1782398457 (N) by Gulwali Passarlay

Author:Gulwali Passarlay
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Publisher: Atlantic Books Ltd
Published: 2015-10-06T15:30:03+00:00

CHAPTER NINETEEN

It was only when the Iranian guides and smugglers left that I had a chance to really see who else was with us.

There were a couple of hundred other people with us: most of them were huddled in small groups, just like Jawad, Mehran, me and the Iranians. Their ages spanned from teenagers to the elderly.

Many carried small shoulder bags and cases, no doubt filled with a lifetime’s possessions. Others had nothing but the clothes on their backs – as if they’d left their houses that morning, and were now stuck in Turkey. Some had sturdy boots like mine, which they peeled off, allowing their wet, blistered feet to breathe. Others had plastic sandals – how they managed to walk any distance in those, I don’t understand.

Most of the men were bearded. Shaving was an infrequent activity, and a low priority for most.

I was dismayed to see a couple of women with small children. The children were dirty, with runny noses and matted hair. One little girl wore a blue bobble hat, but only had a pair of leather sandals on her tiny frozen feet. My heart lurched when I saw that. I wanted to go and talk to her, to say something comforting. But the way her mother held her so close, so fiercely, stopped me. She watched the men around her with cold eyes. Like a lioness protecting her cubs, she just stared, looking for any signs of danger. I decided it was better to let the family have some privacy.

What quickly became very clear was that not a single person among us had any idea what would happen next. The Iranian guides had simply pointed down the mountainside and told us to continue the walk to Turkey.

‘Is this familiar?’ Jawad looked at me, as if I should know where we were.

‘How should I know? It looks nothing like the last time I was in Turkey.’

‘How do we find the agents?’ he persisted.

‘Why do you keep asking me? Do I look like I know?’ I know he wanted answers, but he was getting on my nerves.

A couple of groups stood up and started to walk away. In an information vacuum, even the appearance of knowledge has power. I don’t really recall anyone else saying much, but the rag-tag herd of human beings got in line and followed.

After a short distance, we could see men in brown uniforms approaching us on horses. They were armed.

I began to panic. Their uniforms didn’t look like any I’d seen before – none of their clothing matched properly.

Mehran and I were right at the front of the column. We started to hold back, getting ready to run into the trees if things turned bad.

The riders waved and gestured us to come close.

I recoiled: Mafia kidnappers – I was certain of it.

They didn’t introduce themselves. They didn’t say a word – not even to check how many of us there were, or if we were safe. Neither did they wait to see if we followed – instead, they just turned their horses around and started down the hill.

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