Lori : My Daughter, Wrongfully Imprisoned in Peru

By Rhoda Berenson

Book Overview

Six years ago, American Lori Berenson was conducting a research project in Peru when the government detained her for high treason. Her inexplicable arrest marked the beginning of an unimaginable... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1893956067
• ISBN13: 9781893956063
• Release Date: January 2000
• Publisher: Context Books
• Length: 384 Pages
• Weight: 0.90 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.5" x 1.0" x 6.0"

Customer Reviews

More than a Mother's Plea

Those who read this book carefully and with an open mind will find it to be a logical and documented account of Lori Berenson's arrest and imprisonment in Peru, as well as a description of the cruelties and injustices of the Peruvian "justice" system. Of course, one would expect a mother to speak out on her daughter's behalf, however, one only has to follow up on the facts presented in the book and elsewhere to recognize that what is in the book is not biased. This is a book that tells a story that goes beyond the individual, an account of what other prisoners (some later found to be not guilty of anything) had to endure. It is unfortunate that some people have decided that Lori Berenson is guilty without any evidence or a fair trial. When members of the very government that imprisoned her, declare that she is innocent, one has to wonder why she is still stuck in a prison suffering severe health problems with no end in sight.For those who have decided Ms. Berenson is guilty because they believe that the only reason for Americans to be in other countries is to go on tours and buy trinkets, I would suggest you not bother reading the book! But for those who want to understand the conditions in other countries, and the dangers facing those who have a broader view of their responsibilities as journalists (and human beings) this book will provide valuable insights.

A poignant and forceful yet balanced tale

Rhoda Berenson succeeds in writing a very moving book about the ordeal through which her daughter Lori has suffered and continues to suffer. She is able to capture the reader's spirit and make him/her truly sympathize with her plight and wish for Lori's freedom. At the same time, she gives all of the facts in the case a detailed and balanced treatment. Even though Lori is her beloved daughter, she does not bend the facts to suit her views. She presents all of them and lets the reader decide.I have been following Lori's case now for 4 years. I became aware of her situation through Amnesty International. I have worked for Lori's cause after learning the details of the case. Throughout these 4 years, I have learned a great deal of information about Lori's situation from sources of every ideology. I believe that she is truly innocent and also that Rhoda gives all of the information from every viewpoint in her story. I have had the priviledge of meeting Mark and Rhoda Berenson twice, and I wish them every success in their quest for justice. I look forward to the day when I will be able to meet their courageous daughter.

The governments of Peru and USA have a problem...

Mrs. Berenson's book is written as cleanly and concisely as any I have recently read. She presents an admirable case for her daughter, without chastising the people of Peru or her own government. In a straightforward but emotional manner, she tells what a mother went through...what agony, but a wonderful read.Peru has a problem for setting aside due process, humane treatment and human rights for political control of the masses. It was Fujimori's method of governing, sanctioned by others interested in lining their own pockets with money and power. After all, where is Fujimori now! The citizens of Peru must open their eyes and know that they have been deceived by a corrupt administration that sought not peace and economic strength, but control of the minds of its citizens.The United States has a problem whenever another nation threatens its citizens. In Lori's case, the Clinton administration sat on its thumbs for five years while Lori wasted away in conditions that are among the worst in the world. What are we doing trading with this nation, sending them economic aid, acting as if they ascribe to our views of liberty and equality!One could only hope that the way President Bush handled the 24 hostages in China is indicative of how he will handle the Perus of the future. In the meantime, Mr. Bush needs to take steps to assure that Lori will be returned home shortly after the current trial.+

An important book

When I first saw Lori Berenson on the evening news five years ago I jumped to the conclusion that she was guilty, that she was a crazy radical who had stuck her nose in another country's affairs, and that she probably deserved a jail sentence. How could I not have jumped to that conclusion? I was an ignorant fifteen year old and all I had as my source was the myopic news media. The nightly news, satisfied to cover all news events superficially, showed Lori's notorious news conference over and over again. Of course I was right in assuming Lori's guilt.And now I am willing to say that I was so wrong. A friend of mine showed me Rhoda Berenson's book a month ago. I had remembered the story and told him what I thought. He disagreed vehemently and loaned me the book to read. The next day I began the book and did not stop until I had finished it later on in the day. I guess I was so gripped by the book because it made me feel like I had had the wool pulled over my eyes. I learned tons and tons of things I had not bothered to learn before. I had not known about Peru's dubious civil liberties record. I had not known how nightmarish Lori's experience had been. Rhoda Berenson describes a story I only believed existed in Kafka's fiction. This book is eye-opening because it describes reality in a way most do not want to see. I think it's a very important book.

A Frightening and Enriching Experience

Reading Rhoda Berenson's book completely changed my mind about Lori and her plight in Peru. I first became aware of Lori and her imprisonment a few months ago after Mrs. Berenson's publisher (Context Books) also became my husband's new publisher. My initial reaction to her story was this: "Lori had absolutely no business being in Peru in the first place-an American going into another country to do 'good works' and interfere." As far as I was concerned, despite reading the information on the Free Lori website, I continued to think that though her sentence may have been overly harsh, she probably deserved it. Then I read her mother's book. Normally, I read very quickly, and if I spend more than a few days on a book it's because it's either gigantic or boring. Rhoda Berenson's book is neither. It's a simple, straightforward, chilling account of what she and her family have gone through during the past five years since Lori's arrest and imprisonment. She doesn't embellish, she doesn't whine, she doesn't try to coerce you into thinking Lori is some sort of paragon who deserves special treatment just because she's an American. Rhoda Berenson takes you through her family's experience, step by step. I found myself agonizing with Rhoda over the long hours of travel and waiting and more waiting and being searched and having to comply with prison requirements that changed almost from moment to moment. And I found myself also relishing the small joys and minor triumphs that were part of this odyssey, which still has come to no conclusion. I had to read this book slowly because I could only take so much of it at a time. It's not only an eye-opener about how things work in the Peruvian government, it's an eye-opener about how things work in our own "democratic" and supposedly human-rights-oriented system. Reading this book changed my mind about Lori's situation, about her imprisonment, about the treatment she has received not only from the Peruvian government but from segments of our own government. I still don't think Lori had any business being in Peru, especially on her own, with no authoritative backing from a recognized human rights or religious organization. But when you're young and idealistic, you do things that aren't always completely rational. I was fortunate that, in my idealistic twenties, instead of zipping off to a foreign country where I too might have found myself in Lori's situation, I opted for "working with street gangs" in Chicago. Looking back, I don't think I had any more business being there than I think Lori had in being in Peru. But I was in no danger of overstepping the bounds, and I wasn't on my own. Even if I had been arrested for some reason, a lawyer would have had me out of jail in no time flat. I was an American in my own country, after all. Lori Berenson, by her own choice, is an American alien in a country that's making her pay harshly for her idealism. Her family, her friends, a whole network of grassroots supporte