Saturday, 3/27 I woke to the sounds of animals. The camel kept making noises similar to the sound of a sick cow. The goats and the sheep were bleating away. The noise was constant all morning long. It was weird because all last week for as many animals as I knew were in the neighborhood, it was not as noisy as it was today. I was talking to Azim about it as the extra sounds caught my attention. Azim said that within the next two days they would all be slaughtered. Did they know that? Azim thought they did. Hmmmm, I wonder!!

Azim sounds as though he's getting a cold so I gave him Vitamin C. A few of the kids have been feeling sick over the last two weeks . I sure can't afford to have him get sick, I depend on him too much. Azim bought a chalwar cameez for the holiday. It will be fun for me to see him dressed like I see everyone else dressed here including myself. I feel comfortable in my Pakistani clothing and will wear them sometimes when I get home. I've been reading my book and waiting for Azim to end his visit with his friends outside the gate. We are going out tonight to a holiday Bazaar on the streets near the house. All the girls are excited about going. There is a lizard walking across my wall at the moment. It's bigger than a chameleon. Yesterday I had two birds flying in and out of my room. The upstairs is mostly open to the world outside. The bees here are bright yellow and look like wasps. I haven't seen many other bugs at all, just flies. The weather has been a little hotter, 85 or so. Next month it will remain in the 100's till Sept. or Oct. We are on a latitude line below Florida. In my room there is a pistol hanging over the mirror, and in the living room there are three long automatic weapons locked up in a cabinet. I'm not used to the sight of guns, but in other countries, and in the west and southwest in the States I know guns in the home is a way of life. Azim asked about how I was feeling being here and would I ever want to come back. I believe I would not have a hesitation to return here. I have found this to be a fascinating place. I have found his family to be a most loving one. They have welcomed me as though I have always been a part of them. I can feel their love and acceptance with out restraint. This family has shown me unconditional love even though I am not the same as they are, in culture or religion. They are a wonderful example.

The Bazaar was very crowded, basically like a mob scene. Everywhere people were pushing their way through the streets. Traffic was tight as usual but worse. Crossing the street was a challenge, and took us a while. One car came an inch from hitting Azim and he wasn't pleased. We all dragged him away from the beginning of the confrontation with the driver. We looked around awhile, but decided we weren't having fun with all the crowds, so we headed back with a plan to return after Eid.

Sunday, 3/28

I woke up at Old MacDonald's farm again this morning. The cow across the street was talking up a storm. The slaughter will go on all day for two days. If the Muslim religion has more followers than any other, .....how many animals in the world will be slaughtered these next two days in the name of God. Azim still isn't feeling any better and has an intestinal bug too. It was my worst fear being here, but with 5 days to go I've been ok, so far.

Mendi is a form of hand art. It is worn for special occasions, like weddings. Today the girls wanted to do Mendi on me. Mendi is a natural henna dye. It comes in a tube like a cake decorator and designs are made on the hand and fingers. After drying for about four hours, it is washed off and the henna dye design is left. It lasts for about 3 or 4 weeks. I got a chance to try it myself on my ankle after Benish had fun decorating my hands. I bought some to bring home with me. I got my clothes that the tailor had completed this afternoon. They made me try everything on and model them for everyone to see. I watched TV tonight. They laugh and I sit and watch them, because I have no clue what is being said on TV. I have seen CNN a few times and found out some of the world news. Bed is early tonight, so everyone can wake up early, it is Eid tomorrow, everyone will go to the Mosque or the Rotary circle to pray and wake up for them is 4:30am. I do my best sleeping at 4:30.

Monday, 3/29/99

I woke up this morning to total quiet, not an animal noise to be heard. Weird.

