Chapter Eight SOK

Mullah Bashir is giving his speech. It is pretty apparent that he hates the western countries. He definitely feels that they have no morals at all! I do feel that he was very judgmental. I loved when he said, "Where the rich become tyrants and the wage earners slaves?". I mean seriously, look around you Bashir. The upper class takes whips all around the town beating the poor! Half of the things he spoke of occur in Kabul as well, in a greater degree! Mullah Bashir may think that the Taliban and the community have created an idealistic society, but they definitely have not. They need to look at themselves. Maybe the west has problems, but they are in no location to be speaking about it! These people are so self-absorbed, I really don't think they can see anything that is going on around them. During this whole speech, Zunaira has to sit and wait. I feel so bad for her. She wasn't willing to go originally because she did not think that she could handle giving up her identity, becoming just another burqa in the crowd. But she loved her husband, so she went to have fun with him. The whole event went wrong. I think she has a right to be upset, but at the same time I feel bad for Mohsen...he couldn't exactly have predicted what was going to happen...

Chapter Seven SOK

Atiq is in town and he sees Nazeesh. He passes by him, but then goes to apologize. He apologizes, and Nazeesh claims it was his fault. They make up, but before Atiq goes Nazeesh asks him if he really meant what he said about Nazeesh never leaving Kabul. Atiq replies with a really mean remark, then walks away. I don't understand what the point of that was. If he was going to be mean to Nazeesh, that is fine, but why did he apologize first? That is weird. Then Atiq goes on to describe how when he came home to find his wife sleeping he was as loud as he could be. Even though he knows that this is mean, he feels he will probably do the same thing again later tonight if she is asleep when he returns home. I can't decide what I think of Atiq. I know that he has a lot to go through, but he is really rude too. It seems like after he does something wrong he justifies himself, only to go and do something even worse! After this, Atiq bumps into Mohsen and Zunaira and knocks them over. The draws attention to them. The Taliban come over and ask why they are in the streets. Mohsen tells them that he is escorting Zunaira to her parents' house. Zunaira tries to get Mohsen to leave. The police tell her not to speak unless spoken to, and tells Mohsen to teach her better. He then tells Mohsen he must go listen to Mullah Bashir and that Zunaira will stand and wait for him. I couldn't believe this. Neither Mohsen or Zunaira did anything wrong. I suppose they feel that because Zunaira spoke she thought too much of herself. I can't believe how they treated Mohsen though. He is a man, even though he is poor, I thought he would have some power! I am so glad I don't live in a place like this....I wouldn't be able to take the injustices...

Chapter Six SOK

This chapter is about Mohsen and Zunaira. The night is over and Zunaira has decided to start talking to Mohsen again. She still feels he was wrong, but she know that he has gone through a lot. Mohsen wants to go walk around the marketplace with her, but Zunaira does not wish to. She tells Mohsen that they have no money. In the square they are not permitted to share their love with one another. Worst of all, she has to wear a burqa. She has to conceal who she is and what she looks like. She tells Mohsen that she doesn't want to hide her identity and come back home in a bad mood because of the things others have said to her or about her. Mohsen is very disappointed, so eventually Zunaira changes her mind and decides to go. You really get to know a lot more about Zunaira and Mohsen in this chapter. I really like Zunaira. She went to college and met Mohsen there. She was a magistrate and she fought for women's rights. She was removed from office without a trial. She talked about their old home that had been bombed. Zunaira and Mohsen went from being rich people to being deemed 'untouchables'. I can't imagine how they must feel. Zunaira was a role model for many women, I'm sure. She was strong enough to fight for women's rights. Now because of the Taliban she is stuck inside her own home because she does not wish to wear a burqa and disguise the beautiful person she is. Before the time of the Taliban, Zunaira wasn't afraid to show the world exactly who she was, but circumstances have changed now. She still isn't willing to hide herself, so she leaves her home very rarely. I don't know how she can ever be happy when her own home is a prison....

Chapter Five SOK

Atiq is returns to the mosque again. You can tell that religion is important here. When he goes there the same people are in the mosque as before, telling their war stories. No matter how many wrongs Atiq does, it seems like he clings to the church when he is upset. He is very upset with Musarrat, and he says she is taking advantage of his patience with her. I don't understand what he is so upset about. The poor woman is doing everything she can. When she is sick he refuses to come home. He doesn't talk to her, and it seems like he has given up all hope for her. So she decides to find some strength and do some chores and he goes crazy about it. I don't understand really what he is even upset with her about. He is being very rude. He decides to spend the night in the jail. Nazeesh comes in to talk with Atiq. He complains about his father and his home life. He says his father never shuts up. He tells Atiq that he is going to leave Kabul. Atiq says he never will. There is always a reason, whether it is the eyes, the back, the hip, the foot, etc. Then Atiq compares all people in Kabul to beggars. I really liked this part. Atiq is admitting that the Taliban are ruining everyone's lives. A beggar is obviously a pretty lowly person here. Atiq hates beggars and whips them when they bother him. He still admits that he is a beggar because he lives in Kabul. I think this shows a lot about how he feels about Kabul now...

