For the Love of a Son: One Afghan Woman's Quest for Her Stolen Child

a superlative
education that would open many doors for him.
    There were a few revelations. Despite the
many years the British had occupied India, the British soldiers
were casually racist towards the Indian boys. Although the British
were cordial with the Indian boys during school events, they didn’t
socialize with them. My father realized that it was not the dark
color of the Indian boys’ skin that caused the rift, for those same
British students held no prejudice against him even though he was a
dark-skinned Afghan boy. In fact, my father was often invited to
accompany the British students on weekend jaunts to a popular
British park. The British discouraged any Indian citizens from
joining them in the park but they welcomed my father into the
group. They even encouraged him to flirt with English ladies who
might be taking a stroll in the park.
    Despite his seriousness as a student, my
father took to their social activities, and was so busy that for
the first time in his life he neglected his family back in
Afghanistan, forgetting to write to his mother or his brother. This
lack of communication caused Shair Khan to travel out of
Afghanistan to the school in order to check up on my father in
person. Upon Shair’s arrival, the school head informed him his
brother had gone to Kashmir for a short holiday. Shair was furious
and left the school determined to find his errant brother. After a
few days of searching he found my father, who at the time was
courting a lady while rowing her across a small lake.
    Shair was a forceful man with a big voice,
and he shouted loudly enough that my father could hear him right
across the lake. ‘Ajab, row to the shore! Now! ’
    My alarmed father quickly changed course
towards his brother, who was waiting impatiently on the shoreline.
Father’s heart was beating rapidly for he not only feared a serious
beating for himself, but he was also concerned that some harm might
have come to his mother or to one of his sisters. When he reached
him, a glowering Shair said sarcastically, ‘You are all right, I
see.’
    My father’s mouth went dry, his tongue unable
to move.
    Shair turned abruptly and briskly walked
away. He left the resort without saying another word to my
father.
    Never again did my father fail to keep his
brother informed of his whereabouts, yet he wondered why Shair had
undertaken such a long trip just to locate him. He pondered the
far-fetched idea that perhaps over the years some small affection
for him had taken root in his brother’s stone-cold heart.
    *
    While the world outside our borders saw
enormous turmoil and change during World War II, Afghanistan
remained neutral, but when the war ended, many changes came to our
little corner of the planet. First of all, Afghanistan was formally
admitted as a member of the United Nations in 1946. In 1947 came
the end of British rule over India. The Indian Independence Act
passed by the British Parliament on 18 July created two dominions,
Pakistan and the Indian Union. In Pakistan, Muslims of the
subcontinent had finally achieved their dream of having an
independent state for Muslims. However, Muslim Afghanistan voted
against the new Muslim nation – the only country to do so – because
of their concerns over the question of the right to
self-determination for the Afghans in the North-West Frontier
province.
    Meanwhile, my father had graduated from the
military school in India with grades so impressive that he was set
to win a scholarship to the United States, but, much to his dismay,
when a playboy prince at the school claimed the scholarship, my
father’s credentials were overlooked. However, a second scholarship
for a British military school in London soon became available, and
my father was presented with that award instead.
    Shair expressed rare pride in his younger
brother and agreed that my father could travel to London and
continue his education there. My father had heard exciting tales
about England from his British classmates so he was looking forward
to settling into the huge metropolis of London.
    And so in 1947 my father bade an emotional
farewell to his mother and three sisters. Even after all those
years, the three women continued to be harassed by Shair’s wives,
forbidden to participate in normal family life. My father pledged
that once he returned to Afghanistan he would improve all their
lives. He would be better educated and better travelled than most
men in the country, including even his big brother