(NPR) In a small apartment outside Minneapolis, I’m watching two brown-haired brothers, ages 7 and 9, on a couch playing chess. They’re speaking Arabic sprinkled with English. They stare intently at the board, their little brows furrowed.
After a stretch of silence, the older boy moves one of his pieces. “Check,” he announces with confidence.
“Smart move,” says their grandfather, sitting nearby.
I’m impressed by their skills and focus. “How did you learn to play?” I ask. The grandfather puts my question to them in Arabic. The older boy responds: al-sijn. I wait for a translation.
“He learned it in the jail, he said,” the grandfather tells me. His wife, their grandmother, nods. “In the jail,” she says.
