Betrayed by Latifa Ali

Author:Latifa Ali
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Betrayed
ISBN: 9781741108118
Publisher: New Holland Publishers (Australia) Pty Ltd
Published: 2009-07-31T04:00:00+00:00

ELEVEN

‘These documents,’ he said. ‘Not only do I have to cope with all these, as though that’s not enough, but I’ve also lost my interpreter who’s been shifted to do another job. So I’d like to ask you Latifa—will you work for me as my interpreter?’

I don’t know whether my face revealed my relief but I could not stifle a gasp.

He grinned. ‘You seem overwhelmed. I hope you aren’t going to turn me down!’

I hugged him, unable to prevent the tears welling up. Working as David’s interpreter would tear my heart open even more. I would be drawn even closer to him, there was no doubt about that, but the job would also give me access to all his paperwork and allow me to be present at all his meetings. I would, like the suspicions I had about my mother, be the perfect spy—an interpreter with access to all the information that an outside party wanted.

When I saw my father that evening I told him about the job offer. His response shocked me.

‘Work for the UN? Oh no. I will never allow any daughter of mine to work for them. All the girls who work for the UN are nothing but whores. They have a shocking reputation. They mingle with foreigners and they sleep with them. They defy the love of their parents. They leave for work in the hijab but as soon as they arrive at the office they put on their mini skirts and their lipstick and they make themselves available to anyone and everyone.’

‘But Dad, don’t assume that I’m like that. And the pay would be very good. I’m told I could earn up to $US500 a month.’

That was, in fact, an excellent wage in a country where $US1 would buy enough fruit and vegetables to feed an entire family.

‘In any case,’ Khalid continued. ‘Money is not our problem. My project is working out well.’

He had told me previously about the contract his welding company had received. The Mayor of Dohuk had asked my father to build a tourist attraction on a large area of land that would comprise restaurants, a children’s playground, a convenience store and even a small botanical garden. Many of the employees working on the project were his own relatives. ‘Always look after your own first,’ he constantly told me. The money he would be making in the summer, he said, would more than easily cover the slack winter months.

I knew that any attempt at getting my father to change his attitude about the UN job would be futile. Not only did he dissuade me from ever talking back at him, he was a stubborn man and he was a far less relaxed father than the one I had known in Sydney. His turning to the Muslim faith had changed him and I suspected, too, that he was still upset about the break up of his marriage. I heard chatter among my aunts one day about my mother ‘seeing another man’ in Germany, but I didn’t hear any more details.

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