Contemplation is a luxury, requiring time and alternatives.

I was no longer troubled when he pulled out a machete in a crowded bar, tried to pick up schoolgirls, or threatened to scalp us, then rip off our heads and scoop out our brains.

It is almost impossible to overemphasize the importance with which ancestry is held in the Middle East and North Africa.

Respect was one thing. Survival was another. It was important that I kept my priorities in the right order.

The forest did not tolerate frailty of body or mind. Show your weakness, and it would consume you without hesitation.

Contemplation is a luxury, requiring time and alternatives.

Through bitter experience I have learned that it is best to promise little and then to reward hard work with generosity.