Rubble was strewn everywhere. We need help!, Dont you see? Lito said. Mahmouds mother was carrying their school backpacks, and she traded them for Hana. More importantly, we have our lives. Rafts made of inner tubes tied together. It was hard to see for all the people. One such scholar is Mahmoud Mamdani who, although he shares many of Rouhana's concerns, makes a useful comparison between the Native American and Palestinian situations. Complete your free account to request a guide. He was at the final stages of his maturity 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. What would once have been a happy occasion in the Landau home was now fraught with anxiety, thanks to his fathers paranoia. Isabel braced herself between two of the benches, trying to catch her breath. The United States only let in a certain number of Jews every year, so Josefs family planned to live in Cuba while they waited. Mahmoud and his familyWaleed, his mother Fatima, and baby sister Hanaescape the building just in time and it collapses behind them. We will buy tickets as we go. Two. 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. When the Jewish refugees are rejected from entering Cuba and it seems likely that the ship is going to take them back to Germany, Josef works with other passengers to try to take the ship hostage so that they can avoid this fate. Waleed sat still as a statue, and he looked like one too. I know it. Mahmoud was just starting a new equation when he heard a sound over the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles theme song. The way the content is organized. LitCharts Teacher Editions. Here, Mahmoud emphasizes that being invisible serves as a form of protection for him: the less he is noticed, the less likely it is for him to be attacked. Its fine. Evelyne and Renata were the genuine names of two sisters who came on the St. Louis, and they were the only ones permitted to disembark in Cuba since their father already resided there and had significant relations to the local authorities. More of them wore the brown shirts and red swastika armbands of the Sturmabteilung, Adolf Hitlers storm troopers. Josefs mother and father were there too, lying on the floor at the feet of the Brownshirts. PDF downloads of all 1699 LitCharts literature guides, and of every new one we publish. The next car was the dining car. Josef Age 12. We sent them back to Europe and Hitler and the Holocaust. People sat at little tables, smoking, eating, and drinking as they chatted or read the newspaper or played cards. Their current victim kept batting at his nose like there was a fly on it. Well, I need money. I dont have any money, Isabel said. Here, the couples only escort was a group of rowdy teenage boys running behind the taxi, and their destination was a dirty white tent with whatever food theyd been able to buy in the camps market. Please! Mahmoud cried. We can stay there until all this is over. Fatima had put on a black long-sleeved dress and a pink flowery hijab that covered her head and shoulders. The cat skittered away underneath the house. Teachers and parents! Chabela, play us a song on your trumpet. Isabels chest tightened. 2011 (14) IWB are their Sunni Muslims and Shia Muslims? Theres something theyre not telling us, the shipping company. And back again. Isabels heart soared, and she hopped up and down. They didnt call it that then. No, wait for me! Isabel yelled, spitting seawater. Isabel thrust her trumpet into his arms. his homework. Chabela! her mother called. Teachers and parents! The north. A daughter! Who is the main character in the book Refugee? In Hungary, the family is about to be deported back to Syria when Mahmoud leads a refugee march out of the detention center. Too thin. They could even be Daesh. What if they follow us? You'll also get updates on new titles we publish and the ability to save highlights and notes. Her eyes were wet with tears. Didnt Castro say it was all right to leave? They pluck Mahmoud and Fatima from the water. Mahmouds father stopped their Mercedes station wagon for gasoline at a little roadside station north of Aleppo. Tomorrow morning well have the sun to guide us. All that matters now is we get as far away from Cuba as we can, said Luiss girlfriend. Seor Castillo was in charge of the boat. It fluttered to the floor, the Star of David landing face up for all the world to see. Isabel Fernandez is 11 years old in 1994, growing up in Havana, Cuba, under Fidel Castros communist regime. Josefs breath caught in his throat and Ruthie cried out and buried her face in Josefs stomach as their papa pulled the two of them into a hug. Her father and grandfather were still arguing in the kitchen, so she slipped in the back way. Its tummy purred like an outboard motor, and it butted its head against Isabels hand in between bites. Teach your students to analyze literature like LitCharts does. A specimen. Mahmoud remembered his uncles wedding, before the war. Khalid never answered another question in class, not even when the teacher called on him directly. Lights came on in houses nearby, and curtains ruffled as people looked out at the noise. Find related themes, quotes, symbols, characters, and more. Some of them wore regular clothes: white shirts with the sleeves rolled up, gray slacks, brown wool caps, leather work boots. Fatima continues to go from tent to tent, asking about Hana. Blend in. Freedom! chanted some of the rioters. Mahmoud: Izmir, Turkey 2015, 11 days from home (1). She could fix that too. Tools to track, assess, and motivate classroom reading. Tomorrow. The timeline below shows where the character Hana Bishara appears in Refugee. They had gotten up early and it had been a stressful