Perspectives

Historical perspectives

There are several ways to put “The Rain Missed My Face and Fell Straight to My Shoes” into perspective. One is to look at the historical perspectives. 

The short story refers to the Iraq War (2003-2011) in which Iraq was invaded by a Western coalition led by the US. Britain joined the coalition in 2002, at the decision of Prime Minister Tony Blair. (Something which Aqil criticizes in the short story). 

The aim of the war was to find weapons of mass destruction and remove Saddam Hussein from power as he was suspected of having ties to al-Qaeda. None of this turned out to be true but Hussein was removed and executed all the same. Attempts to establish democracy in Iraq led to a lengthy civil war between religious groups. Cultur...