Each house has a gate or two to the outside about 12 feet high with locks. Right inside the gates is an open patio type area with a marble floor. The houses can be cleaned by bringing in the hose and spraying down the floors. They are all marble. I went up to the roof this morning at about 10 and did my watch of the neighborhood. From the roof I can look down the streets on two sides and see about 6 or 7 gates of different houses along the two streets. We are on a corner lot, so I have quite a view. I looked down and saw the ramp leading out of Happy's house covered with blood. I knew that he had just slaughtered his two goats. Further down I could see other houses with trails of blood running out onto the dirt street. The street was puddled with blood and water. I went outside with Azim to Happy's house and watched as the butcher skinned the goats. The neighbors camel, cow and our sheep were busy eating happily. At noon I was up on the roof again with the kids. There was a lot of excitement in them. The neighbor was standing down on the street in front of his open gate with the butcher who had just finished slaughtering his cow. As soon as it's throat was slit, the owner looked up and saw me. He raised his arm to me and he said something in Urdu, the native language or Punjabi, the local dialect, but used the English word, America. I knew that what he had said was for my benefit. I asked Azim about it later and he told me," In America they use machines to do their slaughtering, in Pakistan the hand is the machine. " I watched with a strangely subdued feeling as they tore into the cow's belly and pulled out the whole stomach intact. It was like a big bubble almost knee high and at least 3 feet across. I watched as they chopped the cow up into bite size pieces. It took about an hour. The door buzzer began ringing as people came with bags of fresh meat for us. The tradition is that this meat be shared with friends neighbors and the less fortunate. All day the slaughter went on and you could smell the blood in the air, and see it in the streets. From the roof I could see men walking with wheelbarrows filled with the insides of the animals. I wondered at first what it was they carried. I had no idea where they would take it.

I sat with the girls in the afternoon out on the patio between the houses, and waited for my laundry to be done so I could hang it on the line to dry. We washed the sheep with the hose today and took pictures of them. We had Lamb for dinner and mashed potatoes. It was the first time any one had eaten real mashed potatoes, and they were a big hit. Later in the evening the girls came to me for our evening walk. There is a wedding in the neighborhood and a big tent is set up with live music and they wanted to listen. We sat in the small park and they were so happy listening, they didn't want to leave. Shamim wanted to go back so we went back with her. I know the girls hated to go home so soon, so I asked if we could go out for a while longer ourselves without Shamim or Azim. He told Shamim it was ok. The girls never leave the house except to go to school and back. While we were walking they suddenly steered me away from our direction, They surprised me at first, then I saw why. On the corner of the street there was a huge pile of animal insides. They saw it (or smelled it) before I did. That's where all the men in wheel barrows were going. I feel like a kid being led around everywhere, but they feel it's necessary, and it probably is. I miss the freedom to come and go as I please. We went a little further than usual. There was a vendor selling what looked like hamburgers. The girls wanted one and one of them came up with a few rupees, bought two, and shared them. I understood the "Don't Tell Shamim" part. She would never have allowed them to buy something like that. They eat at home. We stopped and sat on the bench to listen to the wedding music for awhile. They didn't want to go, but Nurin came to get us and the fun was over. They were worried when we didn't come right back. I guess my love of freedom got the best of me and I suddenly became a bad influence on the girls while we had our innocent fun. The girls blossomed outside the gates of home though. They laugh and jump and talk in excitement. It was such a joy for me to see them experience a freedom most take for granted, just not in the world they were in.

