Chapter 9Heathrow, London“Can I ask you where you have come from, sir?”
We were walking through the green channel, when a
uniformed official stepped forward and waved me towards the counter.
“From Frankfurt.”
He motioned towards my case.
“Would you mind confirming this is yours?”
“Yes, it’s mine.”
Leah stood to one side while the officer asked me to
place it on the counter. He peered intently at the tag labels.
“It would seem that it started its journey in
Kurdistan. Did you accompany it, sir?”
“Yes, of course I did. The last leg was from
Frankfurt.”
“I see. Would you open it, please?” Removing the key
from my shoulder bag, I undid the lock and pushed back the lid. The Customs
man began removing items of clothing. He unzipped the wash bag, squeezed the
toothpaste tube, chec