day, and soon Ruthie was asleep in Mamas lap, and Mama dozed with her. Just a sea of tents and a forest of electric poles and wires. In the gallery above the room, a number of the off-duty crew had gathered to watch. Find related themes, quotes, symbols, characters, and more. He understands that being unnoticed helps him avoid trouble, but he also begins to see the problems with remaining invisible, because it prevents good people from taking notice of them and providing aid. A synagogue, on board the ship? Papa said. Still cant hear it, Chabela? Lito asked. They yelled and chanted. The smuggler had just told them their boat wasnt leaving tonight. He wasn't literally invisible. LitCharts Teacher Editions. Visas. Papa shook his head too quickly. They had been drafted into the police, and they werent allowed to leave. Ivn plopped to the dusty ground beside Isabel. High above her, Isabel saw people climbing out onto the big electric sign hanging from the side of a tourist hotel, and it gave her an idea. Sit down! The soldiers in the Bisharas car begin shooting back and Mahmouds family runs away to avoid being caught in the cross fire and killed. I dont know. An alarm rang. Isabel shook her head, convinced she was hearing things, and put her lips back to her trumpet. Mahmoud's . Evelyne got quiet, and Josef could hear the woman desperately rattling the stall doors, looking for a toilet. When she took Luiss hand, Isabel guessed she was his girlfriend. Were not criminals! one of the other men in the cell yelled at him. He scared Josef too. Soon the whole boat was singing, and Lito stood and held out a hand to Amara, inviting her to dance. The soldiers direct them to a route that avoids the battles in return for a ride. After Aleppothe near-constant gunfire and explosions, punctuated by the oppressive quiet of an entire city trying their hardest not to draw attention to themselvesthis place felt alive, even if it was dusty and cramped. Couldnt breathe! The box didnt have any other Ninja Turtles in it, but Waleed would be excited to get it. Ready or not, if we want to live, we have to leave Syria. Buying a paper for your father? he asked Josef. Mahmouds head was hot and wet. Two more soldiers crammed themselves into the backseat, and the last one joined Mahmoud and Waleed in the back with their backpacks. There was a shattering sound in the next roomcrisssh! A black shoe covered the armband before Josef could grab it. More bullets whizzed by overhead, and soon the rebel soldiers whod been riding with them were returning fire, their automatic rifles booming in Mahmouds ears like he was in a barrel and they were beating on the outside of it with hammers. Youve put us all in danger! Seor Castillo batted Geraldo Fernandezs arms away. The rioters and police traded rocks and bullets, and a man with a bloody head staggered past Isabel. A warm breeze lifted Isabels short curly hair and raised goose bumps on her arms. He and Isabel had been friends as long as she could remember. He couldnt imagine traveling that far. Isabels mother, almost nine months pregnant, was the only one not helping to carry the boat. Definitions and examples of 136 literary terms and devices. She could see it in his wild look. He decides that it is better to be visible because even though bad people can hurt you, good people can finally help you. After halting the vehicle on the highway, what did the Serbian taxi driver do? Apparently, they were all coming along for the ride. Be quiet! the shadow yelled, and it tossed Ruth down on the floor beside Josef. And then the whole country seemed to go crazy all at once. Mahmoud took his younger brother by the hand, turned around, and found a different way home. People also ask, Where does Mahmouds family plan go? Staring back up at them was the huge face of Fidel Castro! Or Lzaro? Those are all boy names! Isabel said. They were in Turkey! Without these stupid armbands, without the letter J stamped on his passport, would anyone know he was Jewish? 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. Mahmoud finally sees the power of visibility when he decides to walk out of the Hungarian detention center and lead the other refugees on a 12-hour march to Austria. Khalid. They conducted interviews with persons who gave their accounts of what they had seen. They try to float, but their life vests are useless. He starts to panic that, Mahmoud: Just Outside Aleppo, Syria 2015, 1 day from home. Josef: On the Atlantic Ocean 1939, 6 days, Josef: On the Atlantic Ocean 1939, 8 days, Isabel: Straits of Florida 1994, 1 day (1), Josef: On the Atlantic Ocean 1939, 10 days, Isabel: Straits of Florida 1994, 1 day (2), Josef: On the Atlantic Ocean 1939, 11 days, Isabel: The Straits of Florida 1994, 1 day (3), Mahmoud: Izmir, Turkey 2015, 11 days (1), Josef: On the Atlantic Ocean 1939, 14 days, Isabel: The Straits of Florida 1994, 1 day (4), Mahmoud: Izmir, Turkey 2015, 11 days (2), Josef: On the Atlantic Ocean 1939, 17 days, Isabel: Straits of Florida 1994, 2 days, Mahmoud: The Mediterranean 2015, 11 days (1), Mahmoud: The Mediterranean 2015, 11 days (2), Isabel: Between Bahamas and Florida 1994, 4 days, Mahmoud: The Mediterranean 2015, 11 days (3), Isabel: Between Bahamas and Florida 1994, 5 days (1), Mahmoud: Lesbos to Athens 2015, 12 days (3), Isabel: Between Bahamas and Florida 1994, 5 days (2), Mahmoud: Macedonia to Serbia 2015, 14-15 days, Isabel: Coast of Florida 1994, 5 days (1), Mahmoud: Serbia to Hungary 2015, 15-16 days, Isabel: Coast of Florida 1994, 5 days (2), Isabel: Coast of Florida 1994, 5 days (3), Josef: Vornay, France 1940, 1 year, 1 month, 10 days, Isabel: Coast of Florida 1994, 5 days (4), Mahmoud: Hungary to Germany 2015, 17 days.