superiors discovered his ability to speak English, and Lewis was selected for Saddam's elite, top secret intelligence service, an offer he literally could not refuse. Aged 17, Lewis Alsamari was conscripted into the Iraqi army. and then risked everything he'd achieved to save his family.Paperback. It is also a remarkably inspirational story of a resourceful young man who refused to accept his fate. 'Escape from Saddam' is a powerful nonfiction thriller that, even as it plunges the reader into a netherworld of crooked border police, military checkpoints, counterfeiters, and smugglers, provides a fascinating window into a totalitarian regime. Then, accompanied by his wife, he embarked on a desperate journey in hope of bringing his family to freedom. Frantic with guilt and worry, Lewis was forced to steal the thousands of dollars he needed to buy their release and smuggle them out of Iraq. One day, shocking news arrived: because of his escape, Lewis's family-including his mother and sister-had been interrogated, beaten, and thrown into prison. But he was haunted by thoughts of the loved ones he left behind in Iraq, his uncle's words echoing in his ears: we are sending you to freedom so that one day you may rescue us from this place. Lewis began building a life for himself, even falling in love and getting married. His escape was fraught with peril-he was shot, detained at borders, even pursued by hungry wolves across the desert-but the teenager made his way to Jordan, then Malaysia, and finally to England, where he was granted political asylum.

Unable to accept becoming a member of Saddam's secret police, yet knowing that turning down this 'honor' would be considered treasonous, Lewis made plans to flee Iraq. and a cog in Saddam Hussein's massive machine of terror. The job would have made him powerful, comfortably wealthy. Somehow Lewis made it through and, thanks in part to his fluent English, was soon offered a post in Iraqi military intelligence. The training was brutal, with discipline enforced by regular beatings, and desertion punishable by mutilation or imprisonment. Read full overviewĪt the age of seventeen, Lewis Alsamari was conscripted into Saddam Hussein's army. At the age of seventeen, Lewis Alsamari was conscripted into Saddam Hussein's army.

Out Of Iraq.. by Lewis Alsamari