A house without windows

They all motivated themselves after the events of September 11 and were amazed by the angry strangers' shouts towards them in the street following the disaster. His father was pleased with the United States' 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 annoyance. 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. Suddenly, the flood of memories from Afghanistan overwhelmed him: 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? Others couldn't, others 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 chanting with others. He raised his voice. He tasted the flavor of activism; the anger it stirred in him was appealing. Anger is better than fear. Number of pages: 500 Publisher: Dar Kalimat Author: Nadia Hashimi