The Outlook Podcast Archive - The Somali prisoner, the secret language and the life-saving book

The Somali prisoner, the secret language and the life-saving book

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Mohamed Barud was losing hope in a Somali prison, when an inmate in a neighbouring cell devised a secret language and tapped out the Russian novel Anna Karenina through his wall... for Mohamed, the book was transformative. He tells his story to Emily Webb.

Mohamed wrote a book about his experience called The Mourning Tree.

If you're affected by issues raised in the programme, you can find information about support available at bbc.co.uk/actionline or befrienders.org

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Presenter: Emily Webb
Producer: Emily Webb

Picture: Mohamed Barud and a copy of Anna Karenina
Credit: Mohamed Barud, JannHuizenga via Getty Images

Published on Monday, 11th October 2021.

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