I, Who Did Not Die Quotes

“I learned on the battlefield that compassion is more powerful than mortars and machine guns. I can kill you with a punch, but I can change you and the world with kindness. It’s a message parents must instill in their children, so that we can break the cycle of atrocities and learn from the horrors of the past.”
― Zahed Haftlang, I, Who Did Not Die

“if somebody steals from you, you should forgive them because they might have been in need. If someone speaks behind your back, say nothing because you must be the bigger person. When you fall in love, give all your heart to your beloved and don’t ever doubt.”
― Zahed Haftlang, I, Who Did Not Die

“If I could sum up everything I had learned in my self-study to that point, it was that man has a right to free will, but too often he gives it away; his free will has been corrupted throughout history by indiscriminate power.”
― Zahed Haftlang, I, Who Did Not Die

“My coworkers thought I was odd because I always showed up thrilled to be at work. My body ached for movement after so long in prison, and my pride ached to bring home a paycheck again. This was my second chance, and I worked full-throttle, which pleased the manager but made the crew a little ticked off, like I was making them look bad. But I didn’t need friends. I needed a second chance.”
― Zahed Haftlang, I, Who Did Not Die

“Excuse me,” I said to the shop owner. “Is this a good outfit to pursue a woman?” He discreetly put my choices back on the rack. “If I were a woman, I wouldn’t take a second look at you.”
― Zahed Haftlang, I, Who Did Not Die

“Put good deeds out in the world, Zahed, because good deeds eventually come back to you. Put evil into the world and it will come back to devour you.”
― Zahed Haftlang, I, Who Did Not Die

“The war has taken so much from you, from me, from all of us,” he said. “We are all just getting by, but you don’t have to hurt people to do it. Don’t chase money, Zahed; it will take you over a cliff every time. Poverty is not lack of money; it’s lack of friends and lack of happiness.”
― Zahed Haftlang, I, Who Did Not Die

“In Saddam’s Iraq, you were either a martyr or a war hero. A POW was an embarrassing thing in between: a national disgrace at best, a spy at worst.”
― Zahed Haftlang, I, Who Did Not Die

“Comprenez-vous, monsieur?” Her voice was happy and innocent, like the peep of a songbird, and when she called me “mister,” my eyes filled with tears. I had forgotten what respect felt like, or that I was deserving of it.”
― Zahed Haftlang, I, Who Did Not Die

“We are neighbors, we are two brother nations of Muslims. We have no feud with Iran; it’s America and Israel that started the feud between us,” I said.”
― Zahed Haftlang, I, Who Did Not Die

“Happy are those who have departed through martyrdom. Happy are those who have lost their lives in this convoy of light. Unhappy am I that I still survive and have drunk the poisoned chalice.”
― Zahed Haftlang, I, Who Did Not Die

“You can learn so much if you nod instead of speak.”
― Zahed Haftlang, I, Who Did Not Die

“Don’t be silly. Why would I kill you when I can slowly torture you to death?”
― Zahed Haftlang, I, Who Did Not Die

“We found many ways to pass the time. Some of the prisoners became excellent craftsmen, using spoons or their fingernails to carve date pits into miniature roses and faces and animals, then stringing the beads into rosaries and necklaces, using thread they’d pulled from their blankets. They found rocks in the yard and carved and polished them into tigers and squirrels and soaring birds.”
― Zahed Haftlang, I, Who Did Not Die

“I don’t think we’ll win, Yadollah. There are thirty-plus countries supporting Iraq, and we only have Libya and Korea on our side. We need more tanks, and nobody is selling us equipment or ammunition anymore.” “Hmpf.”
― Zahed Haftlang, I, Who Did Not Die

“I somehow did not get sick. Maybe it was because I spent each day looking for one good thing. Maybe because I secretly exercised during prayers. Or maybe it was because despite the disaster of my life, I found something to laugh about, whether it was my lisp or an old story I told from Bruce Lee Restaurant or someone making kissing noises in the middle of a dream. Because let’s face it, our situation was utterly ridiculous.”
― Zahed Haftlang, I, Who Did Not Die

“You’re an engineer. Can’t you build a ladder or something out of all these spoons?” I asked. “Agricultural. Agricultural engineer.”
― Zahed Haftlang, I, Who Did Not Die

“Mostafa always said that Islam was about peace. But if that’s true, why were two Muslim countries fighting each other? Iranians said “Allahu Akbar” and Iraqis said it too. What was the difference between this Allah and that Allah?”
― Zahed Haftlang, I, Who Did Not Die

“Then the boy slid the Koran back into my pocket. He knelt down and gave me water from his canteen. Then he leaned in close and put his finger to his lips. “Shhhhhh.”
― Zahed Haftlang, I, Who Did Not Die

“This ran contradictory to the religious ideology of Ayatollah Khomeini, who was swept into power during the 1979 Islamic Revolution that ousted the Shah. Backed by a large Shia following, Khomeini vowed to eradicate state nationalism, insisting there should be no division between religion and politics, because the highest unifying entity was Islam. He positioned himself as the leader of a borderless, Islamic empire that would encompass the entire Middle East.”
― Zahed Haftlang, I, Who Did Not Die

“Hussein believed Arab nationalism tied all the different religious sects together—Sunni and Shia, Christian and Muslim, Kurd and Arab. He positioned himself as the undisputed leader of a secular, pan-Arab empire that would replace Iran as the most powerful Persian Gulf state.”
― Zahed Haftlang, I, Who Did Not Die