Page 2 - Silent Violence
P. 2

women's magazine, a brittle five years old and still
curling. There was a competition in it, with one of
those why-I-chose-this-product-in-fifteen-words-
or-less tiebreakers. At the time I made up my own
competition.

   Order the following sentences according to their
appropriateness at describing my story. Good luck.

   A. Saudi Arabia destroyed my life.
   B. The country killed my husband.
   C. The greed of others stole his life.
   And when I think about it I could add the more
nebulous:
   D. A clash of cultures caused his death.
   Of course you can't order the sentences. You
haven't taken my journey. Anyway, all of these
statements are true and the order is subjective
and therefore irrelevant.
   Still, the tone is set. And yet before the tragedy
there was levity, perhaps gaiety. There was at
least a semblance of normality, under the
circumstances. There were no real warnings. Of
course, with the benefit of hindsight I can see the
clues. But at the time they were buried under one
of the very things that helped us through daily life
in Saudi. If it's not at the top of the list of qualities

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