Lucia Mann

Presenting Part 2 of Local Author and Activist Lucia Mann

/ Peter Klopp / 1 Comment

Rented Silence: Chilling Historical Novel Exposes South Africa’s Deplorable Crimes Against Humanity, as Mother Buries Newborn Daughters Alive…

Masterfully crafted by Lucia Mann, ‘Rented Silence’ calls on actual events from WWII to the present day, to expose the unconscionable crimes committed in South Africa both during and after British Colonial rule. Readers join a mother who is at her wit’s end, choosing to bury her two tiny daughters alive to spare them the torment of a life in the sex trade. But one of them is saved, afforded a short idyllic existence before she is captured; the very crime her mother intended to prevent. This is her story, fusing fact and fiction in a narrative critics have said will “…make you view your life with a new-found sense of gratitude”.

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Bakersfield, CA – When South Africa’s National Party toppled in 1994 and apartheid came to an apparent end, the nation slowly began to carve out a new reputation to make it a major player on the global stage. However social activists such as Lucia Mann, who was born in British Colonial South Africa just after WWII, know that the country still has many deplorable acts to answer for.

In her latest, revised-edition novel, ‘Rented Silence’, Mann takes readers on a journey spanning seven decades, into the gut-wrenching story of a mother’s unconditional love, the unlikely survival of one of her daughters and a shocking exposé’ of South Africa’s very real human trafficking epidemic.

Author and Social Activist Lucia Mann

Author and Social Activist Lucia Mann

Synopsis:

From the “African Freedom Series”

TWO TINY NEWBORNS WERE BURIED ALIVE IN A COMPOST PIT, covered with corn husks and left to die. A hungry wild dog, saliva flowing, stood impatiently over the mound. As it started to dig out its prey, an escaped slave whooshed it away. Drawn by the sound of a weak human cry, the runaway cautiously approached the mournful whimper. What could provoke a new mother to bury her twin babies alive? A will to protect her children from the inescapable pain and horror of becoming chattel to an evil South African plantation owner.

Experience post-WWII Africa through the eyes of characters who unearth the painful secrets of those times:

  • – Shiya, a white newborn rescued from an intended grave, who lives five idyllic years in the bush before she is captured, tormented, and eventually freed.
  • – Anele, the black runaway slave who saves Shiya’s life and suffers the consequences for the rest of her days.
  • – Alan Hallworthy, the wealthy, cruel plantation owner who lusts for the bodies of young girls, even that of his own five-year-old daughter.
  • – Brianna, Shiya’s modern-day daughter who is mystified by her mother’s secrets and never stops trying to reveal the truth.

Lucia Mann’s story exposes South Africa’s crimes against humanity during and after British colonial rule. It takes you through a roller coaster of emotions as it describes South Africa from post-WWII to the modern day.

“The point of this story is to raise alarms about modern-day slavery, a problem many people think has somehow been abolished, and to do it through a story that captivates its readers by fusing real-world grit with an engrossing fictional narrative,” explains Mann, Founder of The Modern Day Slavery Reporting Center. “It’s vital to understand that unconscionable crimes against humanity still take place daily, and that it’s not a new problem.”

Continuing, “That’s why I have written a story that spans from British Colonial South Africa right up to the present day. I’ll admit that it’s an uncomfortable read in places, but a story that needs to be told so that we can start to acknowledge and take action on an epidemic that is only going to grow with time.”

Since its release, readers have come out in force with rave reviews. For example, one Amazon customer comments, “Without wishing to give anything away let me simply say what an awesome read this book is. The fact that it is based on true events makes it the more remarkable. If you like a book that is both compelling and heart wrenching then this is for you. A wonderful piece of work from a very gifted author. It’ll make you view your life with a new-found sense of gratitude. Highly recommended.”

‘Rented Silence’ ISBN: 9780979480591 is available now: http://www.amazon.com www.amazon.ca or directly from author.

The above released book is not to be mistaken for a copy by PublishAmerica/StarBooks ISBN 9781462629428 who have no legal copyright.

For more information, visit the author’s official website: http://www.luciamann.com.

About the Author:

Lucia Mann is a former British journalist and author of the two sequels in the African-set Freedom novels devoted to slavery and racial prejudice: Africa’s Unfinished Symphony (Indie Excellence winner), and A Veil of Blood Hangs over Africa.

Born in British Colonial South Africa in the wake of WWII, Mann saw and felt firsthand the pain and suffering of those who were heinously treated because of the color of their skin. She currently resides in British Columbia, Canada, where she is fine tuning her next novel: The Sicilian Veil.