Tuesday 6:00 AM March 30

I woke up to banging on my door at 5AM, the butcher had arrived. I went to the balcony and looked down to the patio area in front of the gate between the houses. The sheep were quickly tied by the feet and laid down. The slaughter was swift and silent. The rest of the family had gathered downstairs to watch. I debated over and over whether to watch, my curiosity for this tradition won. I watched without allowing myself much in the way of feeling. In 45 minutes the skin was off, the insides out, and the meat chopped. I laughed as one of the butchers threw a testicle out onto the street. He looked up at me and smiled. No one seems to care about the environment anyway. The neighbors camel is outside rolling around in the mud from where we washed the blood of our sheep into the street. He is tied to the fence and practically blocks the whole street. He is entertaining everyone as he enjoys his mudpack. He is so graceful when he stands up, then he squats to his knees and belly and rolls over in the mud. Its about 11 AM, the butcher is late.............. I watched the cow, and our sheep go down, with a moderate feeling of emotion. I really thought I'd be able to handle the camel's death, I couldn't......I've relived it over and over in my mind today. Azim told me the story of the man who had arrived with the camel and slept there for several nights on the cot outside to help the camel adjust. The man had raised this camel from a baby and sold it to our neighbor for Azim guessed about $500.00. He told me that, the day the man left, he cried . It broke his heart, knowing he was leaving the camel to be slaughtered. I'm sure his need for the money that would probably support his family for many months, was the only way he could walk away that day. That man was all I thought of as I watched from the balcony. Azim asked if I wanted to go down to the street and watch. I declined. At about noon crowds began to gather. The neighbor had been pacing for the last hour. The two butchers rounded the corner carrying huge bloody knives, blood soaked their faces, hands and clothes. They didn't waste a minute. The camel willingly went to his knees, and was quickly tied by his legs. They wrapped a cord around its long neck and tied it back tightly to his tail. The crowd had swelled to about 50 or 75 people, mostly kids. The owner took his place up on the balcony of his own house directly across from me, he was out of view of all that was happening directly below him. A few times he smiled at me as he watched us lined up on our own balcony. He asked if I was going down, and I said no thank you. I wondered how he felt. Then I watched in horror at the sight below. The crowd had moved in tightly to get a better view. The butcher grabbed his knife and quickly stabbed the throat of the camel. Unfortunately and unexpectedly the camel, not killed instantly (as was supposed to happen,) thrust out in pain. It was not a clean kill. The knife came out, as the butcher lost his footing. At that point it was chaos. The throat had a large gash in it and blood gushed out of the wound like water from a hose, spraying the entire crowd in the gateway. I was glad I had declined to watch from the street. As a guest, they would have given me the front row and I would have been soaked with blood. The camel let out a loud crying sound and twisted his body around. The wound then sprayed blood with amazing force inside the house all over the wife, children and other family members of the man on the balcony. He missed the sight of his granddaughters terror as they ran further into the house into their mothers arms, crying in fear and soaked with blood. He just stood there smoking a cigarette, smiling and proud of all the attention and vaguely aware of what was happening beneath him in his own house. That's just about the time when I felt myself crying and Nurin hugging me. I remember thinking of that man who raised this animal, grateful that he would never know the horrible death his pet had suffered. The butcher had slaughtered 9 camels that morning. Perhaps he was just too tired to do his job properly. He recovered and finished the slaughter. I'm sure he was embarrassed at his error. This was not swift or silent, it was horrifying. I ran quickly downstairs to find Azim. He was outside the gate, he hadn't watched, he was on the same side of the street as the camel and down a ways talking to his friends. When he saw me open the gate he came rushing right to me and I pulled him inside. I was so stunned and I really needed a hug. I was crying. Azim held me a moment then looked up at the man on the balcony. He looked down. He could see inside our wall from up there, and he asked about me. Azim told him I was ok. I think I was not ok, I was mad at that guy right at that moment, and didn't want to look at him. For several hours all you could hear was chop chop, and people banging, I went up to the balcony after awhile and watched hundreds of poor people bang on the gate across the street below. They would show their empty bag, then a minute later, leave with camel meat. They finally had to push people away to lock the gate. The stomach was big enough for two people to climb in. The skin lay in a heap outside the gate for the rest of the day. I was happy to see all the poor people that camel fed. I thought about the people in the tent houses along the edge of the city. I thought about the beggars banging on the gates for the last two weeks. This is life outside my own wonderful American life. I cried a lot today as the memory of the camel returned. It was an emotional day. I could only manage salad and rice for dinner. The girls came to take me for a walk. Azim spent some time outside the gate with his friends. Everyone was pretty quiet the rest of the day. I was exhausted and disturbed.

 

......Saying goodbye.

 

 

 

 

.......

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Aftermath.........................

 

 

Wed. 3/31

The most difficult part of being here is my inability to communicate. Azim forgets that I don't understand and doesn't always interpret the subject of conversation so I can comment when the family is all together talking. I can't participate in these conversations. I do communicate well with the kids. They understand my gestures, signs and some of my language. We teach each other words. I know how to say a lot now in their language. If we could understand each other we would have so much more to say. For breakfast I found my usual hard boiled eggs waiting for me. This morning though, a special breakfast was made for the family to eat together. They spread a large cloth on the floor and ate the head, brains and feet of our lambs. Azim sat with me at the table. They brought him the whole head of our lamb submerged in a bowl of broth. I ate my eggs and split to the living room to drink my coffee while they ate their special breakfast. My eggs were really good today, and I was thankful for them. After breakfast they brought out the family wedding jewelry and helped me tried it on . It was really nice. I also wore a blue shawl with gold threads and beads on it. It was fun to dress up. Later I went on an errand with llyas on the motorcycle. It was my first time out on the main streets since the slaughter. I was amazed to see so many pile of skins of all sorts of animals piled high all over the streets in front of the businesses. One man was sleeping on a smelly bloody pile of sheepskin. I saw very few animals, but each one I did see, I was really happy to see today. In the evening we went for a walk and for ice cream with the girls. The air has a strong smell of blood, and animal insides as they rot in the street near the park. Be thankful you can't smell it and look below. Meet my handsome little cousin Danish instead in this school picture.

Thursday April 1st.

