This psychological thriller takes you into a world where human trafficking abounds. Its victims are forced into slavery and prostitution, and most lose all hope. This author shows where hope can be found.
Miguel, a policeman in Trinidad, and Sheila are married and have two children, Ronnel and Nadia. Unfortunately for Sheila, Miguel is not a faithful husband.
Sheila’s happiness is brought to an end one day when her family is attacked. She is kidnapped and sold to a brother in Venezuela. When the burned remains of a female are found that is wearing Sheila’s wedding ring, her husband and children are told that she is dead.
Sheila, who knows nothing of what is going on back in Trinidad, understandably begins to lose hope. Made to do things that are disgusting to her, not getting enough food, and being held against her will all take their toll on her. When a young girl whose mother has sold her is brought to the brothel, this takes Sheila’s mind off her own troubles. Through God, she gives this young girl as well as herself hope.
The awful things that happened to Sheila made me want to cry. The situation became so intense that it was hard to stop reading the book or put it down for any length of time. Then someone is sent to Sheila that gives her even more hope that she and others in that horrible brothel will be rescued and good things begin to happen.
Just enough of the dialogue is written in Trini give it some local flavor and to remind one that Sheila is from Trinidad. Whenever this happens, there is a footnote to let the reader know what it means in English.
The current problems in Venezuela—dissatisfaction with its leadership; the lack of food, medicine, and other basic necessities—are mentioned but not dwelt on. Amidst all of these problems, human trafficking abounds.
I was sent a copy of this unputdownable book to read in exchange for an honest review.
If you would like your own copy of Caribbean Tears, I’ve provided an Amazon link for you below.
Amazon Link: Caribbean Tears
Recommended Article: Emiliya Ahmadova – Why I Write About Abuse
Before the next section of my review of this book, I’m going to do something different. At the request of the Ms. Ahmadova, I’m adding a short guest review of Caribbean Tears.
Guest Review of Caribbean Tears by Jeanette L. Skirvin
Graphic kidnapping and human trafficking scenes are in the pages of Caribbean Tears, but so is strong faith in God and hope.
“Hush, woman, or you will never see your family again!” he said, pushing the weapon into her mouth. “Shut up, woman! No one will hear you between the sea and sky.”
Human rights activist, Emiliya Ahmadova, writes to enlighten her audience to social issues suffering the globe. It is her desire to bring about positive change while at the same time gently nudging her readers to have faith in their prayers, letting them know that God listens to their plea, and urging them to never lose hope. Caribbean Tears is a strong statement to the dark underbelly of the world of human trafficking sex crime. The author does not hold anything back as she moves her readers through tough dialogue which has the slang-language of the streets and alleyways inserted. Ms. Ahmadova thoughtfully translates the lingo into English in footnotes. A work of great value, Caribbean Tears teaches the reader to be more alert to the signs of crime, to be more sensitive in recognizing symptoms of suffering in victims, and to never hesitate to alert authorities should one suspect crime is being committed right before your eyes. [Jeanette L. Skirvin, author, translator, editor of STARK-The Poetry Journal]
public domain
Favorite Sentences:
However, it soon dawned on her that she was alone with a monster, and there was nowhere to go.
Our island is so beautiful, but crime makes it hard to live here and forces people to move away.
“My mind is like a boiling kettle that’s ready to explode.”
While in captivity, she grew to understand that life was too short to waste it.
New Words Learned:
bake – a fried dough made of all-purpose flour, baking powder, a pinch of salt and a little grease—preferably butter—brought together with water. … The inside of the bake is hollow so it’s the perfect receptacle for stuffing. Think of it like a Trinidadian version of a pita.
callaloo – a popular Caribbean vegetable dish. There are many variants across the Caribbean, depending on the availability of local vegetables. The main ingredient is an indigenous leaf vegetable, traditionally either amaranth, taro, or Xanthosoma.
chikungunya virus – a viral infection transmitted by mosquitoes
chupidness – stupidness
chutney music – an Indo-Caribbean genre of music that developed in the southern Caribbean, and is popular in Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana, Suriname, Jamaica, other parts of the Caribbean, Fiji, Mauritius, and South Africa. It is a mixture of Bhojpuri music, and local music.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chutney_music
dengue fever – a debilitating viral disease of the tropics, transmitted by mosquitoes, and causing sudden fever and acute pains in the joints
dosti roti – Dosti is the Hindi word for friendship and is the perfect description for this roti. Two small roti loi (dough balls) are flattened, brushed with oiled, then joined together, making them friends. The roti loi is rolled thinly and cooked on a tawah (iron skillet).
https://www.alicaspepperpot.com/dosti-roti
dotish – imbecile
Dougla – Caribbean people who are of mixed African and Indian descent. The word Dougla (also Dugla or Dogla) is used primarily in Trinidad and Tobago, Suriname, Guyana, and Jamaica.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dougla_people
endometritus – inflammation of the endometrium
Wikipedia
maxi taxi – private, owner-operated minibuses in Romania and Trinidad and Tobago that are used in public transport. They operate along fixed routes, having fixed fares and meeting points, but do not operate under a timetable.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maxi_taxi
pirogue – a long narrow canoe made from a single tree trunk, esp. in Central America and the Caribbean
SEA – The Secondary Entrance Assessment (SEA) is a government exam sat by children aged 11 to 12 of Trinidad and Tobago as part of the admissions process for all public secondary schools. The SEA was introduced in 2001, to replace the older Common Entrance exam.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secondary_Entrance_Assessment
Wikimedia Commons
shark and bake – a popular Trinidadian pocket sandwich, is found at beach shacks and street stalls throughout the island. Part of its appeal is the variety of go-withs, from mango chutney to sliced cucumbers.
https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/shark-and-bake-234799
tava – a large flat, concave or convex disc-shaped frying pan (dripping pan/ flat skillet/ griddle) made from metal, usually sheet iron, cast iron, sheet steel or aluminium originating from the Indian subcontinent. It is used in Central, West Asia, Caucasus, the Caribbean, the Balkans and the Indian subcontinent, for cooking a variety of flatbreads and as a frying pan.[1][2][3] It also sometimes refers to the ceramic frying pan.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tava
TT currency – the currency of Trinidad and Tobago. It is normally abbreviated with the dollar sign $, or alternatively TT$ to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies. It is subdivided into 100 cents.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trinidad_and_Tobago_dollar
About the Author:
Emiliya Ahmadova was born in the city of Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan.
When she was just nine years old, she developed a passion for reading, literature, poetry, and foreign languages. In high school, she participated in and won many poetry competitions. Starting at the age of ten, she began writing poems and short stories in Russian.
Emiliya has diplomas in business management as well as a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) in human resources management. She also has international diplomas in the advanced study of the theory and practice of management, administration, business management, communication, hotel operations management, office management and administration, and professional English from the Cambridge International College, in addition to a certificate in novel writing. Emiliya speaks four languages (Azeri, Russian, English, and some Turkish), but her native language is Azeri. Because of her love for humanity and children, she has started volunteering in a local school and in 2011 became a Cub Scout leader and won a trophy as the first female parent leader. Emiliya likes being around people, adores travel, enjoys playing soccer, and relishes in helping other people.
