What question she ask!   "You see,  Fatma, it all depends upon whether the tent is broken or whether it is intact, whether it is whole, if the tent in whole husband and wife can talk together in confidence, for a certain reason they may decide not have a baby, or to wait to have another baby, then they  will agree about the method, usually with the help of a doctor who can also supervise them medically, they will be frank with each other and tell each other how they feel,  even if a pregnancy should come sooner than they had planned, this would be no disaster, since the tent is whole there is also a sheltered place in it for the baby, everyone needs a place, even a baby, but if the tent is broken down, if one of the poles is missing and it rains in, then everything is different."
"I know that only too well, I am terribly afraid of another pregnancy, because then he would force me to have another abortion, it is exactly as you said, if one corner is lacking, the two other don't work, as the bible says,  "There is no one to spread my tent."
"Listen, Fatma, it is no use to go on making complaint over the telephone, if you want things to change, you must bring your husband to me so that I can talk to him."
"Impossible!"
"Try it anyway."
"Should he comes alone, or should we come together?"
"As he prefers."
"He is coming home now, we have to stop good bye, pastor thank you."
When I returned to the table I told Daniel and Esther some thing about Fatma problem in hopes that they would be able to help.
"He treats her like a slave," Esther commented.
"We have to face it,"  Daniel added,    "the matter of absolute male dominance is deeply engrained in Africa culture."
"Esther and Daniel," I said,  "I am ashamed to admit, but Fatma does not live with an African, the man whom she lives with is an European, it is not a question of culture, it is a question of the human heart which the bible calls deceitful."
They said nothing, sensitive to the feeling of other, they were saddened because of my embarrassment.
"Tell me Daniel, if she decides to leave him, and take a job and live alone would this be possible?"
"Not in this city, it is as good as impossible, we still live very much in the garden concept, there is no place for single person."
"Then he has her entirely in his power, her parents slammed the door behind her when she left with him, another man would not married her now because she is no longer a virgin, and living alone impossible, she is right, there is no one to spread her tent."
"In any  case, she has to leave him,"  Daniel said,       "Maybe she could move in with some relatives or friends, but suppose she actually were married to him, do you advise people some time to get divorce?"
"Would a doctor advise a patient to die? he would fight for his patient life as long as there is a spark of hope, in the same way I would fight for a marriage as long as there is the least sign of life in it, but there are Marriages where you simply have to admit, this marriage is dead."
"I can think of marriage where love has died completely,"  Daniel said,   "The physical union has ceased long ago, all the husband and wife have left is the top angle of your triangle, they are married, the rest is gone,  they may still live in the same house, but they go different ways, mostly they live separated lives , still they are not yet divorced,  This goes on for years, to me such a marriage is dead, still Jesus had said, "What God therefore has joined together, let no man put asunder."
"But the Question is,   "Did God join them together in the first place?"
"Would you remarry divorcees then with out hesitation?"
"Not with out hesitation, with much hesitation, but under certain condition I would, in any case, I would remarry only the guilty party."
"I do not follow you."
"If someone claims that he is entirely innocent when his marriage has failed and that the fault is one hundred percent his partner then I know that his second marriage will be a  failure too."
"But there are people who really are innocent, take the case of the husband who becomes a drunkard."
"Yes, but beneath this surface innocence there is a deeper level of guilt, on this deeper level, man stand not before his partner, but before God, this deeper level of guilt often has to do with the way in which the marriage came into being, I would hesitate to remarry anyone before he is ready to face this deeper level."
"Is Fatma innocent?"
"Her parents of course, are very much at fault, and then this man, too , yet before God, she is not innocent."
"How do you think you can help her?"
"I don't think I can help her at now until she realizes this."
I have been talking with Daniel alone about this question, Esther had sat down in an armchair to drink her tea , when we look at her, we that she was asleep.
"My garden went to sleep," Daniel joked.
"She is not your garden, Daniel, she is your roommate in your tent, your tentmate, if you want to put it that way, you need some sleep yourself, could not you take me back to my hotel?"
When I picked up my keys at the hotel desk, the clerk handed me a letter, it was from my wife, I went up to my room, sat down and read.
"How I miss you and bring able to talk things over with you, the whole past year has been one separation after another, I actually believe that we have not had one single quite week together at home this year, either we were trying to meet some deadline or getting ready for some trip, we have had so little time just to live.