No sirens rang. She hadnt had much time to even imagine it. The boys pissed himself! The Nazis laughed, and Josefs face burned hot with shame. Mahmoud sank to the floor of the old Mercedes station wagon and tried to disappear. Mahmoud sat in the middle row of desks in his classroom, where the teacher wouldnt call on him. Put that on. Our, "Sooo much more helpful thanSparkNotes. We can stay there until all this is over. Oh, thank God youre alive! their mom said. They spilled into the streets, and the few policemen on the Malecn were quickly overwhelmed. Mahmoud is beaten up by the local kids for being Syrian, he's unable to gain a place in a school, and his father can't see a way for his son to have a future. They were all going to Cuba to escape the Nazis, and now that they were finally away from the threats and violence that followed them everywhere in Germany, there was singing and dancing and laughter. LitCharts Teacher Editions. She lifted the trumpet to her lips. Why did mahmoud and his brother receive poos of displeasure in the boat? Go back south, one of the soldiers told Mahmouds father. In the gallery above the room, a number of the off-duty crew had gathered to watch. She knew he would never have let her do it. Why does Mahmoud try to be invisible? - TimesMojo I want to watch American television, Ivn said. Where are you going? the soldier at the window asked. Hed gone to them with this stupid stunt. No. 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. My husband is just eager to leave, she told the sailor. Back in Syria, it was a tradition to be escorted to your wedding by a parade of cars, to help carry you into your new life. He and his mother and sister would be put off the train, maybe even sent to a concentration camp. Thus, Mahmoud recognizes the importance of being visible, and his story also raises visibility for the many Syrian refugees who continue to need aid in the present. Im Josef, he told the other girls when theyd all gathered themselves together. A telegram from Papa! All nine hundred and eight of them! Grade: A. Entertainment Weekly Harrowing, timely. People Magazine Nothing short of brilliant. Kirkus Reviews, starred review Memorable and tightly plotted. Publishers Weekly, starred review Didnt Castro say it was all right to leave? Being invisible was how he survived." (Chapter 3, Page 12) The factions in Mahmoud's native Syria make his conclusion a valid one. The vacationers dropped their voices, and even though Mahmoud couldnt understand what they were saying, he could hear the disgust in their words. Mahmoud began without Waleed. Also, it is asked, How does Mahmoud travel to Germany? The villagers on the beach cheered for them, and Seor Castillo revved the engine, leaving the charging policemen in their wake. Creating notes and highlights requires a free LitCharts account. Josef tiptoed down the corridor. Just a moments kindness from each of them might mean the difference between death and survival for her mother and everyone else on the little raft. There were people on the beach! Mahmoud has already had a lot of experience dealing with the trauma of war, as the Syrian Civil War has already been raging for four years at the beginning of Mahmoud's story. For as long as he could remember, hed wanted this. The blood drained from Josefs face. He wanted to be a professional baseball player when he grew up, and he was good enough that it wasnt a crazy dream. limited. Josef: Just outside Havana Harbor1939 Isabel: Somewhere between the Bahamas and Florida1994 Mahmoud: Lesbos, Greece, to Athens, Greece2015 Josef: Just outside Havana Harbor1939 Isabel: Somewhere between the Bahamas and Florida1994 Mahmoud: Macedonia to Serbia2015 Josef: Off the American Coast1939 Isabel: Off the Coast of Florida1994 Mahmoud: Serbia to Hungary2015 Josef: Somewhere on the Atlantic Ocean1939 Isabel: Off the Coast of Florida1994 Mahmoud: Hungary2015 Josef: Antwerp, Belgium1939 Isabel: Off the Coast of Florida1994 Mahmoud: Hungary2015 Josef: Vornay, France1940 Isabel: Miami Beach, Florida1994 Mahmoud: Hungary to Germany2015 Isabel: Miami, Florida1994 Mahmoud: Berlin, Germany2015 Maps Authors Note Acknowledgments About the Author Sneak Peek at Projekt 1065 Sneak Peek at Grenade Also by Alan Gratz Copyright It was an old blue Opel taxi, traveling so slowly Mahmoud could walk faster. Mahmoud grabbed the railing to steady himself and waited a long, breathless moment to see if the stairs were going to collapse. Wheres your mama? Ruthie asked. Create a list of books you want then share it with family and friends. Germany is a long way away. A new life. Waleed, talk to me. Hana was wailing, but