Isabels mother, almost nine months pregnant, was the only one not helping to carry the boat. Invisibility serves as a type of protection for Mahmoud; as he puts it, being invisible is how he lives. Getting spotted by the Syrian army or the rebels battling them [is] only courting danger, Mahmoud says. He decides that it is better to be visible because even though bad people can hurt you, good people can finally help you. Detailed quotes explanations with page numbers for every important quote on the site. Explore books by genre, topic, reading level, or series to find your next read. Its fur was scraggly and dull, and Isabel could feel the cats bones through its skin. Tell me something I dont know, Seor Castillo said. Two of the Nazis yanked Josefs father to his feet and dragged him toward the door. [5], Mahmoud Bishara is 12 years old in 2015, and lives in Aleppo, Syria with his father Youssef, his mother Fatima, his 10-year-old brother Waleed, and his infant sister Hana. feet, he wasnt coming back. No sirens rang. We were going to pack. LitCharts Teacher Editions. Papis eyes were wide as he stood from the kitchen table. They spilled into the streets, and the few policemen on the Malecn were quickly overwhelmed. T he main themes in Refugee are trauma and growing up, the dehumanization of refugees, and empathy and hope. Each one of these characters were refugees, each with a differant and unique story. His teeth looked too big for his head, and when he smiled he looked like a cartoon squirrel. She trades her trumpet for gasoline in order to get the boat to start. Josef, Ruthie, Renata, and Evelyne had to swallow their snickers as the steward reached down with his free hand and tried and failed to open the door. Just not to them. Josefs mother gave him a kiss on the cheek, and she and Ruthie went to sit in the section reserved for the women. With no one to overpay for it, the cane fields dried up, the sugar refineries closed, and people lost their jobs. Wait here, he told her. -Graham S. Would not have made it through AP Literature without the printable PDFs. Josef and Ruthie went over to see what they were doing. Castro out! Enough is enough! Isabel couldnt believe what she was hearing. And what is your name, pretty one? Lito asked her. -Graham S. The timeline below shows where the character Hana Bishara appears in. Based on the events of the story, which most likely will happen? The car skids to a stop, and Youssef, Mahmoud: Izmir, Turkey 2015, 4 days from home. He smiled sadly and punched their tickets. No ambulances came to help the wounded. She wore a dark blue wool dress with a white sailors collar and carried her white corduroy stuffed Rabit-Bitsy, everywhere she went. I cant fall out of the boat, because I have already fallen for this princess of the sea! he said. But now the streets were full of people yelling, Down with Fidel! No, no, you cant go through Azaz anymore, the soldier said. Soon the whole boat was singing, and Lito stood and held out a hand to Amara, inviting her to dance. Create a list of books you want then share it with family and friends. Were against whoever is dropping the bombs too, the soldier at the window said. Isabel turned, holding a hand up in front of her eyes and expecting to see a police searchlight shining on her. Trauma and growing up: The novel highlights the cruelty of having to become an adult. Seora Castillo, Ivns mother, was dark-skinned and curvy, and wore a white kerchief over her dreadlocks. What if they follow us? Mahmoud: Hungary 2015, 16 days from home, Hours pass without food or water, and Mahmoud and Youssef dont know where Waleed and, Mahmoud and Youssef line up, they pass another cell for women and children and find, be sent back to Serbia. I just have to grab a few things. Mom, no! Go, she told Mahmoud, pushing them all toward the door. More ships full of refugees? Students will see themselves in the young protagonists: children faced with tragic circumstances but who, at their heart, are just kids who love their families and want to live in peace. Mahmoud: Lesbos, Greece, to Athens, Greece 2015, 12 days from home (3). Tears sprang to Josefs eyes. But he knew better. He turned Josef this way and that, pointing out the curve of his nose, the slant of his chin. Josef Landau, Isabel Fernandez, and Mahmoud Bishara are the primary protagonists of Refugee. Mahmoud: Macedonia to Serbia 2015, 14 to 15 days from home, Policemen are guarding the border from Greece to Macedonia, and, Mahmoud: Serbia to Hungary 2015, 15 to 16 days from home, Mahmoud: Hungary 2015, 16 days from home, yelling in Arabic that they dont want their filth in Hungary either, calling them parasites., The policeman then says that they will be sent back to Serbia. He stayed there the rest of the trip, his armband securely in place and as visible as possible. Hush now. They cowered together on the floor as the shadows picked up Ruths bed and threw it against Random death from a fighter jets missile or a soldiers rocket launcher might come at any moment, when you least expected it. Germany was his home. When the Fernandezes and Castillos are caught in a storm on their journey to Miami, Seor Castillo is flung into the ocean, and Isabel jumps in to save him, demonstrating Isabels incredible maturity. Creating notes and highlights requires a free LitCharts account. How many of them died because we turned them away? When Mahmoud and his family are placed with a host . But if we stay in Aleppo a day longer, we may not even have that. Mahmouds