Home lifestyle & culture THE CONTRACTOR: HOW I LANDED IN A PAKISTANI PRISON AND IGNITED A...

THE CONTRACTOR: HOW I LANDED IN A PAKISTANI PRISON AND IGNITED A DIPLOMATIC CRISIS

The Contractor maps one of the biggest controversies in Pakistan narrated by the man behind it all - Raymond Davis

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The Contractor maps one of the biggest controversies in Pakistan narrated by the man behind it all – Raymond Davis. The book is described as “an up-close and personal look at the 2011 incident in Lahore, Pakistan, that led to his [Davis’s] imprisonment and the events that took place as diplomats on both sides of the bargaining table scrambled to get him out”.

Raymond- Davis

Raymond Davis, an American Contractor and ex-CIA employee, ended up in the middle of a diplomatic crisis when he shot down two men that attempted to rob him in a crowded street in Lahore, Pakistan. To make matters worse, his colleagues that tried to come rescue him from a mob, in turn ended up killing another innocent biker on the street as they tried rushing towards the scene. Raymond ended up in a Pakistani prison with diplomats on both sides negotiating to get him out.

The novel is an interesting read as it touches on a variety of topics such as US-Pakistan relations, the Pakistani judicial system, the CIA and its involvement in the world together with a personal story. All this and more keeps the reader engaged.

Raymond Davis provides insight into his life and where he is coming from to familiarise the reader with him as a person. It comes off as if Raymond is reminding the reader that despite the death of three men, there was another life at stake all along: His! Given that theme in place, he continues to humanise himself and brings in antidotes of his personal life and how he grew up.

The Contractor

Raymond begins his story talking about the series of unfortunate decisions that led up to the actual incident. He explains how choices made initially like taking the white sedan instead of the SUV led to him eventually being the target of an armed robbery at a busy road in Lahore and attempts to clarify multiple times that given the right decisions initially would not have resulted in the death of three men. He then goes back in time to his difficult childhood and how growing up led him to become a contractor. Raymond constantly reminds the reader of his training and past experiences that he claims trained him to be a strong willed man.

“The story includes a parallel view of what was going on back home. The narrative from Raymond’s wife Rebecca speaks of problems she had to face while Raymond was away”

It also reminds us that the family left behind had to go through its own set of pain and uncertainty as they waited for Raymond to come home.

On a side note I felt that Raymond was culturally inappropriate and came off as slightly racist. In one instance, Raymond talks about two policemen having a conversation in Urdu as “blah blah blah jibber jabber”. His tone tends to be self-righteous as well where he tries to portray himself as a victim of circumstance and not taking any responsibility of the deaths of three men.

Overall the novel is an interesting read but does come off as slightly biased with a racial undertone. For those of us that followed the news back in 2011, the novel gives us the other side of the story. Understandably, given the controversial nature of the book, there are a few holes in the story, which look like they have been omitted on purpose. One such instance is the fact that the novel ends with the reader still questioning Raymond’s job in Pakistan and what exactly he was doing here.

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REVIEW: MOHAMMAD ALY KHAN


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