A house without windows

They all motivated themselves after the events of September 11 and were amazed by the angry strangers shouting at them in the street following the disaster. His father was happy with the US decision to invade Afghanistan, even though he had neither the intention nor the hope of returning there. Only fools run towards a burning building, he would say sarcastically. When Yusuf was in his first year at New York University, news from Afghanistan was everywhere to the point of boredom. Afghanistan was the suicide bombings, 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 flames 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 opium 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 who 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 chanting with others. He raised his voice. He tasted the flavor of activism, and the anger it stirred in him. Anger is better than fear. Number of pages: 500 Publisher: Dar Kalemat Author: Nadia Hashmil Request the first part: When the moon approaches Part two: The pearl that broke its oyster Part three: A house without windows