Mahmoud almost couldnt hear her over the sound of the gunfire. Look! There was a small group of them, up on the rocks overlooking the inlet. Quickly now, children, Mama said. The family takes a bus to reach a port city, but the promised boat that will transport them to Greece is not there. Isabel spends much of the dangerous trip acting as an adult: she takes care of her eight-and-a-half-months pregnant mother, Teresa; she saves Seor Castillo when he is thrown overboard by waves; and she spends much of the trip relentlessly bailing out water from their boat so that they can continue their journey. Mahmouds dad kept driving. The soldiers direct them to a route that avoids the battles in return for a ride. Teachers and parents! like a bomb exploding, and Mahmoud went tumbling into the sea.. Mahmoud and his family then go to the railway station, where they will spend the night in Germany. Each floor had a living room and a kitchen just like theirs, all decorated differently. Waleed? their mother cried. Page 17 - New Politics The family takes another taxi to try to reach Hungary. Waleeds eyes are glassy, but he is able to talk. Newspapers Review: Dailies highlight PM's meeting with Israelis, Abbas Mahmoud Bishara's story begins in 2015, during the ongoing Syrian Civil War. The men wore jeans and T-shirts and tracksuits; the women wore dresses and abayas and hijabs. Germany was his home. Josef stood and stared. Nono! Isabel saw how many people were on the beach as they left the villages dirt road and carried the boat across the sand dunes. They only see us when we do something they dont want us to do, Mahmoud realized. He put a hand to the motorcycle motor theyd mounted inside the boat. Refugee: Mahmoud: Aleppo, Syria - 2015 (1) Summary & Analysis LitCharts Teacher Editions. Waleed? he heard his mother cry, and she came out from behind the pile of rubble with the Sarraf family, all of them covered in gray dust. Mahmoud froze. Isabels stomach growled. Here they were, talking like two regular people, but Josef hadnt forgotten he was Jewish. No ambulances came to help the wounded. Mahmoud Bishara. The MS St. Louis was a paradise. Everything else had to be left behind. Ivn gave names to everythingthe stray dogs who wandered the town, his bicycle, even his baseball glove. With a jolt of surprise, Mahmoud realized this kind of thing did happen every day. Thats when Mahmoud and Khalid had learned how valuable it was to be invisible. Earn weekly rewards. Everywhere around them, people fled into the streets, covered in gray dust and blood. We have to get on that ship. Take me back. Ruthie clung to her brother. Mom! Mahmoud yelled. No ambulances came to help the wounded. 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. the crossing from Turkey. Mahmoud remembered neon malls, glittering skyscrapers, soccer stadiums, movie theaters, museums. But the blow never came. Through the huge hole that used to be the wall of his apartment, Mahmoud saw gray-white clouds from missile strikes blooming all around. Josef felt the heat of that embarrassment all over again, the humiliation of being talked about like he was an animal. They broke lamps and lightbulbs. As Mahmoud and his mother let go, Fatima realizes that she has given her baby away and becomes inconsolable. Soon after landing in Greece, Mahmouds father gets them onto a ferry that will take them to Athens. He reared back again to hit Isabel, and she flinched. For the gasoline. Her grandfather was shocked. A Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle! Complete your free account to access notes and highlights. The man threw his arms around Mama. All right, Mahmouds father was saying. Stomp. Ivn thought he was being sneaky, but Isabel knew exactly what he and his father were building in their shed, and it wasnt a doghouse. They didnt call it that then. Its a trap. Here, lets have a song anyway. He began singing a salsa song and tapping out the rhythm on the side of the metal boat. One issue she experiences, however, is that she is unable to count a Cuban rhythm called clave, which she thinks is supposed to come naturally to Cubans. Yes, but they are all players for the Lions, and shes a little lion! The Lions was the nickname of the Industriales. Im a man now. And when those soldiers said one of us could go free and the other would be taken to a concentration camp, Josef said, Take me.. I was inspired to create this Sutori from Mahmoud, a character from the book Refugee by Alan Gratz. Josefs mother gave him a kiss on the cheek, and she and Ruthie went to sit in the section reserved for the women. We can sell the car there and make our way