Book by Amanda Lindhout and Sara Corbett
Sometimes messages jump out and smack you. I was given a book and started to read it without knowing anything about it. I was reading it assuming it was a work of fiction, then realized it is a true story. I read a lot, and read many technical and deep things. But when it’s time for relaxation I generally read things that don’t go deep emotionally. This book, A House in the Sky isn’t light reading.
Amanda Lindhout loves to travel and over many years begins to take photos and write a few stories for a small local paper. She and another photographer enter Somalia during war time naively thinking that it’s safe for them to be there. As has been happening in that part of the world she and her companion are taken hostage.
In the beginning the story is fairly tame. They are treated well. But the problem is that the captors thought the two were press from a large organization and that they would be able to get a few million for them. But these two were just trying to get into big-time journalism. They had no money, they didn’t have family with money, they didn’t belong to an organization with money. When their captors don’t get what they expect, the story gets pretty horrible. She is repeatedly beaten and raped; day after day. Their captivity drags on because their families can’t come up with enough money to have them released.
The lessons here are feeling overwhelming to me right now. Who Amanda is able to BE is amazing to me. I don’t think I could ever exhibit the compassion and forgiveness that she is able to.
Seeing that the system is at fault and not the people:
I have written about how bad behavior is actually the fault of the system, and is not the fault of the person. I believe that and yet I know I would not be able to get past blaming and hating the people who would do anything like this to me.
Before things get bad Amanda has gotten to know her captors. There are a few head-men but their primary guards are a group of young men. One is trying to make a little money so that he can get married. One is a militant and talks about jihad, but mainly they are young men interested in learning more English and getting paid.
As Amanda’s situation gets really horrible and the young men begin to abuse her she works to remember who they are. She recognizes that they have gotten stuck in a situation that has cornered them. She believes that they are so angry and feel trapped that they have turned on her and see her as the cause. This is normal behavior in systems, when the system is failing we instantly blame a person. Amanda learns some things about the history of one of the worst of the boys and realizes that he is acting out from his own hard life. She actually tries to focus on the fact that these young men are not actually the monsters that they are acting like. It’s hard for me to believe this story. There isn’t a part of me that thinks I could do the same thing. Even though I have written about this very belief. I guess it’s something I believe intellectually but not emotionally.
I am being totally challenged by this story. A belief I profess to hold, and yet after reading this I am noticing how unforgiving I am right now to my brother who recently was cruel to our parents. I am noticing example after example where I am not living in the way I have ‘sermonized’ about. Amanda Lindhout has been able to BE the person I would like to be.
I hope to god that I am never in any situation anywhere close to what she experienced. I am quite sure that I would be unable to measure up. I am sitting with my heart torn open at the majesty of who she was able to BE. What a story to hold up before myself as a guidepost to what is possible. To who we as humans CAN BE. I hope I never forget to stop myself when I jump to judgment and condemnation. The gap is pretty big but I know that by reading this story I will be motivated to do a much better job. I will at least be able to catch myself not acting in ways that align with my beliefs and perhaps be able to hold a new perspective.
I am feeling so much gratitude that I ended up with this book and wasn’t aware enough of what it was about to decide not to read it. Sometimes we need to be hit between the eyes with something so grand and so challenging.
Thank you Amanda for being willing to share this story. And, yes, I do recommend that you read the book.