A Map of Home

Nidali, Mama, Baba, and Gamal flee the country with Nidali’s cousins, aunt, and uncle, driving toward the border in a caravan of three cars. As they pass various checkpoints, Baba bribes guards with ties and whiskey. During their journey, Nidali starts her period but doesn’t tell anyone.

Aunt Naila pulls over on the side of the road in her old car. She props open the hood, and as she talks to Mama, she lights a cigarette and throws the match to the ground. The wind picks up the match, blows it into the engine, and the car catches on fire.

They leave the car behind, driving away with the men and boys in the car in front and the women and girls driving behind, “in front of us the way they stood in front of us at prayer” (153). Nidali writes an angry letter addressed to Saddam Hussein, then tears it up and flings the pieces out the window.

They arrive at a village called al-Rahhaliya. They stop in front of a small café owned by a very old woman. The outhouse is clean, unlike at the other rest stops they’ve encountered.