north, to Germany. Everyone stopped while Mahmouds father walked ahead. Isabel hurried after her. But Syrians knew protesting in the streets was dangerous. Dad started the engine, put the car into gear, and they were off. And then his lungs were working again, raking in great gulps. Mahmoud? Maybe hed just been having a nightmare. Her thick black hair was cut short for summer and pushed back behind her ears, and her brown complexion was splotchy with freckles. When they didnt, he ran the rest of the way down and burst out onto the street, Hana still in his arms and his brother right behind them. The original text plus a side-by-side modern translation of. Money had been tight since their father lost his job, and she would enjoy the treat. By tomorrow night, maybe. Find related themes, quotes, symbols, characters, and more. One of the soldiers cocked his rifle. They were deserters, and deserters were shot. Nobody knew a wave of revolutions would sweep through the Middle East, toppling governments and overthrowing dictators and starting civil wars. Mahmoud is a Muslim boy in Aleppo, Syria in 2015, and his family has no other choice but to leave Syria when their entire apartment building is destroyed by a missile. Go in there and unlock those doors this minute. Just because you had your bar mitzvah doesnt make you an adult, Renata told him, and Evelyne stuck her tongue out at him. Two. No! But arguably Josefs most difficult decision is the one he must make at the novels conclusion: when the Nazis offer Rachel the option of releasing just one of her children, Josef sacrifices himself to relieve Rachel of this burden and to keep Ruthie out of the extermination camps. Gratz shows how hard it can sometimes be to stand up and support others, but that it is necessary to empathize with those who are being oppressed and to give aid. No! Isabel cried. He was Luis Castillo, Ivns older brother. Struggling with distance learning? Lights came on in houses nearby, and curtains ruffled as people looked out at the noise. This is what they do. Youre not much to look at, are you, kitty? Isabel said. A boat to sail to the United States. The boat was heavy in Isabels arms, and she was afraid of dropping it, even though there were five other people carrying it with her. Crash! As another life boat passes by, Mahmoud and his mother grab ahold. Today, Josef said, I am a man. There were many hands to shake and many congratulations after the ceremony, but it was all a blur to Josef. German families talked and laughed and argued in their compartments, just like Jews. 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. He smelled so ripelike the alley behind a butcher shop that Josef had to turn his head away. Refugee: Plot Overview | SparkNotes Google Maps told them it would be an eight-hour walk, and they split the journey up by sleeping in a field. A large portrait of Hitler hung in the middle of the room, watching over them all. PDFs of modern translations of every Shakespeare play and poem. No boat today. I found a bit of dead fish on the beach for the cat. Isabel recoiled at the smell, but the kitten came running back, eating greedily from Ivns hand. Many guns and artillery. 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. It was like somebody was sitting on his chest. Refugee Unit Test (Mahmoud) Flashcards | Quizlet It wasnt just his building that had been hit, he realized. Now. Like Josef, Mahmoud is also forced to make a difficult choice that shows his maturity and the weight of his responsibility. However, Hana is lost and nowhere to be found, presumably lost or dead. Mahmoud couldnt remember the last time hed seen his brother laugh, or cry, or show any emotion whatsoever. I cant reach your father, Mahmouds mother said, thumbing her phone. Not everyone did it anymore, but to Lito it was like an art form. Castros order to let people leave must have still been good! of the soldiers is hit and killed. No, we dont, Seor Castillo said. Youll see. Papi slammed a fist on the table. Theres no room. No station agents stopped to ask if they needed help finding their train. The way the content is organized, One of the three protagonists of the book, alongside. And why not? Lebanese Shia Muslims (Arabic: ), historically known as matwila (Arabic: , plural of mutawlin ([Lebanese pronounced as metouali]) refers to Lebanese people who are adherents of the Shia branch of Islam in Lebanon, which plays a major role along Lebanon's main Sunni, Maronite and Druze sects. When Mahmoud and his family finally got to the front of the line, late in the day, Mahmouds father presented their official documents to the border agent.