Skeena is story of discovery, death and determination

According to media Fauzia is a South Asian Canadian writer of fiction and poetry. Her English and Punjabi writings have been published in Canada, Pakistan, and on the Web. Print titles include novel ‘Skeena’ (Punjabi, Lahore 2007) and anthology ‘Aurat Durbar’ (English, Toronto 1995).She maintains sites and blogs on Punjabi literature and art, ‘honour-killings’, blasphemy laws, and the environment. A selection of her English and Punjabi poetry ‘Passion-Fruit/Tahnget-Phal’ is due to come out in 2011.Fauzia will read from the Punjabi edition of her novel ‘Skeena’. Randeep Purewall says 

Skeena is the story of one woman inhabiting four worlds.If, to borrow the words of Kishwar Naheed ‘Skeena is a novel on patriarchy that never uses this word’, it is also the story of an honour killing where not one drop of blood is shed. Instead, it takes the reader and one woman of a village, from the gradual Islamization of law and society in Pakistan to the social politics of post-911 Canada.It treats the familiar themes and experiences of a South Asian woman in Pakistan and Canada without conforming to or selling stereotypes to the public.It moves flowingly almost screenplay like reproducing vivid scenes, such as the punishment of a villager in Skeena’s village, in the reader’s imagination.

Telling a story of discovery, death and determination, Skeena is inspiring without being overblown, political without being ideological, and heart-rending without being tragic.Skeena is a novel by Fauzia Rafique to be launch on  Saturday, April 9 · 2:00pm - 4:00pm at Surrey Public Library, Newton Branch.   Fauzia started this novel in 1991 and continued the writing till it's completion in 2004. Fauzia devoted the golden period of her life to write this novel. After completing the pen work she started  the next face of struggle for its publication. it was her good luck due to her continued devotion  Amjad Saleem of Sanjh publication took the pains and novel published in 2007 by Sanjh publications Lahore in Punjabi with Shahmukhi script. Novel was published in a beautiful form,  released in 9 cities and hit the stalls. 

Click & enlarge for story intro

Novel Skeena touched the sky at all book counters. Fauzia was happy but not satisfied. its publication is Gurmukhi script was still a challenge. she was not in the mood to compromise for its publication without royalty.  ultimately novel published in Gurmukhi script also by the same publisher Sanjh of Lahore. Now you may read it in English (Roman words) also. If possible must partricipate the event. You wil meet and listen the Guest Speakers like Ajmer Rode, Bhupinder Dhaliwal, Sadhu Binning, Surjeet Kalsey, Dr. Saif Khalid and Shahzad Nazir Khan.

Poetry Manolis Readings will also take place by Yannis Ritsos and 'Vernal Equinox') Event Host at Facebook is Sana'a Janjua.

*Skeena: A story of discovery, death and determination

*‘Skeena’ Book Launch in Vancouver, April 10/2011

Cutter Commander Shares Haiti Experience

By Coast Guard Petty Officer 2nd Class Timothy Tamargo U.S. Coast Guard Academy Public Affairs NEW LONDON, Conn., April 7, 2011 - U.S. Coast Guard officers are presented with many challenges and opportunities. Normal operations may quickly turn into a life or death mission that challenges their training and experience. Coast Guard Cmdr. Diane W. Durham, head of the Professional Maritime Studies Department at the Coast Guard Academy, instructs second class cadets during an exercise on a training boat on the Thames River near New London, Conn., April 4, 2011. U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Timothy Tamargo  Coast Guard Cmdr. Diane W. Durham became the head of the Professional Maritime Studies Department here during the summer of 2010. She leads 17 military and civilian instructors and staff, and oversees the nautical science training of the more than 1,000 members of the academy's corps of cadets. A few months earlier Durham had put her experience to the test as commander of the Coast Guard Cutter Forward. She and her crew were pressed into action in response to a 7.0 magnitude earthquake that struck less than 15 miles from Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Jan. 12, 2010. The Forward was on deployment, Durham recalled, and recently had arrived in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, when the earthquake occurred. "The duty section and off-duty crew onboard were jolted by unusual movement of the ship and quickly gathered to respond to an onboard emergency," she said. "We learned that it was an earthquake, and soon after, we learned of the devastation in Port-au-Prince. "The crew was recalled from various points around the base," Durham continued, "and we were underway by 10 p.m. We made best speed through the night." Durham's cutter was the first U.S. vessel to arrive in Haiti for the earthquake response mission. During the response, Durham said her crew members conducted numerous missions, including search and rescue, air traffic control, port assessments, damage assessment overflights and medical evacuations. Durham and her crew were recognized for their exceptional work during the response effort. On July 4, 2010, Durham represented the Coast Guard at the White House and was commended by President Barack Obama for the Haiti relief efforts. "We salute the United States Coast Guard, including a Coast Guardsman who commanded the first U.S. vessel to arrive in Haiti after the earthquake, helping to pave the way for one of the most complex humanitarian efforts ever attempted, Cmdr. Diane Durham," Obama said. At the height of the response in mid-January, the Coast Guard had up to eight cutters in Haiti's ports, in the Caribbean and in Florida waters. Air assets included a HC-144A Ocean Sentry aircraft, five HC-130 Hercules aircraft, three MH-65 Dolphin helicopters and three MH-60 Jayhawk helicopters operating in Haiti with more than 800 Coast Guard members providing assistance on shore, afloat on the cutters and in the air. Durham said she emphasized an open and honest command climate built on trust and communication. "Being on a cutter requires people to embody the term shipmate," she said. "You live together, work together, struggle together and succeed together for long periods of time. You become a family." This command climate directly impacted Durham's crew. "Commander Durham is very dedicated to the overall mission of the Coast Guard. I have sought after her council for stressful situations on several occasions," said Senior Chief Petty Officer Nicole Rose, the command chief on the Forward. "What makes a good leader is looking out after your people, dedication, motivation, compassion and the ability to expertly handle difficult situations. This is a talent too few have and many more need." Durham has served more than nine years at sea during her 21-year career on the Coast Guard cutters Rush, Decisive, Resolute, Tampa and Forward. Durham said she now brings her knowledge and experience from the fleet into the classroom to train and teach cadets, officer candidates, prospective commanding officers and executive officers. "It's important to have officers from the fleet as instructors because they know what is expected of junior officers in their first tours and what will help us achieve success when we enter the workforce," said First Class Cadet Amanda Cousart, a marine and environmental science major at the academy. "Teaching cadets and other Coast Guard personnel is a way to make sure all of the information Commander Durham has learned is passed on so future officers can make the Coast Guard thrive." First Class Cadet Dana Prefer echoed Cousart's sentiments. "I think that Commander Durham is a wealth of knowledge because she has done almost everything you can do in the afloat community," Prefer said. "When she told us about her past jobs, I was very impressed that she held that many command positions and highly-sought-after billets. I believe that due to her diverse career path," Prefer added, "she is able to get through to her students effectively, and I see her as a very good model of what a leader should be."

A Coast Guard MH-65 Dolphin helicopter launches off the flight deck of the 270-foot Coast Guard Cutter Forward near Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Jan. 13, 2010. Coast Guard members were mobilized to provide support to Haiti last year after it experienced a 7.0 magnitude earthquake. U.S. Coast Guard photo