father looked from his wife to Hana to Mahmoud to Waleed. This is a decision that no 13-year-old should have to make, but Mahmouds difficult journey requires him to take on this burden. Teachers and parents! Mahmoud couldnt believe it. 5.6 million refugees have left their home and 6.6 million more have been internally displaced within Syria.) Chi-CHAK! His fathers shirt was stained at the armpits, and with a quick sniff of his own shirt Mahmoud realized he stank too. Isabel fell into the water and swam the rest of the way to the boat, but her father was already climbing over the side. So we have money! Perhaps youre close enough that we should take you to a concentration camp too, like your father. No! Mama cried. If you were caught trying to leave for el norte by boat, Castro would throw you in jail. She reeled in horror. Isabels family had worked in secret all night with the Castillos, worried someone might hear them, but apparently, everybody else had been doing the same thing. She staggered to the door of her bedroom, Hana crying in her arms. As Josefs eyes adjusted, he saw the seven strangers who had invaded his home. Dont move! Mahmoud cried. Thats when theyll snatch us. What country is Mahmouds family trying to reach? to accommodate the crowd. Thats what they wantedto get out of Syria using the fastest path possible. He realizes that even being observed is an invitation to danger, and therefore. It doesnt have to be a snowman. This is serious, Mom said. Mahmoud's baby sister. A boat to sail to the United States. He sobbed with the effort of fighting off the mans fingers and hanging onto the dinghy. Ohlet me get someone to help you with those bags. By train? The captains in a tight spot, he is. Angry and desperate, hundreds of refugees begin to riot and try to push through the fence. The man at the concession stand sold newspapers, and Josef took one and put a coin on the counter. Aleppo had history tooa long history. Instead, they are sent to France, where they stay. The fisherman had to take it in trade. He also knew they were much more strict about letting people in than Turkey was. Refugee Important Quotes 1. What am I going to do with that? he asked. Finally, the Greek Coast Guard finds Mahmoud and his mother. But that trumpet was everything to you! No, not everything, Isabel thought. Your mother is pregnant, for one thing! Lito said. Two more soldiers crammed themselves into the backseat, and the last one joined Mahmoud and Waleed in the back with their backpacks. I should do something, he whispered. The bright yellow Star of David armbands the Landaus wore were like magical talismans that made them disappear. Wait! Isabel ignored him. Mama spent weeks going from one government office to another, trying to find out where her husband was and how to get him back. Good and bad things happened either way. This gains a large amount of media attention, and Austrians greet them at the border with food, water, and medicine. He had white hair that he wore swept back on his head, and even though there was no food, he had a middle-aged paunch to his belly. And this is Ruthie. Too many. Assad made people who didnt like him disappear. Isabel was listening for the clave underneath the music, the mysterious hidden beat inside He wasnt used to the sounds of this new flat, the smaller one he and his family had been forced to move into. Something theyre not telling Schroeder. After Herr Meier had called him in front of the class to show how Jews were inferior to real Germans, Josef had returned to his seat next to Klaus, his best friend in the class. It barely qualified as a boat, but it was big enough for the four Castillosand maybe four more guests. A steep ramp ran to the top of the tall black hull, and hundreds of people were already on board, milling around under colorful fluttering pennants and waving to friends and family down on the docks. Where are you going? the soldier at the window asked. Halfway to the ground, the building shifted again and the concrete stairs broke away from the wall, leaving a five-centimeter crack. By tomorrow night, maybe. They were leaving Cuba, her village, her homeeverything shed ever knownbehind. Isabels father pitched across the roiling boat and grabbed Seor Castillo by the shirt. They walk to a bus stop and reach the Hungarian border. Record what books your kids are reading. They had played shuffleboard and badminton, and the crew was putting up a swimming pool, which they promised to fill with seawater once the St. Louis hit the warm Gulf Stream. Grabbed for him. Hes just a boy. They tumbled into the ditch beside his parents. Our, "Sooo much more helpful thanSparkNotes. Canoes with homemade outriggers. Seor Castillo was in charge of the boat. The kitten wasnt too different from her, Isabel realized: thin, hungry, and in need of a bath. After leaving the car behind, Mahmoud and his family had followed the map on their phone, skirting cities held by Daesh and the Syrian army and the rebels and the Kurds as best they could. third person. Or its a twelve-hour car ride, non-stop. The way the content is organized. When Youssef and, Mahmoud: Hungary 2015, 17 days from home, The soldier calls for help from the other guards, wondering what to do, but, Mahmoud: Hungary to Germany 2015, 17 days from home. He stood taller, tugged at the bottom of his brown shirt to straighten it, then turned and marched away. Before he could protest, the girls dragged him to a womens restroom. Please! Mahmoud cried. But Josef and his