Friday, August 9, 2013

Chapter 8

Asma Andwar is a twenty-one year old immigrant from Bangladesh. She lost her husband, Inam, in the attacks on the World Trade Center. They were in America illegally and thus there was no record or identity for her husband to die under. Since his death, Asma had been living off her Mosque's Widow and Orphan Fund and the generosity of her landlords, the Mohmouds. A little while after the attack, she gives birth to a baby boy, who she names Abdul Karim.

Asma receives counsel from the community leader, Nasruddin. Asma is a traditional Muslim woman as is her community. He takes her to meet a lawyer named Laila who wants to help Asma obtain compensation for her husbands death. Laila strikes Asma as odd since even though she is Muslim, Laila doesn't cover her head. Despite this, Asma agrees and walks away with $1.05 millions.

She still has to live modestly, but now she doesn't worry about where the money's coming from. She then hears Lou Sarge, a conservative talk show personality, say that illegals' names should not be included on the memorial. This angers Asma but the mayor reassures the public that aliens should be included as well. While this relieves Asma, she's still shaken to know that her husband is now just a name.

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