Tag Archives: Nora Neus

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24 Hours in Charlottesville by Nora Neus

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An Oral History of the Stand against White Supremacy

This took me right inside an event I knew very little about – the stand against the right-wing and white nationalist groups who joined the ‘Unite the Right’ rally at the Lee statue in Charlottesville in mid-August 2017.

The viewpoints in this oral history are gathered from hours of interviews with officials, faith leaders, students, activists, journalists and more – all of them involved either on the ground, or overseeing the rally. Their voices mix defiance with regret and fear, and anger with disbelief that such an event could happen and did happen in their city. Also included are brief excerpts from the media and official reports. White supremacists are not interviewed.

On the day the park is surrounded by members of heavily armed militia groups and the National Guard, each looking much like the other. Counterprotesters, including robed clergy, enter the park. Some of them are singing. Next come the white supremacist groups carrying shields and banners, and wearing helmets. The police stand by watching. They take no action even as the event erupts into mayhem and injury. Some three hours later a state of emergency is declared and the park evacuated. Sadly this is not the end of the fighting, nor of the marching. Then comes tragedy.

I found it a gripping account – an insight into an America I did not know, and a reminder of how quickly things can get out of control … and of how brave you have to be to take a stand.

Copyright Georgie Knaggs & The Phraser 2023

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I remember Charlottesville

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It’s not every day that I receive a book like this in the post. This was sent to me by a friend. The author, Nora Neus, is her daughter.

I’m looking forward to reading this, and hope it’ll help me to understand what happened that August in 2017 when the Unite the Right rally came to Charlottesville. The voices apparently are those of witnesses and antiracist activists from across the communities who stood up for the world they believed in as the rally arrived.

The book is not long – a little over 200 pages, mainly composed of interviews, the majority of which Nora Neus carried out herself on the day after the riots. At the time she’d recently started a job in New York with CNN, but happened to be in the city of Charlottesville in Virginia, clearing out her apartment as the drama evolved. Charlottesville had been her home for years, and suddenly it was struggling to absorb the impact of the white supremacists and neo-Nazis who’d brought their Unite the Right rally into the very core of the city. She was right there, understood the city’s rhythm, and tried to capture what happened.

It must have been a deeply unnerving time.

Copyright Georgie Knaggs & The Phraser 2023

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Postcard book review: Muhammad Najem, War Reporter

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This book is a true story about the impact of the war in Syria on a young boy, Muhammad Najem, who grew up beneath the bombs. The circumstances are awful, but even though this graphic memoir never hides from that reality, the way it is told left me thinking not about damage, but about the power of the hope and courage that grow in the roots of loving families.

The story begins at the outbreak of the Syrian War in 2011. Muhammad is just eight years old, and has two big brothers and both parents still alive. Much will change. We are shown everything through Muhammad’s eyes, seeing the horrors unfold to the point where, aged 15, he feels compelled to record the damage on a mobile and send it out into the world via social media.

“I want to show the world what is happening in Syria.”

Muhammad’s posts are seen. I can remember seeing a few on Twitter, and I struggled to believe then that they were real. In America the same reaction was happening, but one young reporter, Nora Neus, decided to contact Muhammad. She followed his posts closely, and over the years since has got to know the family and their lives, eventually working with Muhammad, and the illustrator, Julie Robine, to produce this book.

I had the great privilege of reading the book with a young reader whose family are from Syria. At the time I was worried that it might bring the trauma too close, but it did not. Rather there was joy at being able to read about ‘home’, and a hunger for the intimate family details, particularly the love story that emerges at the end.

I think this is such a powerful book, mainly because of the way it manages to bring us so close to Muhammad and his family. We live the bombardments beside them, and then, right at the end, just in case we might be doubting the reality of any of it, there are photographs confirming what we have been shown.

How did I come across this book? Nora Neus, is the daughter of a friend of mine.

The first edition of the book was published in 2022 by Little Brown and Company (New York and Boston)

Copyright Georgie Knaggs & The Phraser 2023