CHAPTER 3

      Amad’s father had decided that his son would go to the United States to study. That decision was made when Amad was still a toddler. The family lived in an affluent neighborhood on the outskirts of Tripoli. Amad’s mother was a beautiful woman and fortunately for him he had inherited his mother’s delicate beauty rather than his father’s rough uneven features. His mother had bronzed silken skin and a warm smile. Her smile was a mask for the deep feelings of hatred for her husband, but she loved her son dearly.

      Amad’s father had a basic plan for his son’s education that he augmented and revised each year. He hired a Spanish tutor and an English tutor to work with Amad from the age of 4. A very intelligent boy, he had a knack for languages and his fluency in both languages increased rapidly. He had tutors in science and mathematics as well. For his son to attend the best school in Tripoli, was not good enough for Amad’s father.

      Amad learned from his mother as well. He learned to hide his feelings and he learned to smile. He also learned to hate his father. His father always wanted more of him and was never satisfied. It hadn’t taken long for Amad to learn to hide any feelings from his father. The many beatings that he had received at his father’s hand had taught him that. Amad did have a love of learning, but because of his father’s control over him there was little else in his life.

      His father called him into the study one evening. “Son,” his father said. “It is time for you to begin training for your destiny. You are twelve years old now – almost a man. I have raised you to be a faithful Muslim and a proud Libyan – isn’t that so?” “Yes, Papa,” Amad responded wondering what his father had in store for him this time. “I’ve arranged for you to be taken on a long journey, my son. You will leave in about a week. Hassan will pick you up before daylight on the day that your journey begins. You will bring a bag that will have been packed for you. It will already be in Hassan’s truck. You will be gone for a year, but you will come home a man. I promise you that! I will pack your lessons as well, although I suspect you will not have much time to study. Make the most of your time, son, and learn and pray – Allah should protect you as you will be in training to protect him.”

      Amad did not want to leave his home, his school, and particularly his beloved mother, but he knew better than to argue with his father. He didn’t quite understand where he was going, but he was afraid to ask for fear his father would consider that insubordination and that a beating would be warranted.

      “Yes, Papa,” he said again as he was dismissed by his father. As soon as he left the room, the tears began to flow as he searched the house for his mother. “Mama, father is sending me away,” he told her as he fell to his knees sobbing. “I know – I know,” she whispered as she stroked his head. “I told Papa you were not ready, but he insisted. Surely Allah will protect you!”

      “Where am I going?” Amad cried. “It sounds frightening. Is it a bad place, Mama – is it?”

      “You will return a man,” she said. “You will exercise. You will learn about our enemies and the enemies of Allah. You will learn to fight, and you will learn to be an expert marksman. You will learn from the best, but you must work hard to excel. Your father is depending on you!”

      Amad felt slightly better after talking with his mother. She wouldn’t let anything bad happen to him. He knew that she would protect him from his father if she could! He had always excelled in whatever he did.

      At dawn on the day of his journey, Hassan came into his room to awaken him. “Time to go” was said only with a nod. Amad got out of bed preparing to leave his house for perhaps the last time. Hassan pushed him outside, and he reluctantly climbed into the truck. No one was there to say good-bye. Amad sat in the passenger seat feeling sad at leaving his home and his mama. He buried those feelings as he dozed in the truck as it pulled away into the desert. As the desert became more desolate the pebbles in the sand would jolt Amad awake and away from the dreams of mama, his days in school, his tutors, and his home. He’d awaken to terrible thoughts of his Papa. Hassan stopped the truck by the side of the road for them to rest for the night. They ate some food that had been prepared for the trip, went behind some rocks to relieve themselves, and then fell asleep in the back of the truck. The rising of the sun awakened them both. They had a small meal and the trip began again. The bouncing of the old truck made Amad sleepy and he must have dozed off again during the drive.

      “Wake up, Amad, wake up! We’ve driven along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea close to the Egyptian border. I leave you here. Ja’hil should be meeting us at the border and I will return to your father’s house.”

      Amad’s eyes grew large. He would be with a total stranger. At least he knew Hassan since he was a little boy – but now --. He was worried and afraid. It was dark and lonely out there! He thought about his friend, Aziz. Nobody knew about Aziz, not even his mother. Aziz had been in Amad’s room with him when he needed him. Aziz was always there. Aziz was there when Papa was angry, and he was there when Mama couldn’t be. He hoped that Aziz had come with him on this journey. He needed to have someone he knew.

      Suddenly lights appeared in the distance. They got larger as the vehicle approached. In the flat marshy terrain, it was difficult to know how close it was. Hassan got out of the truck to get Amad’s bag so they would be ready when Ja’hil arrived. “Where am I going”, Amad whispered. “You are going to a place to learn to be a man,” Hassan repeated the words that Amad’s father had used.

      They waited by the truck until Ja’hil stopped in front of it. The two men hugged, and Hassan handed Amad’s bag to Ja’hil. Then he introduced the boy to the man. Amad grunted hello and bravely got into Ja’hil’s truck.

      “We are in Egypt now,” Ja’hil told Amad. “You are about to start your real journey. If you have studied your lessons well, you will understand the itinerary for your travels. You have a long trip ahead of you son. We are not going the fastest route since we do not want our destination to be obvious. The journey’s end is a training camp that is in a secret location. We will continue our drive along the Mediterranean Sea until we are just south of Alexandria. Then we will take a small road across the Egyptian desert and arrive in Cairo. Once in Cairo we will meet up with another of your father’s associates who will have a few other boys in his truck. You will travel from Cairo back up north to Port Said and board a merchant ship which will take you through the Suez Canal and will continue on to the Gulf of Aqaba, into Jordan.”

      Amad interrupted –“the Suez Canal – Wow —I’ve read about the Suez Canal and I’m really going to go through it!” For the first time since leaving home, he became animated and almost excited about this adventure. “And what will I do in Jordan?” He asked Ja’hil.

      “You will be taken to a large airport where another of your father’s friends will fly with you to Tehran.”

      “I’ve never been in an airplane!” Amad was very excited now. “Where am I going? Why am I flying to Tehran?” Amad asked. It was as if Amad had not spoken. Ja’hil continued, “You will be picked up in Tehran by a small convoy of trucks. Other boys will be in this convoy. The trucks will then travel over the border of Iran into Afghanistan. You will travel to a cave in a hidden location in Afghanistan, and it is there that you will become a man.”

      Suddenly Amad lost his enthusiasm. A cave in Afghanistan didn’t sound like a good place to be, especially for a twelve year old boy. He quietly sat in the truck as they drove on, and he willed Aziz into existence for comfort. Amad realized that he would have to make the best of the situation. He knew that he couldn’t escape. Where