No Place of Refuge Read online

  This was a difficult book to write. I couldn’t have written it without their support, and without their willingness to speak about deeply painful issues. To the people of Syria, may the lost and beloved country be restored, and may there be an accounting one day.

  To Rawan and AbdelKader, for your immense bravery and generosity in speaking to me about your family’s journey to Canada, my deepest gratitude. Your thoughts are the heart of this book, and I pray for your family’s safety.

  To Brenda H – how can I begin to express my admiration of the work that you and your group of women do? I’m so grateful for the time you spared me, and so moved by the compassion and commitment of your example.

  To my wonderful new friends, Rim-Sarah Alouane and Emilie Gascon-Léger, thank you so much for help with the French language and French names, and for your encouragement with the writing of this book. To Dr Terri Sands, thank you for your very kind help with Greek customs and the Greek language, and for answering my questions. Thank you to my dear friend Farah Bukhari for facilitating this discussion for me. Thank you to the brilliant Negin Sobhani for educating me about the work of volunteers on the islands, and for your own commitment.

  To my very old friend Yara Masri, who knows the pain of impassable borders far better than I do; thank you for your help with Syrian names and with the Arabic language.

  Thank you to one of the most amazing women I know, Dr Nozhat Choudry, for arranging such an important interview for me, and for your endless compassion. Thank you to my beloved Summer for sitting in on the discussion and taking it to heart.

  Thank you to my dear friends Uzma Jalaluddin and Sajidah Kutty, for talking over the many agonies of this book with me, and for helping me steer Esa in the right direction. You truly are my sisterhood of the pen.

  Thank you to my lion-hearted husband, Nader, for those long discussions about Syria, for all that you contributed to this book – and for everything you do, always. Your courage helps me find a little of my own.

  Thank you to my incomparable family and friends for your continual encouragement and support. I don’t know what I’d do without you. And thank you to a truly amazing and selfless community of writers and readers with whom I’ve found a home. I wish I could name you all, but I do most sincerely thank you.

  To the many wonderful people at Minotaur Books and the Nelson Literary Agency, thank you for everything you do to support my books and bring them into the world. To Hector and Kristin, especially, thank you so much for being there. And thank you so much to Catherine Richards and Nettie Finn for joining me on this journey.

  To all my friends at No Exit Press/Oldcastle Books who have taken Esa and Rachel to their hearts – Geoff, Ion, Katherine, Claire, and especially the brilliant and lovely Clare Quinlivan – thank you for everything you do for me and these books, and for your hospitality. Thank you also to all the wonderful booksellers, bloggers, readers, and writers in the UK for an exceptional book tour, especially to Sue and Katherine.

  To the beautiful and boundlessly talented Danielle, for the many ways you helped me write this book, for your unceasing patience with a year of difficult questions, and for how often you reassured me when I couldn’t find my way – my gratitude is endless.

  And finally, to Elizabeth, to whom I owe more than I’m able to express. Thank you for being such a gifted and luminous editor, and for being the kindest, wisest partner I could have asked for on this journey. Thank you for valuing Esa’s voice and mine.

  Read the other Esa Khattak and Rachel Getty mysteries

  The Unquiet Dead

  The Language of Secrets

  Among the Ruins

  A Death in Sarajevo (novella)

  About the author

  © Athif Khan

  Ausma Zehanat Khan holds a Ph.D. in International Human Rights Law with a specialisation in military intervention and war crimes in the Balkans. She has practised immigration law and taught human rights law at Northwestern University and York University. Formerly, she served as Editor in Chief of Muslim Girl magazine, the first magazine to reflect the lives of young Muslim women. Her debut novel, The Unquiet Dead, won the Barry Award, the Arthur Ellis Award and the Romantic Times Reviewers Choice Award for Best First Novel. She is a long-time community activist and writer. A British-born Canadian, Ausma currently lives in Colorado with her husband.

  ausmazehanatkhan.com | @noexitpress | @AusmaZehanat

  Copyright

  This ebook edition published in the UK in 2019

  by No Exit Press,

  an imprint of Oldcastle Books Ltd,

  Harpenden, UK

  noexit.co.uk

  © Ausma Zehanat Khan 2017

  The right of Ausma Zehanat Khan to be identified as the author

  of this work has been asserted in accordance with the

  Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in

  or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by

  any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or

  otherwise) without the written permission of the publishers.

  Any person who does any unauthorised act in relation to this publication

  may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages. A CIP

  catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either

  are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and

  any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses,

  companies, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

  ISBN

  978-0-85730-199-4 (print)

  978-0-85730-200-7 (epub)

  Typesetting and ebook by Avocet Typeset, Somerton, Somerset, TA11 6RT

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