Intimacies

The narrator assists Amina in the translator booth during a high-profile trial to prepare to take over her position when Amina goes on leave. The deposed president of a West African country is on trial for refusing a peaceful transition of power after his defeat in the election. In response, he formed paramilitary groups and incited genocide, which led to civil war. Despite his crimes, he remains popular in his home country, and many of his supporters are in the courtroom gallery to witness the trial. Amina warns the narrator that the trial has been more theatrical than most, but she states that the translation work is relatively straightforward. When the defense counsel enters the courtroom, the narrator notices that Kees is part of the team. His appearance in the courtroom shocks her because despite Adriaan’s assertion that Kees is a skilled defense attorney, Kees’s behavior at the cocktail party makes it impossible for the narrator to understand how anyone could respect him. She wonders why Adriaan never mentioned that Kees worked at the Court and realizes that Adriaan knows little about her work life.