Azim took me on my last shopping spree today to a place in the old city I hadn't gotten much of a chance to see before. I bought some things for people at home and some clothes for me and Azim. Ilyas took us to a market where he met some friends who owned a shop. I was invited upstairs to sit with his wife and another woman for awhile. When the men came upstairs we talked for awhile as someone knew English. We had Ice cream and another dessert. Later at home, I spent some time with Shumaila. She is pretty shyand quiet. She wants to learn the computer and I told her we would be happy to help with that to learn to speak better English. She said she would study it. We all went up on the roof and played hopscotch and watched the sights on the streets below. The kids made a see -saw with my help, and some materials we found up there. They really enjoyed that. I take a lot of showers because its so hot and dusty here. It's been 90 for 2 days I think. The wind picks up occasionally and covers everything with dust. The sky is sometimes hazy with it. The kids have been clinging to me lately. They know we are leaving soon. I never expected to have developed such a bond with these kids. I have enjoyed them so much. Lately they are pushing each other away from me to be close to me themselves. One will take my hand and the other will quickly replace her. It's funny. I've been getting a lot of hugs from Rabia and the other kids haven't let me out of their sight. Danish especially has been around me a lot. I guess he's finally trying to get to know me better. He comes to my room when I'm alone. I think he plans that. He looks up at me and says in English. "Teach me"!! I say. " Teach you what"? He repeats. "Teach me." again. Then I laugh and point to different objects in the room and tell him what they are in English and he says it in English too. He is such a great kid. He is really quiet and different than the others. He plays alone a lot. He has joined us many times but mostly I haven't see much of him till this week His name is pronounced with a soft short a like ah. We've given each other a lot of hugs this week I always find him sitting near or beside me. I was feeling weird today. A lot of stuff is in my head. I spent the afternoon in my room. I told Azim how frustrating it is not to know their language, and there was so much I wanted to say. He evidently told his family what was wrong when they asked where I was. I took a shower about 5 pm and when I walked out, most of the family was waiting for me there outside the bathroom door to see if I was ok. They all hugged me and made me come downstairs. It was so touching to see 15 people waiting for me, with love and concern for my feelings. I couldn't believe it. Tomorrow will be our last full day here. I am beginning to feel how difficult leaving them will be for me.

Friday, 4/2/99 Best friends l to r, Basit, Shahid, Azim, and Sedaquat

Oh darn, woke up this morning at 1 AM with the dreaded bacteria bug. My last day too. I was up all night. Not fun. Today we went for a last trip into the world outside the gates of home. We had an errand to do. We spent part of the day packing, and we had to buy another carry on bag for lots of things we bought here, my gifts and clothes. The neighbors came over with parting gifts. I was visited by some more girls in the neighborhood. We spent most of the day visiting with neighbors and friends. Azim invited his friends for dinner later tonight. It was nice to get a chance to visit with them. The only times I got to feel American was when I was with Azim alone, or with Azim and his friends. They all speak English and communication was normal and easy. They joked about wanting to come to America, and asked how they could find an American wife. I told them I'd put their pictures on a billboard with a "wife wanted "sign when I went back They talked about Azim and how much they missed him in the last 3 years. Azim is so special to everyone I can see that clearly. I can see how much he is loved by everyone. I already know why. His friends and I discussed marriages. They told me there are few divorces in Pakistan. They don't think of it as a possibility. If a marriage splits up it is usually because someone in the arrangement turned out to be misrepresented in some way or there was physical abuse, and the families will agree to the divorce. It then is really a stigma for the female, and she may never remarry. According to Bassit, a wife is very respected here, her happiness is put above her husbands. I was impressed! He said that family life here is most important. I have seen a closeness between these people I've met that I never thought existed in the relationships they had together. Here there are so many people living very close together, yet I have seen nothing but love and respect between them. They do care about each other, men are especially very close with their male friends, like brothers. Everywhere men hold hands, or walk arm in arm. They hug each other openly then shake hands when they meet. There is much affection between everyone here. It really is nice to see. In many ways this country is 50 years or more behind America. They are refreshingly loving caring, happy, and normal people. At least that's what I've seen, both in this house and from the roof overlooking the streets watching the people below. Today I spent a lot of time with the kids. They went over my Urdu lessons to be sure I knew all they had taught me. The girls played with my hair. They are fascinated, and all were touching my hair and skin. Rabia touched my hair first, by now she knew it was ok. Soon they all came over to me and touched my arm and hair for a long time saying how soft it was and inspecting the blonde, then someone found a white hair and laughed. I had all these kids in my hair literally We laughed and talked and had a good time together this day. I am truly amazed at the harmony in this house. Shamim and Nawaz, raised Azim their nephew from three months old in this house. He left in 1993 to live in Hong Kong for a few years when Nawaz passed away, but this is his family and they call him brother. Shamim is very sad today and has cried several times as she is thinking of our leaving. The girls keep saying to me. "Tomorrow, Plane" I say yes and they gesture to me that they are sad. I'm trying not to dwell on this and cry by changing the subject to a happier one. I'll truly miss them. Tomorrow morning we leave, but I feel as though I've always been a part of this family.

