He was wondering what they did for punishment here. There had to be punishment! What would they do if a student disobeyed? What would they do if a student couldn't do the work? He had the scars to show what his father had done for punishment, and somehow he felt that it would be much worse here. If a student failed at the work, they would probably be killed because they knew too much! Amad wondered if the other boys were smart enough to have these thoughts. He doubted that Abby thought about this!
"Come on, Amad - let's go!"
They were to begin with a class in English. Abby was excited, and Amad was quiet. Abby told Amad not to be afraid, assuming that his silence was due to fear. They walked together into another small cave where their studies were to be held. There was a raised area in the front for the teacher but nothing else. The boys entered and sat on the floor. Once everyone was seated, the books, empty notebooks, and pencils were distributed to the boys. An officer entered the cave and walked up onto the raised platform. "I will be your teacher," he said. "You are to call me Teacher!"
Amad already realized how difficult this would be! How would he pretend to be learning? He knew that he couldn't help Abby, not that he wanted to anyway. His main goal was to seem to learn quickly, and show an appetite to always learn more. He wanted them to pick up on his desire to learn. He would be the star pupil, but he had to be very careful! This was to be a great exercise in learning, even if it wasn't exactly the learning that "Teacher" had in mind.
Abby was writing furiously as nouns, verbs, adverbs, and adjectives were explained. Amad wrote some notes in case anyone happened to look at his notebook, and he thought about the education in general. He would observe carefully as the other boys progressed. He would always show that he knew just a little bit more. His writing was just a little bit neater; his vocabulary was always just a few words more.
Spanish class was more of the same. A different officer stood on the raised platform. He also was to be called "Teacher". Amad figured that they didn't want their identity to be known. No names were used, making it difficult for anyone to be recognized. Even the boys had no name identification. They were taught to make eye contact in order to initiate a conversation. Names were unwanted and unimportant here in the caves! To exist without names in itself was a skill to be learned and used later when they became highly trained Jihadists.
Evenings were for physical endurance, and learning survival skills. They barely had time to say prayers and eat, and it was time to work again. He watched as the other boys suffered through sit-ups and push-ups. They were so easy for him, that he exercised quietly after lights out each night so he could stay in condition. The boys had to run around the exterior of the caves each evening, increasing the speed and the number of laps as the days went on. The obstacle course proved to be difficult for everyone. Amad hated the hurdles, but was excellent at crawling under the netting. He was great at climbing the dunes, and sliding down the ropes. Sometimes he forgot to hold back on the physical endurance skills training. His competitive nature would get the better of him. Usually he would just pace himself running around the caves, but sometimes he would just want to win. The obstacle course was always a challenge, which made it fun for him. As much as he hated the hurdles, the challenge of being the best would force him to excel. He found himself climbing the highest of the beginning dunes and climbing faster at each attempt. The other boys seemed to enjoy sliding down the dunes, but he preferred the challenge of the climb. He enjoyed climbing the ropes as well as sliding down. He would always challenge himself to climb the fastest of the group. He had developed callouses on his hands at home from the hard work, making his stamina greater for climbing or sliding down the ropes.
The boys were busy from the time they were awakened each morning until they were in their mattresses at night. No unnecessary talking was allowed during training, so the only time that Abby and Amad spoke was in whispers after they were in their beds. Abby was always worried that he might fail. He was unsure of himself in the language classes, and his physical prowess was lacking. He let his fears overpower him. The more he feared, the more he failed! The more he studied the languages, the more he seemed to forget. It wasn’t that he didn’t try at athletics, he just didn’t have the natural skills. He wasn’t quick and he wasn’t strong. He didn't want to disappoint his father, who had such high hopes for him. He couldn't talk about it to anyone but Amad at night, but Amad didn't seem to want to listen. He wished that Amad would sincerely encourage him and motivate him to keep going, but instead Amad would write in his journal or be in his own world. Sometimes he would pretend to listen, but Abby knew that Amad didn't care! He wasn't really his friend. This made Abby sad, because he needed a friend, but instead he felt more and more alone.
As the year progressed, Amad took more and more pleasure in his game. To his teachers he seemed to improve in a dramatic way; he was the star student in all subjects. As everyone's skills grew, he let himself show more and more of what he had previously accomplished. All the teachers were impressed, and he was sure that word would be sent to his father. As Amad's confidence grew, Abby became more withdrawn.
One morning after prayers, Abby was pulled away from the group. Amad saw him leaving the cave with one of the teachers. Abby was looking directly at Amad as if he wanted some help or understanding. Maybe it was fear! Amad instinctively knew that he would never see Abby again. Abby would be told that he wasn't cut out for this life, and that he was going to be sent home. Sadly by now Amad had learned what happened to the drop outs. Boys had disappeared one at a time never to be seen again. At first he thought that they were home sick or just didn’t like the camp life. Finally he asked a “Teacher” about it. Although he wasn’t supposed to tell, the “Teacher” knew that Amad was at the top of the class and would never have to disappear. He could be trusted with the information. Abby would be told that he had a choice. He could either go home in shame to his family, or he could take his own life in the name of Allah. If he took his own life, his family would be told that he died an honorable death. If he chose to go home in shame, he would be killed and an excuse would be made to his family. Amad was anxious to see if he was right about Abby. Abby had not been doing well in classes. He wasn't athletic enough, and he had come to rely on Amad. Amad disliked him because he was weak, and he wouldn’t miss him. Abby did not return and he would just be glad that Abby was gone.
As the boys improved in their fighting skills, they were asked to test their survival skills in competitions within their group. Their physical endurance training had been just the beginning. They were expected to use their training in multiple martial arts as well as the use of weapons. They learned how to hide knives in their clothing and then use them suddenly and effectively. They learned to shoot guns - from small hand guns to large automatic rifles. They would be given a scenario using all of these skills, and then they would be divided into teams. These weren't games though, they were using real weapons and sometimes blood was drawn. Occasionally a boy would be killed in these maneuvers. These were boys who had not learned their lessons well, or were weak and panicked.
They also had training in explosives. They learned how to make different kinds of bombs using plastic explosives. They learned how to plant the bombs in vehicles and buildings, and they learned to make suicide vests.
Amad was the star student that he strived to be. He excelled in his language studies, He excelled in sciences and math, and he excelled in munitions training and physical endurance. He was the perfect student at the Jihadist camp. It didn’t take him long to learn the meaning of Jihadist — it was all the things that he was learning and then some. It was the “then some” that he didn’t like. He didn’t plan on being a martyr for any reason, but these skills would further his goals. These were great skills for him to learn, but he didn’t plan to die for Allah. He was almost surprised that his father wanted that for him! Abby hadn’t lasted long enough at the camp to learn what being a Jihadist meant — too bad — but at least Abby’s family would think that he had learned!
The hardest thing for Amad was learning to live without the simple pleasures in life. There were no bathrooms here in the camp. He never got to see anyone other than the other trainees and the “teachers”. He had almost forgotten what real food tasted like - perhaps that was what he missed most.
About one third of the boys had “disappeared” by the end of the year. Those that made it through