Norland, who was previously a lawyer, had once worked at WilmerHale, where he learned about the case from his colleagues. Once Lakhdar and Mustafa established their innocence and won their freedom, they began looking for someone to help them share their story with an American audience. “I leapt at the opportunity to work with them,” says Norland, and he recruited his brother-in-law, Jeff Rose (a writer and lawyer), and his sister, Kathleen List (a lawyer who is fluent in Arabic and is the Middle East field director for the International Refugee Assistance Project), to help with the project.
Research for the book required extensive interviews with Lakhdar and Mustafa.
Instead of encountering bitterness or anger from the two men, Norland was struck by their gentleness, kindness and grace. “Lakhdar and Mustafa and their families are truly inspiring,” says Norland. “They are a testament to just how strong, patient, loving and kind people are capable of being, even when faced with enormous hardship.”
Norland will never be able to put Witnesses on a shelf and forget what its pages contain. “Working on this project has been one of the most emotionally trying, yet fulfilling experiences I’ve ever had. It has made me more empathetic, more hopeful and even more appreciative of all the good luck I’ve had,” shares Norland.
The experience is something that Norland now carries with him into every classroom.
“I have a better understanding of how important it is for everyone to be an active, engaged citizen—and just how easy it is for atrocities to occur when they go unseen,” he says.
Working on Witnesses also reinforced Norland’s belief that the most important lesson that history teaches us—and the most important lesson he can teach his students— is to reject the notion that the decisions you make don’t matter. “Throughout history, the future has been shaped by ‘ordinary’ people’s choices: what we choose to pay attention to, and what we choose to do about it.”
Though the pages of Witnesses are filled with acts of cruelty that may leave readers despairing, Norland sees cause for optimism. “I hope that people will find the stories of Lakhdar and Mustafa to be as powerfully inspiring as I did—and I hope that drawing attention to their stories will help make the world a better place by encouraging people to make sure that what happened to them does not happen to other innocent people in the future. History only repeats itself when people don’t pay attention the first time.” —by Michelle Choate