The Other Side of the Sky

The second chapter gives the reader a concise overview of Ahmedi’s family background in Afghanistan. Her family roots go back to a small village 92 miles southwest of Kabul. Her people were farmers and raised animals. Her immediate family genealogy begins with her father’s father who was a mullah, a learned man who read the Koran and was a faith leader in the community. Although Ahmedi’s grandfather garnered him respect from the community, his responsibilities as a mullah prevented him from farming his land properly. As a result, the land became neglected and did not produce the yield that he needed to support his growing family. He had to borrow large sums of money, and on one of these occasions, he pawned his lands as collateral. Now a landless peasant, Ahmedi’s grandfather became quite poor.

When Ahmedi’s father, Ghulam Hussein, came of age, he decided to do something to get the family lands back. Hussein went to Kabul and apprenticed himself to a master tailor, learned the trade, worked very hard, and, after several years, earned enough money to return to the village. He paid off his father’s debts and got the family lands back.

Hussein returned to Kabul and became a successful tailor in his own right.