I Am Malala

I Am Malala

"I heard a man behind me saying 'I will kill you.' I quickened
my pace and after awhile I looked back to see if he was following me.
To my huge relief I saw he was speaking on his phone, he must have
been talking to someone else." In this passage from I Am Malala,
Malala Yousafzai describes walking home from school. Throughout her
eloquent autobiography she pulls readers into a world more chilling
than anything Mr. Stephen King ever penned. Can you imagine:
*going to school when schools for girls are being blown up;
*living in an area where the army and Taliban are fighting and
civilians are in grave danger from both sides;
*falling asleep to the sound of gunfire and waking up to the sight of
corpses, some beheaded,
*having to leave your home in a stream of nearly two million, hoping
you will find refuge in a private home and not end up in a dreaded
refugee camp...
And, of course, being shot at close range and nearly dying for the
crime of speaking your mind?
And there are the intangibles:
*the terrible toll on girls of illiteracy and too early marriage;
*the confinement of women behind the walls of their homes;
*the destruction of beloved religious statues;
*the banning of music, dance, and movies;
*the devastation of areas of natural beauty.
Malala despises injustice in any form in which she encounters
it. One day she sees a little girl with matted hair and filthy
clothes sorting rubbish in the dump where she lives. When she asks
her father to give the child tuition to the school he runs he has to
explain that even free education would be out of her reach, her meager
contribtion being needed so her family will not starve.
However, Malala is also a kid like ours: fighting with her
brother, watching favorite shows, repenting misdeeds, negotiating the
intricacies of friendship, and striving to be the top student in her
class. Her story is haunting and rightly so. It is a must read for
each of us who can truthfully claim to possess a soul and a human heart.
On a personal note, I could not read this book and not do something.
The least I can do is raise some money to help further Malala's dream
of education for all children. In a little over seven months I can
celebrate my birthday with a fundraiser. Sound like a plan?
A great big shout out goes out to all folks like Malala and her father
who have the courage risk their lives to speak up for what they
believe in. I'd be too much of a coward.
Julia Emily Hathaway



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