‘Son of Mountains’ is an extraordinary book that charts its course through one of the most poignant and disturbing memoirs of recent years.
Written by Kurdish/American Yasin Aref, ‘Son of Mountains’ was published in 2008 and is already entering its second print run. It is a memoir of Aref’s life from his days as a Kurdish child living in Iraq; fleeing to Syria where he worked as a gardener; to emigrating to the US through UN approved channels. Tragically for Aref and his family, that is not where the story ends.
‘Son of Mountains’ was written by Aref while in custody in a New York State prison. Arrested on charges of ‘terrorism,’ the book took shape in the six months he spent in detention between his conviction in Oct 2006 and his sentencing in 2007.
Born the son of a farmer, Aref recounts vividly his early years working as a labourer in Kirkuk, the influence of the poetry of Omar Khayyam—recalled from memory— on his own idealism and the abject poverty he and his kin experienced. We follow his trials and share in his frustrations: while Kirkuk was “one of the largest centres of the oil industry in the world…we had to wait for hours in line to buy smuggled gasoline.”
After being granted UN refugee status, Aref and his family arrived in the US in 1999. Although life was tough, it was relatively peaceful. Aref struggled to support his young children, working several jobs. Finally he was asked to be the Iman [sic.] of a mosque in Albany and he accepted, feeling that this was a calling for him.
In 2003, it all started to go against him. The alleged discovery of his name and contact details in a notebook in Iraq triggered a protracted FBI ‘sting’ operation which culminated in his arrest, hearing and sentencing on March 8 2007 to fifteen years in jail for: ‘support to a foreign terrorist organization, conspiracy with a weapon of mass destruction, money laundering and lying to the government.’
Aref remains in custody, his future uncertain. For his family too, the future is uncertain and potentially treacherous for all of them. If you ever had doubts that the ‘War on Terror’ did not also signal a war on personal freedoms, a war on common sense and a war on cultures and identities you must read this book.
‘Son of Mountains: My Life as a Kurd and a Terror Suspect‘ by Yassin Aref
Troy Bookmakers, Troy, New York, 2008.
Source: What’s On Syria