Downloading Corruption

“As I’m whistling for Amir and Zain to come down, my eyes find the sky The black and grey is a fitting backdrop to the muffled sounds of distant gunfire and mortars. It’s 9 AM but it feels like dusk. The clouds on the horizon look like the result of all the shooting and bombing, the heaviness in the air a result of the blood and death. My mind keeps drawing these parallels between what I see and the war. Everything is affected by the war, even the sky, the air, the sun. Something thrusts the ball out of my hand and I stagger. ‘Too slow!’ teases Malik as he dribbles the punched ball away. A cheeky smile on his face, which reaches mine as I chase after the ball… “

A gripping and bold journey spanning four continents and more than 25 years. From the dusty playgrounds of Beirut at the height of the Lebanese civil war to the magical streets of Paris. From chic corporate offices in Chicago to the inside of a Lebanese prison. From the lawless, mining fields of the Democratic Republic of Congo to a make-shift mobile theatre and hopeful communes in Liberia, West Africa. This memoir is about growing up in violence, yearning for peace, finding it only in friends and in sport. Discovering family, friends and sinister enemies, this story is about love and revenge, hope and heartbreak, risk and betrayal. But at its heart is the story of a man who is unafraid to take names. Names of people who are insulated in their fortresses and mansions, weaving lies and polarizing people, birthing wars, famine and violence.