Book Review of Daughters of Smoke and Fire By Shereen Murad December 28, 2021
Daughter of Smoke and Fire by Ava Homa. Published on May 12th, 2020 by The Overlook Press in NYC This book is the first novel written in English by a Kurdish female author. It took the author ten year to complete this realistic fiction war story based on real people and events. The author tried to publish a unique book that represents a clear overview about Kurds’ political and social issues. By writing this terrifically fine novel she becomes an informal representative of Kurdish issues world wide, which are run by the world’s political authoritarian power. Homa tried to be a voice for stateless Kurdish people around the world. The Idea of writing such a book was sparked when one of the young Kurdish activists named Farzad Kamanger was punished and ordered to be hanged by an Iranian politician, rather than due process and fair trial by a high court judge. Before he was killed, Kamanger’s powerful letter was published on social media, becoming the first statement of this novel, “ the Daughters of Smoke and Fire” which sparked the authors’ minds over the continents.
Ava Homa studied literature in Canada, she migrated from her homeland of Mahabad because she and others who think like her could not speak of their own mind. She grew up in the western part of Kurdistan, started this novel when she was living in diaspora. Living away from her home land did not make her forget the social and political issues of her people. Kurds are the oldest ethnic group in the middle east. Kurdish people are the largest ethnic group in the world without their own state. The author wants to show that the 60 million people who live in four nation-states: Turkey, Iran, Iraq and Syria, are suffering from unfair government rules and legislation that causes many social problems and crimes against humanity. Homa wants to inform people, who are mostly English speakers, in the world who do not have knowledge of what is happening in that corner of the earth, and what kind of world those groups of people are suffering from genoside and war crimes. People are suffering from poverty and deprivation.
Homa wants to show how her people are suffering heavily due to the political legislation, social norms, and Islamic religious rules. Especially, dominant culture against minority culture. The contents of this book take you for an emotional rollercoaster. Joanna was a middle-age widow woman who was sentenced to five years in prison for killing her rapist. While the offender should have been sentenced, according to “Iran’s government law a man’s life is worth twice as much as a woman’s” (ch3). Her only orphan daughter Shiler also spent the first five year of her life in a prison ward with her mother. Her toys were made with newspaper and bread. Joanna had no close relatives of her own since she was from the city of Kobani in the Eastern part of Kurdistan. She was a beautiful middle-aged widow; her husband was assassinated due to participation in the Kurdish revolutionary movement called Kurdish Freedom Movement Party. Kurdish people in all four parts of Kurdistan are joining that party to defend Kurdish rights. Joanna lived in the basement studio of Alan’s rental house without being charged, this culture still has a reciprocity method of economic living.
Alan was her late husband’s friend, she considered herself as an aunty to his children, but his wife Hana doesn’t like her so she made her move out that made Layla and Chia upset, because they loved Joanna and Shiler. Alan, had a doctoral degree in political science from the university of Tehran, the Capital of Iran. They lived in the city of Mrewan, but he’s from the City of Halabja in the Iraqi part of Kurdistan sharing a border with the Marewan’ city. He was unemployed due to his political activism, and imprisonment for four years. He also was suffering from deprivation of rights, stress and when he suffered severe torcher in prison that left marks on his back and neck. This was very unfamiliar for his children Layla and Chia. Chia was born on March 16, 1988; the day was Halabja, his dad’s hometown, was bombed with chemical weapons. Where his brother was shot and killed the previous year in the street. He always listened to the single revolution radio station that the government of Iran jammed so that it could not clearly be broadcasted. One morning he heard that “ Kurdish leader Sadeq Sharafkandi was assassinated at a restaurant in Berlin- Germany”. that news wasn’t easy for any Kurdish person in general, but for him was a huge disappointment.
Kurds in each part want to know what is happening with their own people in other parts of Kurdistan, for that reason they alway listen to the news on the radio to give them a clue what is happening in the rest of the part of Kurdistan. This situation is one of the inclining stages of revitalization, and deprivation, when individuals reach an external solution to feel better. (Wallace’s theory). On March 16th 1988 his hometown Hallabja was bombed with Chemical weapon by Saddam Hussein, killed 5000 people that made Alan’s psychology even worse, it impacted his wife and children’s having miserable lives, he became alcoholic and unemployed which was a real burden on the family when he was supposed to be the head of household and provide the main role in the family. Layla was born when her father was in prison, was the first child of the family her father did not see her until age three, Alan liked to name her Nishtiman which means homeland, nishtiman was also the name of his lover at high school, who did not finish school but join revolution movement freedom fighters at the Qandil mountains. This mountain is a place for revolutionary land, located on the border of all four countries, Turkey, Iran, Iraq and Syria. Layla always wanted to be a movie director, her imaginable mind that made up a story in her head and retold it to her little brother Chia.
