A house without windows

Overview of the book They all motivated after the events of September eleven and were amazed by the shouting of angry strangers towards them in the street following the disaster. His father was pleased with the US decision to invade Afghanistan although he had neither the intention nor the hope to return there. Only fools run towards a burning building, he said sarcastically. When Yusuf was in his first year at New York University, news from Afghanistan was everywhere to the point of boredom. Afghanistan was suicide attacks, women victims of violence and corruption. In his second year, he impulsively joined a human rights class thinking it was an easy way to add to his average grades. In the second lecture, the fire ignited. Memories flooded back of Afghanistan: the bodies of young children working in blacksmithing, a young journalist being slaughtered along with his wife and children, inhumane conditions in refugee camps, the selling of young girls to pay off heroin debts, war criminals above the law. How could he turn his back on all this? There are others who couldn't, others who were brave. Others carried the cause of the voiceless. Yusuf lived and breathed the American dream that one person could make a difference. He was saturated with student union flyers and the optimistic speeches of university professors. He attended his first protest and loved shouting with others. He raised his voice. He tasted the flavor of activism, the anger it stirred in him. Anger is better than fear. Author's name: Nadia Al-Hashimi Publisher: Kalemat Number of pages: 500