On a cold, winter’s evening in 2008, I landed in a country empty and mysterious to me, with nothing but sand dunes as far as the eye could see. I was with my mother, and we were going there to live with my father. Eighteen winters have come and gone since then and, in that time, most of my childhood memories have faded, save for a few captured in grainy, nostalgic videos and photographs. Despite this, I still remember distinctly how my father held me in his arms, having not seen me for many...