Her dream is to be able to buy a camera to make films, to make changes by showing the problems that she and others around her are going through. She told these stories to her brother Chia to make him feel comfort while he was hungry, cold or in the absence of their busy mother and depressed and alcoholic father. She was ignored by her parents and turned down by her mother, which made her have a strong bond with her brother Chia, Joanna and Shiler. She hated the head covering that was required by school and government law to wear by age of nine. She thought it is not necessary, meanwhile she has an internal fear of god’s severe punishments when her hair shows. she usually thought when something unpleasant came up happened to her, she blamed herself for not obeying god in the proper way. The lack of intimacy with her parents made a life filled with anxiety and stress. Layla’s mother Hanna was working too many hours weekly to catch up on household expenses, however the family still did not have enough food in their refrigerator. Hanna was frustrated most of the time, because of her job and her family and the fact that she needed to take care of her elderly sick mother that lives far from her own house. Iranian government law allows for spying on school children’s parents through school staff. If they do not obey the regime’s political and religious laws. This policy impacted negatively on the culture that made children have double life from the age of kindergarteners, making people live in fear.
Layla gives awareness to Chia, her only little brother, to not mention anything in school about their dad’s alcoholism, otherwise their family will be in trouble. People in dictators regimes did not feel safe even at their own homes. When Chia was five years old he asked ‘Layla, why do they want to kill us?’ Layla responded, “They want our land Chia. If we give them our land, and we live underground, will baba be ok?”. Kurdistan has all kinds of mineral and precious metals, fresh drinking water, and good agricultural soil. This makes it a profitable land for the government to possess. Dislocating its indigenous people and depriving them from their land is the main aim of the policy maker of occupied countries. Unfortunately, Layla was accepted into a private university that she couldn’t afford. Her disappointment that her dream probably would not come true, made her situation worse. Her fear, anxiety and depression had a negative effect on her health both physically and mentally. This law impacted the culture. Personal stress that David Abe rely theory is a perfect example of Layla’s depression and anxiety, staying in bed for a long time, sometimes she was thinking of suicide. However, her strong relationship with his brother Chia and his positive attitude with her encouragement about her dream, gave her a hope to move on.
Chia was telling Layla you can still accomplish your dream without formal education, your desire is valid, you can make positive changes in our society. The three young people Layla, Shiller and Chia always wanted to make changes to what their people are going through. After Chia graduated from high school he wanted to study the Law, but he only got accepted into Political Science college. He was also disappointed yet still needed to continue his education so he isn’t forced to join Iran’s army. It was the worst time since the war between Iran and Iraq was a bloody situation where millions of people were dying. At that time The Kurdish Freedom Movement was a hope for people who are looking to improve the situation, here we can think of the Revitalization Theory of Anthony F.C Wallace. Shiler decided to go to Qandil mountains to be a freedom fighter, her mother wanted to go but ended up not going. The separation between loved ones is not easy, especially the first love between Chia and Shiler that Layla finds out about later on. Layla moved from Mariwan to live with Chia in Tehran- the capital of Iran. Chia and his friends were active in protesting against Islamic regime in Iran, when Ayatollah Khomeini announced that ” Kurds are infidel on earth, have no right to live”. The regime’s secret service followed his commands. Layla told Chia to be careful while he is going to the college with his friend. She was so afraid that Chia would be captured by the government, Layla was begging him to not go out at night.
