Zeru Zeru Girl (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9798349352522)

Zeru Zeru Girl tells the story of three disparate characters from childhood into their twenties. Each is impelled by early childhood experiences that set them on an inner journey and motivate their decisions about family, relationships, and careers. The story of this novel is how these three characters come together in a thrilling and emotional climax.

ALEX CARTER (nee Annika Juma), the protagonist of the novel, is taken from her mother's arms in Tanzania and adopted under vague circumstances by a professional couple in Southern California. ALEX, who has albinism and is extremely bright with an almost uncanny memory, grows up in a bubble of privilege but learns at the age of eight that she is perceived by some classmates as a "white nigger." She grows into a tall, athletic, and strikingly beautiful young woman and goes to law school in Chicago, where she distinguishes herself academically and makes the decision to accept the position of senior researcher at CAPE, a human rights organization.

At CAPE, Anna enjoys her job in which she can use her remarkable memory and ability to learn languages quickly to help her in her research about various issues and places where there are human rights violations. She jumps at the opportunity to accompany an experienced field agent, SETH MELUKU, who works at the London office of CAPE, to sneak into Syria to witness and document the suffering of people living under siege.

Back in New York, ALEX writes a proposal for investigating violence against people with albinism in Africa. A few months later, the proposal is accepted, and ALEX and SETH are sent to Tanzania for investigative research. Through the waiter in the dining room of their hotel, MR SAMUEL JUMA, they learn of a school and orphanage where the server's two albino grandchildren go to school while their mother works.

SETH MELAKU, was ten years old when his father died in a refugee encampment in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, only days before SETH, his pregnant mother, grandmother, and two younger sisters were taken on an emergency secret airlift with thousands of other black, Ethiopian Jews to Israel as part of Operation Solomon in 1991. When he is of age, SETH begins mandatory training in the army (the IDF) and later becomes a member of an elite special forces squad.

Sometime later, he joins Caring for All the People of the Earth (CAPE) at its London location. He meets ALEX when she comes to London for training before their assignment to war-torn Syria. He falls in love with her and later goes to Tanzania with her on another assignment to investigate violence against people with albinism in Africa.

KAJ lost his father to AIDS and then had to leave school at the age of ten to help his mother and become an apprentice to his grandfather (Babu), who is a traditional healer but also practices as a witch doctor. When Kaj's mother dies, the Sister who runs St. Cecelia's, SISTER ANGELICA, offers him room and board and a small salary to help out at the school.

In a climactic scene, KAJ, ALEX, and the two children with albinism meet up with the thug, Mr. M and his accomplice who is armed with a machete on a path from the school to the road. SETH arrives on the scene and restrains both men. Another Sister at the school has called the police.

ALEX and later KAJ recover from their wounds. The thugs are found to be part of an organized crime ring. SETH and ALEX go to the home of their hotel dining room waiter, SAMUEL JUMA and his wife, LILY, who want to thank them for their courage in saving their grandchildren. SAM JUMA and his wife LILY are Alex's biological parents. As the various players understand who the others are, there is a joyous reunion.