Youssef and His Three Sons

By Roger Neetz

The novel is an imaginative tale of the main characters interest to identify himself in answer to a question about his true purpose in life.The challenge is answered in a diary kept by the soul of his predecessor.

• Language: English
• Publisher: iUniverse
• Release date: Apr 28, 2016
• ISBN: 9781491795118

Roger Neetz

Roger Neetz is a gaduate of Georgetown University, School of Foreign Service and spent his professional years in government service with the CIA, Department of Defense and USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service. In his retirement years he has used his broad experience to write short stories and novels. Five books have been published, Youssef and his Three Sons carries the message of his previous works.

Book preview

Copyright © 2016 Roger Neetz.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, names, incidents, organizations, and dialogue in this novel are either the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

iUniverse

1663 Liberty Drive

Bloomington, IN 47403

www.iuniverse.com

1-800-Authors (1-800-288-4677)

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

ISBN: 978-1-4917-9510-1 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4917-9511-8 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2016906269

iUniverse rev. date: 04/25/2016

CONTENTS

Preface

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Part II

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Chapter 27

Chapter 28

Part III

Preface

There surely have been moments in our lives when we question our being and ask ourselves who am I and why do I exist. The idea for the story I have written comes from a subjective conversation with a friend that ends with a hard line response about my background and identity. Am I the person I claim to be or am I living in someone else’s shoes. I have not found an answer to that question, but my imagination has allowed me to search the netherworld for evidence of my preexistence. And in that search I found the diary of one who bore my name and lived in another country. The message he left behind gave me pause about the life he lived and the women he loved. Each bearing a son who never knew his father. The man who represents me in an earlier life relates the trials he faced during his time on earth and told me I will face the same unless I can change the attitude of others. It is a message to be patient and a challenge to find truth. Are we a person who has already lived a life or do we deny who we are and fail to see the handwriting on the wall? What we are experiencing today is not the perfect way. There is a better way to live, and to find that way may be the reason we exist, and return to an even better life.

Chapter 1

It was a Friday night, I remember, after a long week of international bickering in the press and among political opponents about Israel’s opposition to the proposed treaty with Iran on nuclear issues and US sanctions. My friend and I were sitting in our club discussing the pros and cons of others but taking strong positions at times to show our personal feelings. He sided with Netanyahu and I held a different position favoring the long-term advantages the agreement offered.

Our friendship was tested that night when after a long discourse that offered no agreement, my friend gave me a hard look, more like a glare and said. We are friends but can’t agree. To understand Netanyahu’s position you must be a Jew. We are talking about survival of a race of people, a problem only the oppressed seem to understand, then rose from his seat and left the room. It was a cutting remark and I felt limp. Personal and racial bias never entered into our friendship, but that night I felt the sting and had a difficult time falling asleep. I kept thinking about a question I often asked myself, who am I and why do I exist? It is a question that disturbs me when speaking with others whose racial and cultural backgrounds are different than my own. How can we agree if we can’t feel each other’s pain?

The next morning the issue was still burning inside of me when I heard the doorbell ring and in answering it saw a special delivery packet that was left on the porch. The packet was from Algeria and in opening it there was a note inside from the French Embassy in Algeria stating, We are responding to your request for the Embassy to check background records and old files related to family history records you hoped were available to resolve the questions raised in your letter. We have found records of a young man with your family name who was given a grant to attend a medical school in Paris but never returned to Algeria. He is listed as a native Algerian and not as a citizen of France and that might explain why your search is so difficult.

The information provided puzzled me, but my curiosity was aroused and I wondered if the significant gaps in my family tree could be attributed to the mystics of re incarnation. I accept the doubts of humanists and clerics about such possibility but to find answers to my questions some experimentation must be used, and I found the theory of imagination gave me the evidence to tell the tale of the life of Youssef and his three sons.

My story begins in the early and mid-19th century in the turbulent world of North Africa then controlled by the Sultans of Turkey whose power rested in money and military control to assure domination over weaker nationals… Taxes and white slavery were substitutes for the rule of law.

