A Long Way from Home (13 page)

Both Mama and I are enrolled in ESL — English as a second language. I have become friends with Teeka, a refugee girl from Africa. I am hoping Mama and Karim will make some friends also.

Karim is seeing a child psychologist. She says he is still in shock, and it will take time for him to heal. But already, he seems much happier. He is obsessed with the butterfly poppy that grows wild near our compound. Whenever he is outside, he wants to pick them. The apartment is filled with them.

Fatima, my caseworker, who is writing this letter for me, says the world is my oyster. I can finish school, go to college, or find a job. I plan to do all those things, but right now I only want for Mama to be happy and for Karim to start speaking again.

There is talk that the Americans are going to remove the Taliban from Afghanistan. That means that Amir can return from Iran. Father will be freed from prison. This news seems too good to be true. But we never stop hoping.

Keep well my friend,

Rabia.

Author's Note

Although the characters in this book are fictional, the plot is based on real events. On September 11, 2001, terrorist flew jets into the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York City killing thousands of people. As a result, airspace over the United States was shut down, and pilots were ordered to land at the nearest available airport.

Thirty-eight planes carrying 6,595 passengers were diverted to Gander, Newfoundland, a town with a population of barely 10,000. The community came together to offer food, aid, shelter, and comfort to the stranded passengers.

In 2011, two large pieces of a steel girder from the fallen skyscrapers arrived in Gander to mark the tenth anniversary of that tragic day. The steel is now part of a memorial at the town's North Atlantic Aviation Museum. Many of the stranded airline passengers have returned to Gander in the intervening years to maintain friendships made during those troubled days and to thank the people of Gander for their kindness.

Acknowledgments

I would like to acknowledge with gratitude the support of my friends and fellow writers, Sharon Palermo, Deannie Sullivan Fraser, Barbara Mosher, and Tyne Brown. Thanks also to Kathryn Cole and Carolyn Jackson for their meticulous editing. Finally, a special thank you to my family, Dennis, Christine, and Darcy Walsh for their ongoing love and support.

About the Author

Alice Walsh
grew up in northern Newfoundland and now lives in Lower Sackville, Nova Scotia. She writes fiction and nonfiction for adults and children, and her articles and short stories have been published in various magazines and anthologies. Her published work includes seven books for children, including A Sky Black with Crows. She wrote A Long Way from Home after listening to stories from people who were involved with the diverted 9/11 passengers.