Thursday April 30, 2009

Dear Rachel,

My friend Farooq is going home to Pakistan next week. He is planning on coming back to Boston next fall, but no one really feels sure that it will happen. He is getting married this summer in Pakistan and working at the central bank; those are two big reasons to stay there. And of course, it's never a sure thing that there won't be any visa complications.

But at this point, I'm getting worried that I won't ever see him again because his country will be over-run by militants. I know Farooq would go down swinging, but that's not much consolation. Farooq isn't much of a shaver, and he doesn't eat drink or eat pork, but he wouldn't really be into living under Shariah either. He cares about his country a lot and he really doesn't want the Taliban to take over.

I hope he's ok over there. His friends in the US will be thinking about him all summer. Rachel, if you want to say a little prayer for him and his family, I think he'd appreciate it.

Sincerely,

Nick Punto