Saturday. April 3rd

This morning was very difficult. Everyone was silent when I came downstairs. The girls were all in the bedroom together. The TV was on. When I walked in, they looked at me but no one said a thing. They all looked so sad. They kept their eyes on the TV. I made a joke with them to try to lighten things up, but received little reaction. I said "What's the matter, you're not talking to me, are you all mad at me cuz I'm leaving!" They all started crying and hugging me together, then everyone in the house was crying. It was difficult saying goodbye, but it was time to go. Everyone was hugging and kissing us. Happy was driving us to the airport and pulled the car out in front of the gate to put the baggage in. Shamim, Tasleem and Illyas rode to the airport with us and the ride was pretty quiet. We said a tearful goodbye to them as we entered the customs area, Azim's friend Shahid who works at the airport helped us with our exit papers. He had gotten us boarding passes a few days earlier. He passed us along to his friend and co-worker, who brought us to customs, and left us there. Unfortunately the guy in customs asked Azim a question. The next thing I knew I was told, to my surprise, to open all my bags. I didn't expect this until I got to US customs. Azim was quite irritated and questioned the guy. He told me to unlock the bags and stay with them, then he left to go get Shahid's friend. When they returned and spoke to the customs men, I was told to just close my bags, they wouldn't be searching through them. It seems the guy got upset at Azim for speaking English when he knew he could speak the native language. He felt insulted and decided to give us a hard time. The friend told him to let us go. It's a tough world in Pakistan, by the time we boarded the plane, we had shown our tickets and passports 9 times and I got body searched again. It delayed us for 45 minutes.

The plane was really nice. It had only been in service for two months. Shahid had gotten us the first seats with all the leg room right next to the bathroom. I'm traveling sick as a dog so needed it close by. Right now I'm in Dubai. I'm sitting alone in the hotel room provided gratis by Emirates Airlines for our 15 hour layover. Azim is on his way to the emergency room with the hotel manager. When we arrived we easily got a visa because Azim holds a British Passport to get out of the airport. I was able to go out on his Passport and they took mine and held it at the airport for my return. We got a voucher from the airlines for the hotel, plus free lunch and dinner. Great service on Emirates Airlines huh! We thought it would be great fun to explore Dubai. The weather was really hot, feels like over 100 because we are in the desert. Now we are both sick. Azim had an allergic reaction to the soap. By the time he got out of the shower, he was swollen and filled with a rash. He was given an anti-histamine and the rash went away as quickly as it arrived. I wish my bug did that. When Azim got back we took a bus into the city. I bought a beautiful 22 karat gold bracelet. This city is like the gold capital of the world. It was a shoppers paradise. I went to a market and bough an antibiotic for my bug. It is a very rich country. The police drive Mercedes, Land Cruisers and BMW's. A lot of the natives drive the same, but Toyotas seem to be the car of choice. The only other makes I saw was Volvo, Saab and even a Lincoln. I ate, despite the consequences with my intestinal bug because I was starving and hadn't eaten since Wednesday night. I haven't slept since Thursday night. We need to be up at 1 AM to go back to the airport.

Sunday April 4th

Our plane left at 2 AM. Going west I got to have an extra long Saturday as we were over the international dateline. We had a four hour layover in London. We just stayed in the airport. Azim washed his face when we arrived and had another allergic reaction to the soap in London. Fortunately they gave him pills at the emergency room in Dubai as well as a shot, so he took the pills and it cleared up. He had never experienced this kind of thing before. It amazed us. What could be in that soap? We boarded the plane for the US. I felt better on this plane trip. The stewardesses were great. They gave me more antibiotics to help my condition. I was amazed. The flight home was really good, but long. I've watched a lot of movies on this round trip. We finally arrived in Boston at about 1:30 PM. Getting through customs was not a problem they didn't even open our bags. Go figure. That's American security. We waited for ½ hour for the bus and were back in our own home by 5PM. I can sleep now since I still haven't managed that since I woke up at 1 AM Thursday. The long trip and short vacation is now over, but won't be forgotten for a very long time.

