the_taliban_shuffle_-_kim_barker
the_taliban_shuffle_-_kim_barker
the_taliban_shuffle_-_kim_barker
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eturned from Pakistan. He hadn’t worked much since <strong>the</strong> kidnapping.<br />
He wasn’t sure what he would do in <strong>the</strong> future. He wanted to be in<br />
Mumbai. We finished dinner. My bro<strong>the</strong>r and I left.<br />
“Really interesting guy,” my bro<strong>the</strong>r said. “I liked him. Pretty<br />
damaged, though.”<br />
Indeed, Sean was damaged. I thought about him, and my own life.<br />
Since moving overseas, I had seen my bro<strong>the</strong>r for only three meals—<br />
two dinners and a breakfast. I had missed a family wedding, countless<br />
holidays. I had skipped out on helping my mo<strong>the</strong>r recover from <strong>the</strong><br />
death of her husband. I had not been around for my fa<strong>the</strong>r’s various<br />
health problems. Back home, I was <strong>the</strong> relative no one recognized. And<br />
here I was, on my rst night of a short visit to my bro<strong>the</strong>r, thinking<br />
about ying back to Asia. What was I sacricing everything for? I loved<br />
my job, but my job clearly did not love me. The messages from <strong>the</strong> new<br />
overall bosses featured ominous phrases such as “your partner in<br />
change” and did not mention foreign coverage. I had never even met<br />
<strong>the</strong> new editor of our newspaper. As <strong>the</strong> cherry on my sundae of doom,<br />
owner Sam Zell had just been interviewed by <strong>the</strong> editor of Portfolio<br />
magazine, in which he again complained about my story on <strong>the</strong> TV<br />
show Afghan Star. He was like my grandmo<strong>the</strong>r with my marital status<br />
—he wouldn’t let it go. It’s possible he thought I lived in Chicago.<br />
“The entire focus is on becoming an international correspondent,” he<br />
complained. “I mean, I know that because our newspaper sent<br />
somebody to Kabul to cover <strong>the</strong> ‘Afghan Idol Show.’ Now, I know Idol<br />
is <strong>the</strong> No. 1 TV program in <strong>the</strong> world, but do my readers really want a<br />
rsthand report on what this broad looked like who won <strong>the</strong> ‘Afghan<br />
Idol Show’? Is that news?”<br />
So I added up everything—my bro<strong>the</strong>r, Sean, Sam Zell, all that death<br />
in Mumbai. If I had learned one thing in Afghanistan and Pakistan, it<br />
was that <strong>the</strong>re would always be ano<strong>the</strong>r major tragedy. If I had learned<br />
ano<strong>the</strong>r, it was that family was important. I had rarely put any family<br />
rst, or put anything or anyone rst except my job. I had lost<br />
relationships over work, friendships over work. It was time to let go.<br />
“So you have to leave, right?” my bro<strong>the</strong>r asked. He knew <strong>the</strong> drill.<br />
“I’m not going anywhere,” I said.<br />
I called my boss.