Diomande Character Analysis in The Beekeeper of Aleppo

Diomande is a young man from Côte D’Ivoire who arrives at the bed and breakfast after Nuri and Afra. He is tall and lanky with sharp shoulder blades that look like wings beneath his T-shirt. Diomande gets along well with the Moroccan man, Hazim, and tells him about leaving his country to find a job to support his family back home. One night, Diomande has his shirt off and Nuri sees small white wings protruding from his back, perhaps symbolizing his failed dreams. The young man tends to ramble, which worries the social worker, Lucy Fisher, and Hazim, who says the immigration officers will not want to hear a history lesson. Diomande’s difficulties highlight the system’s dehumanization of those claiming asylum, boiling people down to the bare bones of their stories.

Diomande Character Timeline in The Beekeeper of Aleppo

The timeline below shows where the character Diomande appears in The Beekeeper of Aleppo. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

...present, there is a new resident at the bed and breakfast, a young man named Diomande from the Ivory Coast. Nuri eavesdrops on his conversation with the Moroccan man about how... (full context)

Dehumanization vs. Connection Theme Icon

Diomande is next in line to meet with Lucy Fisher and immediately starts rambling about his... (full context)

In the present, Nuri wakes and goes to use the bathroom. Diomande’s door is open, and the young man is sitting shirtless on his bed. Nuri notices... (full context)

...the evening, Nuri watches the other residents play hangman using English words. He thinks of Diomande’s wings and how he smiles even though he is in pain. Nuri sleeps and wakes... (full context)

In the evening, the Moroccan man helps Diomande prepare for his own asylum interview. He asks why Diomande left his country, and the... (full context)

In the present, Afra, Nuri, and Diomande travel by train to their interviews with immigration. Diomande looks to Nuri like a character... (full context)

The morning after his immigration interview, Diomande and the Moroccan man are waiting for Nuri in the living room. Diomande feels his... (full context)

Diomande, Nuri, and the Moroccan man discuss the sea as they know it in their home... (full context)

...It is nighttime, and he listens to the other residents sleeping. He pauses to tuck Diomande’s blanket around him and sees that his wings are just scars. Downstairs, Nuri enters the... (full context)