The pictures below are the family pictures we took before we left. Azim's family was wonderful to me. It felt so good being with them. This trip helped me to appreciate all I have in America and take for granted. I have things these people can't even dream about because where they live, people rarely get an opportunity to know life much further than their own city or home. Pakistan does not allow it's citizens the luxury of coming and going from the country, like we have. It take a long time and money and knowing the right people to get to step outside the borders. I have revisited a time and era that is long over in America. I saw strong family values, and close neighbor relations. There is a lot of crime there, but people are aware of the dangers. They are cautious and protective, especially of their women and children. I really enjoyed this wonderful adventure into a beautiful and different culture. It was a great experience. I have gained a great respect for my husband by learning who he is, where he came from, and how he grew into the wonderful caring man he is. I thank him so much for expanding my world and sharing his world with me.

 

 

 






UMER, SHAMIM, HAIJI, & RABIA RIAZ

 

 




 

 

 

 

RABIA, HUMAIRA, TASLEEM, KHURAM, & SHUMAILA NAWAZ



NURIN, DANISH, ILYAS, ZAIN, BENISH, AISHA, & ASMA








 

 

 


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

MUSHTAQ, IMRAN, AMNA, DANIEL, & NAHID

 

Pakistan Now ....An Update:

November 2001

It has been two years since I first published my story on the Internet.

We talk to the family in Pakistan almost every week. The kids are growing quickly. I miss them. We are returning to Lahore for Eid again February 14, 2002. I will most definitely buy a journal and keep track of all events. Shumaila graduated and is in college now. Humaira is in her last year of school before college. Azim thinks more and more of helping the girls to get married. We will be discussing marriage for Shumaila when we arrive.

When we sent everyone a big suitcase full of gifts recently through a friend who was going there to visit his own family. I sent Umer a glow in the dark decal for a t-shirt. Shamim ironed it on. They had no idea it glowed in the dark though until one night when he was wearing it the electricity went off.( I explained earlier that it does quite often, but mostly in the daytime). Well, didn't Umer just sit there.... glowing in the dark, and providing a great laugh for the entire family. Umer and his sister Rabia wanted Back Packs for school with Winnie the Pooh on them. Someone else in school knew an American and got one, so they had to have one too. They were happy to receive them for sure. I have been busy shopping for our trip and have a lot more gifts than clothes now.

We sent the family some extra money to do some needed repairs in the house. We bought a stove with an oven and a refrigerator. We remodeled the cooking area to accommodate them. We had the walls repaired and painted and the upstairs closed in a bit more.

Azim's friend Basit still lives across the road. They have been friends since they were little boys. Basit was soon to graduate from University with a degree as a Chartered Accountant. Three months before his final exams, Basit and Sedaquat went for a ride together on a motorcycle. They weren't wearing helmets. They had a very bad accident and Basit was thrown from the bike hitting his head on the pavement. He lost life in the hospital, but was revived. By some miracle he survived. He was in the hospital and recovering for several months. He had been in a coma for quite a while. He is doing better and got a computer so he can email us now.

Shortly after September 11, 2001, The Taliban and Bin Laden supporters held demonstrations in Karachi where we first stayed with Azim's cousin Kalsoum and her mother Shahanaz. It was a very difficult time. People were all over the city. One morning very early, Kalsoum went outside the front door. Suddenly she found herself being attacked by two men who had scaled the 12 foot wall and were inside the complex. She must have surprised them as they were outside planning a way to enter their home. She had a coffee cup in her hand when she went out the door, she screamed and tried to hit one man's head with it as he began to attack her. The other man jumped back over the wall and out. The man she hit stabbed her in the chest three times before he jumped over the wall. Happily, after surgery to close her chest, Kalsoum is making a nice recovery. Thanks to God for sparing the lives of her and her mother, who would surely be dead if Kalsoum had not surprised the attackers. One of her brothers is moving back home. It really is not good for women to live alone in that country. Lahore on the other hand is as quiet as can be.

April 23, 2002 I have finished the journal for 2002 except for pictures. I hope you will enjoy it

Thank you for reading my story. I hope you found it interesting. You may click the link below to return to the main page, HOME where you will find links to my short story, poems I've written, and the family album I am working on. I hope you enjoy this site and will let me know what you think using the links to email addresses at the bottom of the home page. JoAnn

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