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Iván Castillo
Mahmoud, Waleed, and Hana’s mother. Fatima, like her husband Youssef, tries to keep her children’s spirits up and care for Hana as they take their long journey from Syria to Germany. Fatima becomes completely devastated, however, when Mahmoud has to make the decision to give Hana away to another rescue boat in the hopes of saving her from drowning in the Mediterranean Sea. Fatima spends the rest of the novel grieving and desperately searching for her daughter in all of the refugee camps they can find. Her grief becomes another way in which Mahmoud is forced to grow up early, as he becomes a caretaker for his parents and feels guilty over the burden of the decision that he made.
Fatima Bishara Quotes in Refugee
The Refugee quotes below are all either spoken by Fatima Bishara or refer to Fatima Bishara. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Mahmoud: Aleppo, Syria – 2015 (3)
Quotes
Everywhere around them, people fled into the streets, covered in gray dust and blood. No sirens rang. No ambulances came to help the wounded. No police cars or emergency crews hurried to the scene.
There weren’t any left.
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Mahmoud: Izmir, Turkey – 2015, 11 days (1)
Quotes
Mahmoud screamed.
He howled louder than a fighter jet, and his parents didn’t even tell him to hush. Lights came on in houses nearby, and curtains ruffled as people looked out at the noise. Mahmoud’s mother broke down in tears, and his father let the life jackets he carried drop to the ground.
The smuggler had just told them their boat wasn’t leaving tonight.
Again.
“No boat today. Tomorrow. Tomorrow,” he’d told Mahmoud’s father.
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Mahmoud: The Mediterranean – 2015, 11 days (1)
Quotes
“Please!” Mahmoud cried. He sobbed with the effort of fighting off the man’s fingers and hanging onto the dinghy. “Please, take us with you!”
“No! No room!”
“At least take my sister!” Mahmoud begged. “She’s a baby. She won’t take up any room!”
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Fatima Bishara Quotes in Refugee
The Refugee quotes below are all either spoken by Fatima Bishara or refer to Fatima Bishara. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Mahmoud: Aleppo, Syria – 2015 (3)
Quotes
Everywhere around them, people fled into the streets, covered in gray dust and blood. No sirens rang. No ambulances came to help the wounded. No police cars or emergency crews hurried to the scene.
There weren’t any left.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Mahmoud: Izmir, Turkey – 2015, 11 days (1)
Quotes
Mahmoud screamed.
He howled louder than a fighter jet, and his parents didn’t even tell him to hush. Lights came on in houses nearby, and curtains ruffled as people looked out at the noise. Mahmoud’s mother broke down in tears, and his father let the life jackets he carried drop to the ground.
The smuggler had just told them their boat wasn’t leaving tonight.
Again.
“No boat today. Tomorrow. Tomorrow,” he’d told Mahmoud’s father.
Related Characters:
Related Symbols:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Mahmoud: The Mediterranean – 2015, 11 days (1)
Quotes
“Please!” Mahmoud cried. He sobbed with the effort of fighting off the man’s fingers and hanging onto the dinghy. “Please, take us with you!”
“No! No room!”
“At least take my sister!” Mahmoud begged. “She’s a baby. She won’t take up any room!”
Related Characters:
Related Symbols:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
