Shooting Kabul

Fadi updates Noor on his photography project. She is understanding and gently tells him that it will be okay even if he does not win. He returns to school to get the film he left in his locker but runs into Ike and Felix. They chase him into the parking lot and beat him up, calling him a “little terrorist.” They grab his bag, and to Fadi’s dismay, his camera flies out and smashes on the ground. With six days left until the competition, the loss of Fadi’s camera stings more than his bruises. The janitor arrives and the bullies flee. He asks for Fadi’s ID and tells him that he will report the fight to Principal Hornstein.

Fadi’s family finds him hiding in the bathroom. He is bruised and bloodied from the fight but is more distraught about his broken camera. He lies to his father that he does not know who the bullies are; he does not want to risk further alienation at school for being labeled a tattletale.

Fadi accompanies his father to a local restaurant, Khyber Pass, where they learn that the United States and Britain have launched missiles at Afghanistan in “Operation Enduring Freedom” to destroy terrorist camps and capture al-Qaeda leaders (1778).