Kamila Shamsie - Home Fire

1

I SMA WAS GOING to miss her flight. The ticket wouldnt be refunded, because the airline took no responsibility for passengers who arrived at the airport three hours ahead of the departure time and were escorted to an interrogation room. She had expected the interrogation, but not the hours of waiting that would precede it, nor that it would feel so humiliating to have the contents of her suitcase inspected. Shed made sure not to pack anything that would invite comment or questionsno Quran, no family pictures, no books on her area of academic interestbut even so, the officer took hold of every item of Ismas clothing and ran it between her thumb and fingers, not so much searching for hidden pockets as judging the quality of the material. Finally she reached for the designer-label down jacket Isma had folded over a chair back when she entered, and held it up, one hand pinching each shoulder.

This isnt yours, she said, and Isma was sure she didnt mean because its at least a size too large but rather its too nice for someone like you.

I used to work at a dry-cleaning shop. The woman who brought this in said she didnt want it when we couldnt get rid of the stain. She pointed to the grease mark on the pocket.

Does the manager know you took it?

I was the manager.

You were the manager of a dry-cleaning shop and now youre on your way to a PhD program in sociology?

Yes.

And how did that happen?

My siblings and I were orphaned just after I finished uni. They were twelve years oldtwins. I took the first job I could find. Now theyve grown up; I can go back to my life.

Youre going back to your life... in Amherst, Massachusetts.

I meant the academic life. My former tutor from LSE teaches in Amherst now, at the university there. Her name is Hira Shah. You can call her. Ill be staying with her when I arrive, until I find a place of my own.

In Amherst.

No. I dont know. Sorry, do you mean her place or the place of my own? She lives in Northamptonthats close to Amherst. Ill look all around the area for whatever suits me best. So it might be Amherst, but it might not. There are some real estate listings on my phone. Which you have. She stopped herself. The official was doing that thing that shed encountered before in security personnelstaying quiet when you answered their question in a straightforward manner, which made you think you had to say more. And the more you said, the more guilty you sounded.

The woman dropped the jacket into the jumble of clothes and shoes and told Isma to wait.

That had been a while ago. The plane would be boarding now. Isma looked over at the suitcase. Shed repacked when the woman left the room and spent the time since worrying if doing that without permission constituted an offense. Should she empty the clothes out into a haphazard pile, or would that make things even worse? She stood up, unzipped the suitcase, and flipped it open so its contents were visible.

A man entered the office, carrying Ismas passport, laptop, and phone. She allowed herself to hope, but he sat down, gestured for her to do the same, and placed a voice recorder between them.

Do you consider yourself British? the man said.

I am British.

But do you consider yourself British?

Ive lived here all my life. She meant there was no other country of which she could feel herself a part, but the words came out sounding evasive.

The interrogation continued for nearly two hours. He wanted to know her thoughts on Shias, homosexuals, the Queen, democracy, The Great British Bake Off, the invasion of Iraq, Israel, suicide bombers, dating websites. After that early slip regarding her Britishness, she settled into the manner that shed practiced with Aneeka playing the role of the interrogating officer, Isma responding to her sister as though she were a customer of dubious political opinions whose business Isma didnt want to lose by voicing strenuously opposing views, but to whom she didnt see the need to lie either. (When people talk about the enmity between Shias and Sunnis, it usually centers on some political imbalance of power, such as in Iraq or Syriaas a Brit, I dont distinguish between one Muslim and another. Occupying other peoples territory generally causes more problems than it solvesthis served for both Iraq and Israel. Killing civilians is sinfulthats equally true whether the manner of killing is a suicide bombing or aerial bombardments or drone strikes.) There were long intervals of silence between each answer and the next question as the man clicked keys on her laptop, examining her browser history. He knew that she was interested in the marital status of an actor from a popular TV series; that wearing a hijab didnt stop her from buying expensive products to tame her frizzy hair; that she had searched for how to make small talk with Americans.

You know, you dont have to be so compliant abouteverything, Aneeka had said during the role-playing. Ismas sister, not quite nineteen, with her law student brain, who knew everything about her rights and nothing about the fragility of her place in the world.