Internment by Samira Ahmed

                The story in this book is both terrifying and horrifying.  It is a book everyone should read.  I say this because every single day it is possible for these events to happen, with any group of people.  All anyone has to do is decide who the enemy should be.  Then, with enough power, the rest falls into place.  It is up to us to make sure that doesn’t happen.

                Persecuted for her religious beliefs.  Taken from her home in the middle of the night to live behind electrified fences with others of “her kind”.  This is what happens to Layla Amin.  From what I’ve written, one would think this is a historical novel, as these actions sound very familiar.  It is not.  This novel is set today, in California, the United States.  Only this time, the ones being taken away are Muslim.   

                Layla is a teenager, who, like many other teenagers, was caught kissing her boyfriend.  The difference is, her act drove Layla’s parents to remove her from school.  That’s because Layla got in trouble for kissing her boyfriend, David.  Layla is Muslim and David is Jewish, and there is a new law stating Muslims can only have relationships with other Muslims.  It is one of the numerous laws put in place against Muslims, who have all been declared an enemy of the country.  Every day, more and more freedoms and rights are being taken away from them, all while others stand by and either do nothing or participate in the enforcement.

                The Amins did not have to pull their daughter out of school over the kissing incident.  They did it to keep Layla safe.  Layla understand this, but it is not easy to accept.  Stuck in the house on her own, Layla wants her freedom.  This is why on the night of a book burning, Layla sneaks out of the house to meet David.  It is a risk not only because she is disobeying her parents, but also because she will be out past curfew.  Not a curfew set by her parents, mind you.  It is a curfew issued by the government for Muslims.

                Thanks to David, Layla manages to get home safely.  Still, that night changes her life forever.  The police come for Layla and her parents.  Allowed to bring very little with them, the Amins are forced to live in a place Layla could have never imagined.

                Layla and her parents move to an internment camp, a place where Layla runs into problems before she even arrives.  On the train to the camp, one of the guards tries to keep Layla from using the bathroom.  He says the order was for them to sit in their seats, and that was what they were expected to do no matter what.  Fortunately, Corporal Jake Reynolds is there to set the guard straight.  They have to let people use the bathroom.  Still, despite Jake coming to her aid, this is just the start of Layla’s problems.

                The camp Layla and her family are sent to is not far from a World War II Japanese internment camp.  There are cameras and drones all over, including the common rooms of the residential trailers.  Showers are limited to five minutes and food is rationed.  People can disappear at any time over any infraction.  Even children are at risk of being harmed by the guards.

                While the adults put their heads down and do what is asked in order to survive, Layla is determined to get out.  She joins up with friends she has made, Ayesha and Soheil, to create a food strike on the day the Red Cross is visiting.  She also manages to reach David with the help of Jake. 

Through Jake, Layla slips David articles she has written about the camp.  David then publishes the articles, which draws the attention of the media and protestors to what is going on.

                The articles also attract the attention of the Director.  The man who runs the camp, the Director senses something is going on with Layla and begins to target her.  He tries to convince Layla to do things in exchange for extra privileges.  Then, when that doesn’t work, he physically harms her.  It does not matter to him that she is a minor. 

Over and over the Director and Layla have altercations.  She tries to keep in mind Jake’s word that there is something in the works that will help everyone, but that is hard to trust.  Even if it is true, after what the Director tries to do to her, Layla does not know if she will make it out of the camp alive. 

                Everything the people at the camp have to go through is horrendous.  Yet, the even more horrifying thought is that in real life people have gone through much worse.  And it could all happen again. 

The thing is, the problems weren’t only between the internees and those running the camp.  People held in the camp would turn on each other, too, often reporting on the exact same people they were supposed to be united with. 

It is a sight we see all the time.  Friends and families divided and turned enemies because of someone else’s hate and phobia.  Rifts created that can never be repaired.  Friends from childhood no longer speaking because someone has declared the other to be “bad.”  It is a reality all too easy to have happen.  Which is why we must use our power to prevent it.  Before it is too late to turn back.