mother and sister werent going anywhere. She was very pretty, even in her blue police uniform. Teacher Editions with classroom activities for all 1699 titles we cover. The boys pissed himself! The Nazis laughed, and Josefs face burned hot with shame. How is Isabel connected to Josef refugees? She wore a dark blue wool dress with a white sailors collar and carried her white corduroy stuffed rabbit, Bitsy, everywhere she went. Hana Bishara. The family drives away, but soon run into some rebel soldiers. She saw her papi just as he reared back and threw a bottle that smashed into the line of police along the seawall. Blend in. Advertisement. Ridiculous! You'll be able to access your notes and highlights, make requests, and get updates on new titles. Mami started counting clave by clapping, and Isabel frowned, trying to follow the beat. She worked her way to one of the cars stuck in the riot, an old American Chevy with chrome tail fins, still around from before the Revolution in the 1950s. He travelled to Aleppo and Damascus in Syria. And he had been beaten up as badly as Khalid. At last, when they had cried all the tears they could cry, Rachel Landau led her children to her room, put her bed back together, and hugged Josef and Ruth close until morning. Josef sacrifices himself in order to relieve his mother from the burden of this choice and to save his little sister Ruthie from the concentration camps. Someone was in the house! But all Josef could think about was what terrible things must have happened to his father to make him look so awful and act so scared. Creating notes and highlights requires a free LitCharts account. He and his mother and sister would be put off the train, maybe even sent to a concentration camp. She had bright eyes, wild brown hair cut in a bob and parted on the side, and a little gap between her two front teeth that made her look like a chipmunk. The rabbi stood in front of the crowd and read from Hosea. No one is coming to help us. His gas-powered fishing boat rocked gently at a little pier nearby. -Graham S. The president and prime minister of Cuba during the period of, Would not have made it through AP Literature without the printable PDFs. Please, Isabel begged. Just then, Mahmouds father receives a text about a boat arriving. Among the people who join Isabel on the journey is her grandfather Lito, who is eventually revealed to be Mariano Padron, the Cuban officer who, decades ago, prevented Josef from entering Havana. There werent the required ten men for the servicethere were a hundred men, probably more, all wearing yarmulkes on their heads and white-and-black tallisimprayer shawlsaround their shoulders. If you were invisible, the bad people couldn't hurt you, that was true. Detailed explanations, analysis, and citation info for every important quote on LitCharts. A crown jewel of the Middle East. The blood drained from Josefs face. Screamed in sheer blind terror. name, asks in perfect Arabic if Youssef and his family are seeking asylum in Germany. No! It was the one with the red bandanna. Home. He was afraid they were going to pull him inside, but instead they deposited him by the door. Josef, Isabel, and Mahmoud will leave their homes. The cat was hungry, just like everyone else in Cuba, and its belly quickly won out over its fear. All Mahmoud wanted to do was curl up into a ball and disappear. Hes going to have his bar mitzvah next Shabbos. A bar mitzvah was the ceremony at which a boy officially became a man under Jewish law. The villagers on the beach cheered for them, and Seor Castillo revved the engine, leaving the charging policemen in their wake. A boy about Josefs age, sworn to live and die for the Fatherland. Not before coming home every day with horror stories about the people shed helped put back together. Sajid Javid (/ s d d d v d /; born 5 December 1969) is a British politician who served as Secretary of State for Health and Social Care from June 2021 to July 2022, having previously served as Home . Mahmoud took his younger brother by the hand, turned around, and found a different way home. As another boat passes by and doesnt acknowledge them, Mahmoud begins to realize that being invisible is not always the best solution, as no one can help him. It wasnt US agents. It felt like ages since hed been inside a synagogue. The group walks all the way to the Austrian border, where they are welcomed. Yes. This is all a misunderstanding, Papa said. Mahmoud musters the fortitude to break free from his invisibility and lead his family to a brighter future. Without Russias gas, they couldnt run the tractors to change the fields over to food, and without the extra food, the Cuban people began to starve. What was his first name? There were inflatable rafts. GitHub export from English Wikipedia. More importantly, we have our lives. Oh, thank God youre alive! their mom said. Our, "Sooo much more helpful thanSparkNotes. Ready or not, if we want to live, we have to leave Syria. This blog is an opportunity for me to explore topics through books! But a few years ago, in 1989, the Soviet Union had fallen, and Cuba had hit rock bottom. Men with gunshot wounds. Always quick to raise his hand in class, and always with the right answer. Papi had already tried to flee Cuba twice. A tag already exists with the provided branch name. A wife! Being invisible was how he survived. Josef walked the Promenade deck by himself, a new man. But I have this. She held out the trumpet. Hey, I know something funny we can do, he told them.