This is Linda Allen in Amarillo. For my latest contribution to the Radio Readers book discussion I read "The Wandering Falcon" by Jamil Ahmad. Written in the early 1970s, he book was finally published in 2011 by which time the author was 79 years old. Jamil Ahmad wrote from his perspective as a Pakistani civil servant in the tribal territories he served during his career.
Although the small volume consists of only 111 pages, the stories are memorable and impactful. I've revisited the themes of gender discrimination, social class, tribal law and diffuse borders many times since finishing the slim book.
I know about Afghanistan and the countries surrounding it through the lens of American media, almost exclusively via public television and radio. Over the 20 years that the US had troops stationed there and provided copious amounts of aid, I admit to becoming desensitized to what was occurring so far away.
"The Wandering Falcon" titles refers to protagonist who relates events beginning in his childhood. The book starts with a love story of great devotion and risk-tasking which results in his birth and culminates with the execution of his parents. At age 7 he witnesses their barbaric deaths at the hands of his mother's family and readers learn that the falcons mother disgraced her clan by running away with a servant rather than be forced into a customary arranged marriage. Seven years later and many miles from her family home his mothers persistent father and male relatives have hunted the couple down to exact the price of their rebellion.
The young boy’s grandfather takes control of his future.
I struggled to find a foothold as to the time period as only a few clues were given and the book was written well before US involvement in the area. Yet there's been little change over time and women have lost ground with the Taliban's return to control.
Descriptions of mountains, ridges and valleys weren't concrete, lending to the concept of porous borders and shifting alliances. The borders of the region become an abstract concept in the course of the story. The title provides a framework for one approach by evoking a bird flying high above the man-made boundaries, riding the wind without awareness of where one country ends and another begins. Predatory and always watching.
Nomadic family clans are derived of their ancient lifestyle and valuable livestock at the whim of warlords and religious leaders in constant competition for safety and resources. In this ancient and violent culture women and girls accept their diminished lives without protest or face death if they rebel. So the unjust system remains in place even now. And the level of female suppression has amplified significantly recently.
Reading this book had me questioning why the US was ever involved in Afghanistan and even more why we kept soldiers in danger there for 20 years. I cannot imagine living under such a hostile, unpredictable regime. "The Wandering Falcon" educated me and most of all reminded me not to take my own safety, education and personal freedom for granted. With much gratitude to the members of the armed forces who ensure these rights and support our democracy I'm Linda Allen in Amarillo, Tx for the HPPR Radio Readers book club.
