First Grain of Sand — Page 37
CHAPTER FOUR The Artyk Prison A with s I was approaching the prison cell, I was overcome with the realization that I had never valued freedom throughout my entire life. This now gave me an appreci- ation that freedom itself is a significant gift from God Almighty. As I neared the prison cell, I almost felt as if I was being put inside a deep well, which made me very afraid. However, when the door opened, I saw seven to eight other prisoners lying on the bare floor inside, which provided me some comfort that I would not be alone. I learned from my fellow inmates that since this was a border town, it was a practice of Soviet officials to arrest five or six men daily from the border area and release the older prisoners. Seeing this routine, I asked one of the others confined with me-who spoke Russian, Urdu, and Persian-that when the guard comes around for his next check-in, to recommend that I be released like the other prisoners who were being released. He agreed to do so as soon as the officer who put me in the cell returned. That officer showed up two days later, and my cellmate petitioned him in Russian that I should be released just like the other inmates.