Hollow Fires Quotes

“No matter what the verdict is. No matter how long they would serve. They’re alive. Jawad isn’t. We might get accountability, but it won’t be justice. What’s justice for a murdered kid?”
― Samira Ahmed, Hollow Fires

“Don’t let hate crush your creativity,” she said. “Don’t let them take away your shine.”
― Samira Ahmed, Hollow Fires

“Attempts at progress or inclusion can anger people when they’ve never had to compete on a level playing field.”
― Samira Ahmed, Hollow Fires

“Alternative fact (presidential edition): The children of Muslim American parents are largely responsible for the growing number of terrorist attacks. Truth: The director of the FBI testified before Congress that “a majority of the domestic terrorism cases we’ve investigated are motivated by some version of what you might call white supremacist violence.”
― Samira Ahmed, Hollow Fires

“from the postscript:

The commentators who scream against allowing in refugees, the same talking heads who think the horrifyingly inhumane treatment of migrants at our border with Mexico is justified, buy into a deeply ingrained American myth- that there are always "winners" and "losers." That war is a zero-sum game. That extending a helping hand to a displaced individual somehow means that somewhere, some American is getting less. But that binary is a lie. Here's a truth: Giving aid and comfort to a displaced person doesn't mean we can't also help Americans in need. We can and must do both.

We have choices to make. Important ones. About our future. About who we are as a nation, as a people, and as human beings. One of these choices is to live in a world where we call "alternative facts" what they really, truly are--lies that obfuscate, deceits that give cover to injustice, tools of cynical politicians. I'm asking us to speak tough truths out loud. To know we can do better and be better. I'm asking us to step forward, to face the truth of all we are, lanterns held high, illuminating the dark.”
― Samira Ahmed, Hollow Fires