Excerpt:

I am Malala
by Malala Yousafzai
(p.59)

There were three types of attacks, and we learned to distinguish them. Bombing was done only
by the Taliban, sometimes by remote control, but other times by suicide bombers. Shelling from
helicopters and cannons fired from mountaintops was the army. The third type, machine guns, was used
by both.
I used to get afraid at night, especially during bomb blasts. From my spot on the floor in my
parents room, I recited a special verse from the Holy Quran, eh
Ayat al-Kursi.
Say it three times and
your home will be safe from devils and day kind of danger. Say it five times and your neighborhood is
safe. Say it seven times and your whole town is safe. I said it seven, eight, nine times so many times i
lost track. Then I spoke to God.
Bless us and protect us,
Id say.
Bless our father and family.
Then
Id correct myself.
No, bless our street. No, our neighborhood. Bless all of Swat.
Then Id say,
No,
bless all of Pakistan. No, not just Pakistan. Bless the world.
I tried to plug my ears and picture my prayers floating up to God. Somehow, each morning, we
awoke safe and sound. I didnt know the fate of all the other people Id prayed for, but I wished for
peace for everyone.