The Song of Sparrows

Karim works on an ostrich farm. He has a small house on the outskirts of town and manages to earn a decent living from his job. But then one of the ostriches runs away. Karim is deemed responsible for the loss and is sacked. Worried about how he will now earn his bread, he sets off in search of the bird, but is unable to find it. One day he goes into town to get his daughter’s hearing aid repaired. He gives a man a ride on the back of his motorbike in return for a fee. In view of the relatively good sum this earns him he decides to continue this taxi service on a regular basis. Every day he rides into town, bringing back with him all kinds of rummage – old furniture, car parts and such like. His contact with the city dwellers and the way of life there changes Karim’s personality. Bit by bit his pretty little courtyard is transformed into an ugly, uncomfortable storeroom. At one time, Karim was a friendly and generous man – now he is rapacious and only interested in his junk, and hardly has any time left for his family. He is oblivious to his wife’s problems, but, when he sees her give a poor neighbour a door, he shows no pity but retrieves the door from the neighbour and puts it back with the rest of his old rubbish. Wealth is the only thing that interests him. Then one night when he is sorting out his second-hand goods, he falls off a pile of junk and breaks his foot. Obliged to take to his sickbed, he watches his wife and children struggle to earn a living and sees with his own eyes just how much support they receive from the neighbours during this difficult time. The house begins to change and, so too, gradually, does Karim.