Previous
Fatima Bishara
Mahmoud, Waleed, and Hana’s father, and Fatima’s husband. Youssef is characterized as a caring father and husband, trying to shepherd his family to safety in Germany. He is constantly making jokes, trying to cheer Mahmoud, Waleed, and Fatima up as they encounter obstacle after obstacle along the way. Mahmoud understands that Youssef’s spirit is broken, however, when he is beaten senselessly in the immigrant detention center in Hungary. It is at that point that Mahmoud takes on the role of the adult in his family, helping to get them and other refugees out of the detention center.
Youssef Bishara Quotes in Refugee
The Refugee quotes below are all either spoken by Youssef Bishara or refer to Youssef 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: Hungary – 2015, 16 days
Quotes
“We’re not criminals!” one of the other men in the cell yelled at him.
“We didn’t ask for civil war! We didn’t want to leave our homes!” another man yelled.
“We’re refugees!” Mahmoud yelled, unable to stay silent any longer. “We need help!”
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire Refugee LitChart as a printable PDF.
Youssef Bishara Quotes in Refugee
The Refugee quotes below are all either spoken by Youssef Bishara or refer to Youssef 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: Hungary – 2015, 16 days
Quotes
“We’re not criminals!” one of the other men in the cell yelled at him.
“We didn’t ask for civil war! We didn’t want to leave our homes!” another man yelled.
“We’re refugees!” Mahmoud yelled, unable to stay silent any longer. “We need help!”
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
