There is a popular saying that “truth is stranger than fiction”. In the case of Shant Kenderian, the saying certainly applies. In his nonfiction book (once the best-selling book on BookSurge before it was picked up by publisher Atria Books, a division of Simon & Schuster), Kenderian tells his own story of being recruited to fight a war against his own country.
Born in Iraq as an Armenian Christian (already an outsider in a country populated by Muslims), when his parents divorced, Kenderian went to live with his mother and siblings in Chicago. Like many children of divorced parents, he felt torn between his parents, and after two years of living in the United States, he decided to go to Iraq for a brief visit in 1980. His goal was to see his father and reconcile their bitter relationship ( due to her parents’ divorce) before returning (after her two-week visit) to the United States to complete her education. Days before his return to the US, Saddam Hussein closed all Iraqi borders and ordered all men of draft age (17-55) to serve to fight for Iraq in the Iran War. -Iraq. Under threat of execution for refusing to serve, Kenderian served his time in the Iraqi Army and returned to Baghdad, where he continued his engineering studies while awaiting the issuance of his green card from the US Embassy that would allow him to return home. .
Two days before he was scheduled to leave Iraq, Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait, thus pushing Kenderian into another war (Desert Storm) before he could leave. Thus begins the saga that is narrated in 1001 Nights in Iraq. As an Iraqi-born American resident, Shant Kenderian found himself in the unenviable position of being forced to fight the country he loved and called his own: the United States.
Kenderian recounts in depressing detail his time as an engineer aboard an Iraqi Navy ship off the coast of Kuwait. Forced to repair the ship with just a wrench and screwdriver, Kenderian tells of the depravity faced by most soldiers on the Iraqi side of the conflict. Of his crew, only 2 Iraqis out of 15 had firearms of any kind; Kenderian himself had none. Food was in short supply, as were all other supplies. Every day was a nightmare with Iraqi soldiers expecting death at any moment from the Americans.
Clearly, Kenderian had to do something to change his destiny, so he devised a plan: surrender to the Americans at the first opportunity. Thus, Kenderian hoped to make the case for him as a US resident forced to participate in a war he didn’t choose on a side he wouldn’t have chosen. Kenderian was eventually captured by the Americans, but not before his ship hit a mine, killing several of his Iraqi crewmates. However, even his capture by US forces meant extreme hardship. As a prisoner of war (POW), over and over again, he was interrogated, forced to live in difficult conditions and make his desperate case, to return to his family in the United States.
Despite this incredible story, Kenderian never lost his sense of humor, his humanity for others (Iraqis or not), or his faith in God that he would eventually be returned to the country he considered home. Only a man of true courage and compassion could have survived this ordeal to tell this story of resilience and hope. Through his book, Kenderian has opened the door to a world few Americans understand or have experienced. His story has appeared on public radio. this american life, and it truly is unique.
