Xamon Song

Xamon Song is a novel, intended for ages 14 and up, with a human rights focus. The book can be used by educators and practitioners who wish to explore contemporary and historical human rights issues related to development. Some of the issues the novel explores include inter-cultural communication, genocide and ethnic cleansing, ethnic tension and conflict resolution, rights of indigenous peoples, corporate accountability, democracy and forced military service, environmental stewardship and conservation of resources, and the role of the media in reporting human rights violations.

According the the publishers, at the high school level (secondary school, ages 14-18), Xamon Song is appropriate for use in English/literature classes, as well as history, social studies, geography, and other classes, either by itself or in conjunction with other human rights education materials. At the college level (higher education, ages 18 and up), Xamon Song is appropriate for use in English/literature classes, as well as anthropology, political science, peace studies, business ethics, and other classes, either by itself or in conjunction with other human rights education materials.

"The novel tells the story Mike and Eddie, two young soldiers from the nation of Carbonia, lifelong best friends and frustrated musicians who find themselves half a world away from home, conducting reconnaissance patrols deep in the forests of a tiny country called Xamon. They are increasingly disillusioned, afraid their military service is no longer to the people of Carbonia, but to the profit statements of SangreDenar, a corporation from Carbonia with large logging interests in Xamon. Digna Giraldo Cardona is a human rights activist from Xamon City who is drawn to the forests to investigate persistent rumors of human rights abuses by paramilitary mercenaries linked to SangreDenar. Digna is determined to see for herself what is happening in the most remote, and dangerous, part of her country. This is the world of Xamon Song, a view from the ground of the meeting of cultures, of the human costs of corporate malfeasance and governmental collusion."

A free, online Teaching Guide is available at the book's website. The teaching guide provides questions to stimulate critical thinking and to facilitate informed discussion, or to be assigned as writing topics.

Click here for the teaching guide.