She would bribe him with his favorite foods and would do her best to keep him indoors. One night Chia said “ I will be back soon, I promise you”. Layla was looking out the window, down to the street with a big sigh that made clouds on the glass window. She had a bad feeling that something would happen to her brother. Chia was followed by the government’s secret service due to his activism publishing articles on social media and teaching people Kurdish language while he was going to the college. That night, he got captured while he was taking a photo of how law enforcement was abusing protestors. He ended up in prison, which made Layla try very hard to get Chia out of prison by hiring the best lawyer. It was all useless, since the decision of his imprisonment was made by a political agent not by court judges. When their lawyer pleaded with the judge, it was revealed that the court of law is helpless when it comes to the aggressive political regime. Chia and a couple of his fellow activists were executed via hanging on his 25th birthday. While he was imprisoned Chia would write articles that were snuck out of the prison by the brave guards that were aware of the regime’s policy. These were published as blogs on newspapers, and social media by Layla and other advocates.
His powerful letter about ‘resistance is life’ gave hope to people to stay strong to make changes. This notes the revitalization theory of Wallace. The regime ordered that Chia’s body be buried at night, in secret and without a formal funeral. He rests in his hometown of Mariwan. Deprivation can be applied here, the negative feeling Chia’s family had by comparing themselves with those who were not Kurdish. Would their situation be the same? That kind of feeling brings depression to them especially the label that Chia is a terrorist just because acted against law of regime. Layla went back to Chia’s apartment in Tehran, she looked through his belongings with a heavy head and broken heart to complete his journey, that was her promise to him. But the secret service called Itlaat were trailing her steps to capture her too. Karo, Chia’s friend was a Persian boy, had citizenship in Canada, helped her get out of Iran by fake marriage papers. Karo saved Layla’s life, keeping her from the same fate Chia suffered. People supporting each other regardless of what ethnicity, or ideology they hold does not serve a dictator’s regime who only wants conflicts, discriminations and division between people.
Layal started her new life in Canada going to University to study advanced literature, which was a unique opportunity for her to accomplish her dream. She persevered through the struggles of an immigrant living in a diaspora in a foreign land. Chia’s writings provoked Layla to continue to tell the story of her people. After a few years she was interviewed on TV, for her film photographed in Jinwar village in Rojava- Syria. Her film was about women’s role of change in society and cultural changes in the Kurdish society. Her parents were patiently watching from their hometown Halabja. Layla thinks changes will start with educating women because they are the root of any family and society, from there democratic nations can be established. She admires the self administration of the rojava model. When importing women to fight against ISIS and can start to build their own entire village. Homa in her fiction story wants to send messages to the dictator’s regime that neither imprisonment nor execution of people will stop the Kurdish people that are looking for their humanitarian basic rights, longing to speak their own language, practice their culture and live safely on their own land.
Through these stories Homa shows that even after death Kurds are not allowed to be buried in daylight nor have proper funerals. Chia’s letters were followed by people and published in anti-regime journals. Homa wants to declare to Kurdish people not to give up. But rather “resistance is life”. This is a slogan for millions of stateless Kurdish people around the world who want freedom for all. The author, Homa, got many interviews to speak about this book that got incredible attention from filmmakers. She gave many interviews in Canada as well as New York. Within the first three month of publication, this book was translated to Kurdish language with a huge opening ceremony to be announced in the city of Sulimani- Southern Kurdistan. This book is available in audio, and hard copy for sale online. “The daughter of smoke and fire”. After I read this book, I contacted the author and thanked her about her most incredible novel that I have ever read. She really did great work on every detail about language, history, social and political issues within decades that happened in all parts of Kurdistan.
I recommend this book to be a primary book for this class, because of its factual content and interesting visual stories that students would like to know what is happening, with detailed social and political issues for more than 60 million stateless Kurdish people worldwide. This book touches on many aspects discussed in our class and this book would be a great book to study. Homa accomplished her goal to raise awareness for her people and still holds author book readings at Yale University. The author mentioned women fighter who fought ISIS in Syria, the strong root of Kurdish culture by having dance and music melody when their fighter has been killed either from the presence of rebellion fighter murdered, Kurds have been in defense and resistance position through out their history, and their deep rooted culture keep them not to be vanished, as Alan said when he was watching Layla’s TV interview “ They killed us a hundred years ago, they killing us now, but we are still alive.” She brings light on Kurdish women in Turkey’s prison who are strongly resisting for their freedom by hunger strikes for their social and political rights in Turkey. My hope is that everyone reads this book as it brings light about the rich culture that Kurds have. Homa’s story is based on a true story of a young man in Iran named Farzad Kamanger, who Homa changed to Chia.