We drove into the small Muslim village, a cloud of dust trailing behind us. It was midday, and my wife and I had arrived to help our local friends prepare for a traditional baby naming ceremony for their newborn son. I’d been assigned to help prepare the meat with Rashid, […]
The Afghan Pilgrim
Farzan had come to India desperate for a way to get medical help for his son. The child had been out playing with his cousins back in Afghanistan, their home country, when they accidentally tripped a land mine. The explosion had left his son blind. Farzan had sought every avenue […]
Imaad of the Jungle
Imaad pilots the boat through a snaking channel lined with thorn and darkness. You watch his sinewy arms work and wonder if he is woven from the jungle itself. This place is the Sundarbans. Your language helper in nearby Calcutta described it as a mass of sunken forests crumbling off […]
Betrayal or the True Path
“Do you wish to divorce this man?” the judge asked Aliya. She glanced at her husband, Ahmad, sitting on the other side of the room and wiping tears from his eyes. Aliya nodded to the judge. “Regarding this divorce: Why do you wish it?” the judge asked. Aliyah looked down, […]
Infectious Hospitality
There I was, laid flat out by something… dysentery, probably. “Chris! Come have lunch with us!” cried my host brother. “Not now, Shadid. I think I’m dead.” “Stop eating outside food. Isn’t your medicine working yet?” “It’s just been two days, Shadid.” “Quit dying on us. Go to the doctor […]