Page 282 - James Caan - The Real Deal

The Real Deal

‘I think I’m going to open a school.’
‘Pardon?’
‘I think I’m going to open a school.’
He looked at me as if I was mad.
‘Where?’
‘In Pakistan.’
He was still looking at me as if I was mad.
‘How about that village you took me to? What prospects do kids
in that village have? Why don’t I open a school there?’
‘James, you’re crazy. You’ve been in the country five minutes.
Enjoy your holiday, come back with your wife and kids, but stop
talking like that. You’ve got no idea what’s involved.’
‘I’m serious. I want to build something here. Imagine what a
school in a village like that would mean to the people who live
there. I want to do it for my father, so that kids always grow up
being able to read and write.’
He was still giving me that look.
‘Could you lend me your driver tomorrow and I’ll go back and
see what’s what?’
Finally he accepted that I was serious. ‘You don’t need the
driver. I’ll take you.’
We went back the following day and discussed between us what
was needed, how much land would be required, and whether I
would need permission to build or a licence to run a school. While
I thought it all sounded doable, Muneer was still sceptical.
‘And who will you hire, James? Are you going to come over
every month? Building a school is the easy bit. Forget it.’
But I couldn’t. The thought of naming a school after my father,
of being able to pay for the education of hundreds of children as
a direct consequence of the choices he made, was too powerful a
feeling to set aside. I was excited about it, but I was also really
scared: it wasn’t just going to be for a term – this would be a
lifetime commitment.

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