191 4 Walls and bridges My Brother at the Canadian Border by Sholeh Wolpé for Omid On their way to Canada in a red Mazda, my brother and his friend, PhDs and little sense, stopped at the border and the guard leaned forward, asked: Where you boys heading? My brother, Welcome to Canada poster in his eyes replied: Mexico. The guard blinked, stepped back then forward, said: Sir, this is the Canadian border. My brother turned to his friend, grabbed the map from his hands, slammed it on his shaved head. You stupid idiot, he yelled, you’ve been holding the map upside down. In the interrogation room full of metal desks and chairs with wheels that squeaked and fluorescent light humming, bombarded with questions, and finally: Race? Stymied, my brother confessed: I really don’t know, my parents never said, and the woman behind the desk widened her blue eyes to take in my brother’s olive skin, hazel eyes, the blonde fur that covered his arms and legs. Disappearing Before reading Based on personal experiences or films and conversation, what does crossing a border from one country to another involve? Freewrite for a couple of minutes. further reading a PhD – doktorsgráða an interrogation – yfirheyrsla fluorescent light – flúrljós stymied – hindraður
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