Visit Lucia Mann on-line at www.luciamann.com.

Lucia Mann is also the founder of The Modern Day Slavery Reporting Center at www.reportmdsrc.org.

Contact: Lucia Mann / authorluciamann@vahoo.com / (250) 269-7280

Presenting Author and Activist Lucia Mann

/ Peter Klopp / 2 Comments

Courage and Commitment in the Face of Modern Day Slavery

Every once in a while on my blog I introduce a past or present resident of Fauquier and area, who have made a significant contribution to our community. There was the colorful personality of Mr. Fauquier, whose name our small village now bears. Then there was Bill Laux, the eccentric artist and castle builder.

Today I would like to introduce you to the illustrious writer, novelist and activist Lucia Mann. It is my hope that this post will help spread her ideas about social justice and increase awareness about modern-day slavery. I am republishing with her kind permission the page about the author, which can be found at http://www.luciamann.com.

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Lucia Man is Sicilian-bred, born in British Colonial South Africa in the wake of WWII.  She is a citizen of Britain and Canada who recently applied for a U.S. Green Card because she believes she is an American at heart. She was educated in London, England and retired from freelance journalism in 1998. After suffering from racial prejudice most of her early life because she was part Italian and part South African, she saw and felt firsthand the pain and suffering of those who were thought to be inferior because of the color of their skin. Her mission is to end prejudice and slavery now and in the future.

A woman was recently sentenced to 140 months in prison after using two Nigerian immigrants as personal unpaid servants in her luxury home in Atlanta, Georgia. A few days later, two Ukrainian brothers were convicted of smuggling desperate villagers into the United States to work long hours, cleaning retail stores and office buildings at little or no pay. The prosecuting U.S. attorney in Philadelphia, Daniel Velez, said it was “modern-day slavery. It’s hiding in plain sight.”

However, according to a woman who lived through the racial prejudice, segregation and slavery in post-World War II Europe, the slavery crisis in the modern world is far greater than that.

“Anyone who thinks slavery died when America abolished it in the 1800s has a shock coming to them,” said Lucia Mann, whose mother was a sex slave and a WWII concentration camp survivor.  Mann, a former journalist and author of “RENTED SILENCE” (www.rentedsilence.com), a novel about slavery and racial prejudice based on her life experiences and those of other persecuted souls she witnessed says, “According to the United Nations, there are more than 27 million slaves worldwide, which are more than twice the number of those who were enslaved over the 400 years that transatlantic slavers trafficked humans to work in the Americas. Many are forced into prostitution while others are used as unpaid laborers used to manufacture goods many of us buy in the U.S. In fact, it’s almost impossible to buy clothes or goods anymore without inadvertently supporting the slave trade.”

Mann said that the crisis extends far greater than in the African and Asian nations typically associated with slavery or indentured servitude.

“After the hurricane in Haiti, the economy was so devastated, with as many as 3,000 people sold into slavery right there in their own country,” she added. “It affects all racial groups and slaves come from every single continent on the planet. The irony is that there are more slaves now that slavery is illegal than there were when it was a legal part of international commerce. Moreover, because of its illegal nature, it’s practically impossible to track and contain. It’s not a matter of how to stop it. It’s a matter of how we even begin to address it.”

One of the reasons Mann wrote her book was to establish an awareness of the problem, so that people could have a frame of reference for action.

“The wrongs of the past as well as the present must continue to be exposed so that they can be righted in the present and future,” Mann added. “This means educating society about evil and injustice and motivating them to take steps to ease others’ pain and anguish. The key is to get people aware of it, and then let them know what they can do to end the practice. In America, the first thing we need to do is address our own consumer habits. To help, the United Nations has created an online and mobile phone application to help people track if what they buy is supporting slavers.”

Mann said the awareness and concern of the American people are the first steps to ending slavery around the world.

“If there is no money to be made from enslaving people, it will end,” she said. “Many innocent people become the victims of viciousness or the prey of prejudice. While fear and anger are filling the cells and souls of innocents, the rest of us can bolster their spirits and lighten their load by having the guts to fight their fight and the heart to bring hope to humanity. Courage and commitment are powerful weapons, and we should not hesitate to use them against the dishonorable people of the world”

My wife is presently reading this book and is available on line and at Home Hardware Nakusp.

My wife is presently reading this book, which is available online and at the Home Hardware store at Nakusp.

Visit Lucia’s website at luciamann.com to find out more about her quest for social justice.