KABUL24

Thomas Nelson

Contents

Foreword by Michael W. Smith.............................ixAuthors' Note............................................xiPrologue.................................................xiiiCHAPTER ONE: The Arrests.................................1CHAPTER TWO: In the Blink of an Eye......................27CHAPTER THREE: Interrogations............................49CHAPTER FOUR: Justice, Taliban-Style.....................81CHAPTER FIVE: The World Turned Over......................103CHAPTER SIX: Hamid Hotel.................................125CHAPTER SEVEN: Unusual Prisonmates.......................159CHAPTER EIGHT: Highway to Kandahar.......................191CHAPTER NINE: Life or Death..............................225Epilogue.................................................263Acknowledgments..........................................279About the Authors........................................281

Chapter One

A guest in an Afghan home is always offered a cup of tea. It is a standard practice stipulated by the law of ancient custom. While sipping the beverage, conversation should flow as freely as the tea that flows from the spout of the exotic shaped pot-warm, stimulating, satisfying, the tea and the conversation. The Muslim concept of being a good host and offering care and protection to any and all guests that come under their roof goes back to the days of the Prophet Mohammed, who considered being a proper host a hallowed duty.

Still, Afghans are wary of outsiders, so for a foreigner to receive an invitation into an Afghan home is an honor. To receive a second invitation is possibly a greater one. It now goes beyond a cultural obligation. The foreigner has earned the trust of the host, and the host has extended that deeper level of hospitality, the Prophet's hospitality. So when that protection became betrayal-of innocent victims whose only desire was the welfare of and a friendship with their hosts-it broke a covenant held sacred for centuries.

There was nothing about the day that was unusual, blisteringly hot, the August sun baking the adobe homes in the neighborhood. A breeze blew down the dusty Kabul streets and between the houses as though originating from inside an oven. The only good effect the light wind afforded was in reducing the drying time of the fresh laundry hanging from the clotheslines.

It was not Dayna Curry and Heather Mercer's first visit to this particular Afghan family. The two young American women had worked with the children living within the home, and whenever Dayna was there, the children never failed to ask her to read from her collection of children's stories from the Bible. One of the older boys became insistent that she make a copy of the book for him, which she had finally and reluctantly agreed to do. (Because the Taliban had laws forbidding it, Dayna did not want anyone in the family to think she was trying to manipulate the young boy into converting or take advantage of his seeming enthusiasm to hear the stories.)

These two were a pair of auburn-haired Renaissance maidens, each with a cheerful shimmer in her eyes, their fresh-faced expressions in stark contrast to most of the faces weathered by dry desert air and unsympathetic sunlight. Along with other SNI coworkers, they had been regular guests in the home, and once when the matriarch of the family became ill, a SNI staff member brought her medication. The group had befriended this family and others in the neighborhood with no ulterior motive ... yet their kindness would be betrayed by this family. On this day, the underhanded motive came from within the Afghan family.

A few weeks before, one of the uncles of the family had questioned Heather about the benefits of becoming a Christian. "What do I have to do to become a Christian?" he had asked. His interest was to the point, more in line with a fact-finding mission than anything genuine or heartfelt. "What do I get if I become a Christian? Will you pay me if I become a Christian? Will I get a visa if I become a Christian? What do I get if I convert?"

It had been a wise choice, then, to defer the conversation regarding a benefit analysis in converting to Christianity. The belligerent uncle, along with the rest of the Afghan family, would first see the "Jesus film" and then the dialogue could continue. A date and time were set when the whole family could be present for the viewing. Heather and Dayna would come that Friday, August 3, in the late afternoon.

The smell of baking bread wafted upon the stifling air as the women stepped through the gate and approached the house inside the compound. A fire was burning in the courtyard, chickens were scurrying about, mothers were washing clothes in large tubs and hanging the dripping apparel on the clotheslines, and many of the children were playing outside, waiting for the arrival of the two women.

One of the young boys raced up to Dayna. Unable to contain his enthusiasm, he bounced up and down on his legs, a human pogo stick.

"Do you have it?" he cried. "Do you have it?"

The boy's eagerness appeared exaggerated but did not alarm either of the two girls. In the Muslim culture, discussions of religious topics are the norm. Many are interested in knowing what people from other cultures believe. It is a chance to learn from others, especially when there is so little exposure to the outside world and with the illiteracy rate so high in Afghanistan. Among the Muslims, Jesus Christ is highly regarded as a prophet and teacher from God. Though Jesus does not carry the same historical or spiritual weight as Mohammed, any healthy and respectful exchange of ideas regarding Christ's teachings, in a proper theological context, would not normally be discouraged or frowned upon.

Where it could become hostile and even dangerous would be if there were overt attempts at persuading any Muslim to convert to Christianity. When Heather and Dayna came for their visit, they never intended to coerce any of the family to accept Christ, but they were certainly prepared to share the gospel story if any member of the family had expressed genuine interest. They were simply fulfilling a request that had come from within the family. Still, the whole occasion had its risks. Were any member of the family to convert to Christianity, it would be quite dangerous for them, a danger that included the possibility of a death sentence from the Taliban.

Heather and Dayna had never had so large a crowd gathered for any of their other visits. The family knew the women were coming and the word had spread. It was not just women and children but several of the adult males as well. To their surprise, the uncle who had earlier expressed so much interest in Jesus had fled the scene on a bicycle. He did not even bother to greet them when they arrived.

Heather set up her computer in the living room to play the DVD, and the family huddled around the screen with their cups of tea, watching and listening intently to the grainy film of the story of Jesus spoken in their own language. This cross-cultural home gathering-between citizens from different countries, between adherents of different faiths-to share a story of a mutually revered religious figure was no more a threat to either religion than sharing the obligatory...