Free Enlightenment by Maureen Freely Page B

however, always as ominous as they look. It is understood, even by relatively unsophisticated readers, that the newspapers tell lies: the only way to see through those lies is to divine their authors’ ‘true intentions’.
    One or two columnists mentioned my father’s name, and his place of residence, and this, I think, is what paved the way for the death threats. My father took the first two calls, but because the voices were unfamiliar and the Turkish garbled, he assumed them to be wrong numbers. I took the third call, and I understood every word. But the first time something of this order happens to you, it’s hard to know what to do.
    How do you hide from someone you can’t see? Who can protect you? As we sat around the supper table, these questions were as abstract as they were unanswerable. As my mother said, it was all too preposterous to believe. But in the same breath she said, ‘You know, I was expecting something like this.’ She did not accuse me directly but she didn’t need to. I knew I had been reckless. But it had never occurred to me that I’d be putting anyone at risk but myself. I was sick with horror at my stupidity.
    I was due to leave for London the following morning, and now I felt I couldn’t do so unless I took my parents with me. This they refusedto do. ‘Our lives are here.’ When I offered to put off my departure, they gave each other furtive looks that I had no trouble reading. It was my presence that was putting them in danger. ‘I’m sure it will blow over,’ my mother said. ‘So long as you keep quiet. And why shouldn’t you? You can rest with an easy conscience. You’ve done your bit, after all.’ It was late in the evening by then, but I knew I could not leave it like this, so I rang Suna, who came right over. She made light of the death threats – ‘Welcome to the club!’ she told my father, smiling broadly. ‘I don’t mind telling you, the company is excellent! I myself received no less than four such phone calls, only yesterday! As for a certain colleague of yours…’ She mentioned a name, and then another. They all laughed, as if it were all a harmless sport. But as she headed for the balcony to smoke a cigarette, she pulled me out with her. ‘I didn’t fool you , I hope,’ she said. I shook my head. As she watched her smoke rise into the chilly night, she said, ‘I take it your parents are refusing to go with you to London?’ I told her she had guessed correctly and she said, ‘This is a shame. But leave it with me, darling. I shall keep them safe. In Turkey, as you know, we never forget our teachers.’
    ‘In the meantime, should my parents call the authorities?’ I asked.
    ‘Ah!’ she cried in horrified disdain. ‘Which authorities did you happen to have in mind?’
    ‘The police?’
    ‘The police. Hah. That is very precious.’
    ‘Or perhaps the US Consulate. They must keep track of such things. They might have some good advice.’
    ‘Yes, and they might also have something to say to you about your article last Sunday. Do you think they were pleased? No,’ she said. ‘Leave it to me. Leave it to us. We love your parents, probably more than you do. We’ll take good care of them.’ She paused, and then she added, ‘We’re grateful to you, too, you know! In spite of certain slurs…but we discussed all this during our long and delicious argument yesterday, so there is no need to fret further. So all I need to add is something by way of a warning. It is clear, from these responses, that you have managed a direct hit. You may just have been guessing, but you were closer to the truth than we could have known. This is good! But be careful. You are sure to be approached. If not on the journeyhome, then soon afterwards. Watch what you say. Watch your back too. Keep in touch, but be careful, too, about how you say it. Assume there are others listening to our phone calls, and others reading our emails. Anything you say to me, you are saying to