From the records made available to me through the mystery of imagination and belief I learned of the birth of a young lad named Youssef Begin, son of a Sephardic Jew whose great grandfather was exiled from Spain during the Spanish Inquisition in 1650 and settled in Algeria.

The exiled family soon found favor from the Bey of Algeria, who sarcastically sent a note to Ferdinand for sending him some of his best subjects to my domain. It was during this time the plague was spreading throughout North Africa and the family Begin skilled as physicians protected the Bey and his relatives from this epidemic. The Bey rewarded the family a protected residence with slaves to perform household duties. It was a gift the Jewish family accepted with rectitude and modesty and in subsequent years changed the lives of the slaves to free household servants

The Begin family prospered under the successive authoritative Turkish rule and the Jewish community also benefited from the immunities granted to it. Now after more than 200 years of peace and prosperity, Algeria began to experience the impact of political changes which emerged in Europe in the 19th century. The new changes were attributed to the French revolution and subsequent conquests by Napoleon Bonaparte that finally ended with the peace agreement in Vienna. Now France and other European countries began to look beyond their immediate frontiers and especially to the African continent as new sources of wealth. Algeria, an exporter of wheat to France, was viewed by French mercenaries as a potential goldmine and it was a rift between the then ruling Bey and French officials over the required payment for the wheat that moved France to exert its power and influence over Algeria. It was during this period of strife when Youssef was born, and the emerging trials and struggles in North Africa were in the beginning stage of a political change that affected the Begin family.

In his diary which he left behind for me to read, Youssef describes his birth as an incident only a few would recall, but many more remembered the tragedy the family experienced five years later when his mother died of small pox that had spread throughout Africa at that time. While his father maintained the family tradition as a physician and was able to save others he could not save his own. Youssef remembers the long days and nights that his father spent nursing and caring for his wife and had little time for him. It was a lesson he would remember and would re-experience later in his life. When the end was near Youssef’s father brought him to his mother’s bedside and both sat together looking at her closed eyes waiting for a miracle to happen. The murmured prayers of his father did not save a life, but Youssef saw in that fading light the beauty of a smile that lit up the darkened room. It was a message from a mother to her son that softened the tears of his father as life departed from her body. It was from that day forward the life of Youssef changed from loving care of a mother to a dedicated care for others.

In the next entry in his diary Youssef describes the face of a woman who had a lighter skin than his mother, rich long black hair and sparkling eyes. I was attracted to her immediately, Youssef wrote. She told him, My name is Maria. I have come from France. Your father has charged me to take care of you. I will be your godmother and love you as your own mother did. We will grow together. It was a new world for Youssef. Now each day was different from the previous one. She spoke only in French and soon Youssef was comfortable listening to her as she read from books brought from France. And he was even more comfortable on the days she bathed him. The soft hands and gentle strokes left him limp until the heavy towels and gentle taps aroused him. First she helped him dress but as the years passed he became more independent. The books she first read to him were his to read now and he began to ask questions about places, events and customs.

Why do nations wage war against each other and why do Christians hate Jews. If I lived in France could I go to the Catholic Schools or would I be schooled at home just as we are doing now, he asked. For the first time since their initial meeting, Maria saw in the face of this growing young boy a serious questioning look that gave her a thoughtful pause before answering.

Youssef you are asking questions about life which I cannot answer, she replied.

Why not, he asked, first frowning at her response and then smiling. You are my godmother and I trust you to tell me what I should know about myself and others. When I am alone and think about life and my place in the world, I am sometimes frightened. And when I am with my father I become so engrossed in the information about medicine and curing people I can think of nothing else. Papa is very patient with me and answers all the questions I ask and then tells me to read and read again the books I have chosen for you.

This time Maria smiled. "Yes, Youssef I know from talking with your father that you are curious to learn all you can about medicine, and your father is quite pleased with your interest to continue the family practice and to offer service to the needs of the humble and the proud. Medicine is a noble field, Youssef, but what