On ‘Radio Times’: Mohsin Hamid urges Americans to take risks

 Author Mohsin Hamid during an interview  April 21, 2007  in New York. (Frank Franklin II/AP Photo, file)

Author Mohsin Hamid during an interview April 21, 2007 in New York. (Frank Franklin II/AP Photo, file)

Generally, when we hear stories of refugees fleeing their war torn home countries, they’re traveling by sea, land or air. In Mohsin Hami’s new novel, Exit West, refugees escape through a magical passageway. And once they reach safer countries, migrants must learn to deal with the loss of their past and their uncertain future.

Today, Marty Moss-Coane asks Hamid why Americans are frightened of ‘others’.

“It’s a useful fear,” Hamid says. “I live in Pakistan the risk of terrorism in Lahore, where I live, is higher than most American cities — any American city really.”

“The most potent response to terrorism is courage. If we are unwilling to take any risks in our lives, We’ll never leave our house. A life where you take no risks, is not a life worth living.

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For more of the conversation with Hamid, go to Radio Times.

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