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"Carrying a gun is not the way to a better life. So, little Hamko, go to school tomorrow and learn how to read and write, even if it's in the language of your enemies." Hamko's enemies are Saddam Hussein and the Ba'ath regime. His moving memoir exposes the brutal violence against the Kurdish people in Iraq. Bullying, cruelty and fear are everywhere. Hamko perseveres even as his people are forced to flee to their beloved mountains, where the refugees endure winter rains, minefields and threats of chemical warfare. There, the survivors bury their dead and turn on each other for a piece of bread. But in the midst of injustice arise unexpected acts of kindness, unmerited mercy and idealized love. In the mountains of Kurdistan, a courageous people sings songs of hope among ashes.