No Land to Light On by Yara Zgheib
Hadi is in the United States as a sponsored refugee from Syria's bloody civil war. He's already spent two years in a Syrian prison before he escaped but when his father dies, rather than going to his extremely important Visa hearing appointment, he hops on a plane to the Middle East to handle his father's funeral arrangements. When he comes back he no longer has valid paperwork to enter the US. As Hadi's once safe life in the US crumbles, Hadi's anger and rash decisions make his situation even worse.
Seven years ago Sama came to the US on a Harvard scholarship. She's worked hard and knows people who care about what happens to her. She is also five months pregnant and she plans to surprise Hadi at the gate when he returns from his trip. As Hadi is going through the chaos of being kicked out of the country, Sama is going through her own turmoil that I don't understand. Something about people bumping into her, almost like she's at some wild concert. In the ruckus labor starts and she's rushed to the hospital.
We then experience the POVs of both Hadi and Sama, in the present and at various time in past. Before now, Sama never considered bringing up her baby, a US citizen, outside of the US. Now Hadi wants Sama and the baby to leave the US, leave what safety Sama and the baby have to meet Hadi somewhere else. It's as if the rashness of Hadi is contagious and now Sama, who's done so well in her life, is ready to throw herself and their fragile baby into a life of chaos and turmoil. This is all seen in the light of bird migratory patterns, which makes no sense to me.
Hadi is in the United States as a sponsored refugee from Syria's bloody civil war. He's already spent two years in a Syrian prison before he escaped but when his father dies, rather than going to his extremely important Visa hearing appointment, he hops on a plane to the Middle East to handle his father's funeral arrangements. When he comes back he no longer has valid paperwork to enter the US. As Hadi's once safe life in the US crumbles, Hadi's anger and rash decisions make his situation even worse.
Seven years ago Sama came to the US on a Harvard scholarship. She's worked hard and knows people who care about what happens to her. She is also five months pregnant and she plans to surprise Hadi at the gate when he returns from his trip. As Hadi is going through the chaos of being kicked out of the country, Sama is going through her own turmoil that I don't understand. Something about people bumping into her, almost like she's at some wild concert. In the ruckus labor starts and she's rushed to the hospital.
We then experience the POVs of both Hadi and Sama, in the present and at various time in past. Before now, Sama never considered bringing up her baby, a US citizen, outside of the US. Now Hadi wants Sama and the baby to leave the US, leave what safety Sama and the baby have to meet Hadi somewhere else. It's as if the rashness of Hadi is contagious and now Sama, who's done so well in her life, is ready to throw herself and their fragile baby into a life of chaos and turmoil. This is all seen in the light of bird migratory patterns, which makes no sense to me.