Chapter Four SOK

Atiq really hates old people. In fact, these days he hates young people too. Personally I think he hates just about everyone...Atiq is in the mosque at prayer time and all he can think about is his hatred. When someone requests of him to get in a row with them for prayer he grabs their arm and twists really hard. I can't believe he did this at prayer time! You would think that an area that claims to be so religious would at least be kind at prayer time, but everything is opposite of what you think over there. After the prayer Atiq shares that he can't stand the thought of going home and seeing no house chores done and his wife huddled in a corner sick. He decides to stay at the mosque for a while longer. While he is there you get to hear some war stories from veterans. They were kind of interesting. One guy spoke about how there were dead people everywhere and about how terrible they smelled. Tamreez refuses to accept this though. He says there is no way that the dead bodies smelled because they were the ones who had died fighting on their god's side, and that they smelled as though perfume was radiating off of them. After listening to them for awhile, Atiq goes home to find the house chores done. His wife has done many things during the day, but she is still sick. She says she wants to keep doing her wifely duties until the end. They fight a lot about random things, and Atiq ends up pretty upset. At one point Musarrat said something about them never loving one another. I think this hurt Atiq. Musarrat asks Atiq what the doctor said about her condition, and he gets mad and storms off. Then the chapter switches to Mohsen. Zunaira is still upset with him, and he finds her sleeping in another room. He goes outside to his porch, where he sees Atiq walking by. I find it so ironic that Mohsen and Atiq are suffering the same thing essentially. They both actually love their lives in a world where that is a sin. They both have been having fights with their wives recently too. But apart from that, they are practically opposite of each other. It just goes to show that no one is exempt from the curveballs life can throw...

Chapter Three SOK

In this chapter you get to see a different side of Mohsen Ramat. He is at his home, which is quite dreary. His house has very little furniture. He sold most of it to make ends meet. His windows are broken, but he can't afford to fix them. In this chapter you meet Mohsen's wife, Zunaira. His description of her makes her sound beautiful, and you can tell she is the world to him. This marriage seems like a happy one. Zunaira seems to love Mohsen, and Mohsen loves Zunaira. He is kind to her, and they seem to have a normal relationship, one that might even be normal around here. But that is exactly what is so weird. So far the book has showed that in Kabul, marriages aren't like that, nor are they supposed to be. Zunaira can tell that something is wrong with Mohsen, and finally he decides to open up to her. He tells her about stoning the woman, and how he feels like he is becoming someone else, someone he doesn't like. Even though he feels himself changing, he feels like he isn't doing anything to stop himself. Zunaira is obviously upset about what he has told her, and Mohsen knows he has made a mistake. I feel very bad for Mohsen. I can see how keeping your identity in a place like this would be very difficult unless you are exactly who the Taliban wants you to be...

Chapter Two SOK

Atiq Shatuk is alone in the jail. He is feeling sick. I can't believe that everyone in the jail has been executed. That is crazy! I think Atiq feels guilty about all the people that have been killed in his jail. He leaves the jail and goes to the marketplace to buy fruit. He gives some details about what is going on in his life at home, mostly with his wife. She is very sick, and even the doctor has given up on her case. I think Atiq really loves his wife, despite what he may try to portray. Atiq sees Mirza Shah, who was a friend of his when he was a kid. They sit and talk for a while. Atiq makes the mistake of telling Mirza about his wife. Mirza has absolutely no sympathy for Atiq or for his wife. In fact, he tells Atiq to divorce her and find another young woman. Atiq claims that his devotion to his wife is not a question of love, but simply that she saved his life and she has no where else to go. I can't believe that Atiq is ashamed of loving his wife. I thought the entire purpose of marriage was to be with the person you love forever. I guess this is not so in Kabul. It is sick how they treat the women too. If one gets sick, divorce her and get a new one. They treat the women like property to be bought and disposed of. Mirza had four wives!

Abbreviations

To keep things from getting so confusing, I am going to start labeling by headings as either SOK (for The Swallows of Kabul) or TFA (for Things Fall Apart).

Chapter One

It's hard to believe that places like this even exist today. The random descriptions of how the city used to be make it sound so magnificent, but what is currently going on makes it sound terrible. At one point Yasmina Khadra writes that the country is nothing but battlefields, sand, and cemeteries. How can a city be destroyed so quickly? People are very rude here. They don't care about anyone other than themselves. After all, they have whips that they carry around in the marketplace. When the cars drive through, they give only a brief warning. If you are in their way, oh well, they warned you. It sounds like they need to invest in some stop signs! There are so many people everywhere it seems. People find death exciting! The poor girl was being stoned to death and everyone gathered around to throw the rocks. Mohsen is excited that he can see a spot of blood on her burqa where he hit her. I think it must be a terrible place if people enjoy executing people and watching them die. I'm wondering if the girl was really guilty. I know that she was accused of prostitution, but it seems like many other wrongdoings are going on without intervention of the law. It doesn't exactly seem like they have a strong police force here...

Definitions

• A burqa is a long black or light blue robe that Muslim women wear, especially in Afghanistan.
• The Taliban is a Muslim fundamentalist group in Afghanistan.
• A mullah is like a judge, a respectful title for someone who has studied law.
• A muezzin calls all the Muslims to prayer five times each day.
• The Qur'an (or Koran) is like the bible to Muslims. It has all the sacred Islam text written by Muhammad.
• The Mujahideen are guerrilla style fighters of the jihad found mostly in Afghanistan and Iran. Many call them terrorists.
• A qazi is a judge that makes all decisions according to Islamic rules. There is no separation of religion and state, so the qazi's decision affects all matters dealing with Muslims.

Arrival

My copy of The Swallows of Kabul arrived yesterday, so I suppose that this is the beginning of my blog. I hope to start reading tonight... In case anyone is wondering about my address, "il mondo" (eel MOHN-doh) means "world" in Italian!