Youssef Bishara Character Analysis in Refugee

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:

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: Hana Bishara, Fatima Bishara, Youssef Bishara, Mahmoud Bishara, Waleed Bishara

Page Number and Citation: 51

Explanation and Analysis:

After Mahmoud’s apartment building is hit by bombs, he and his siblings are able to escape down the stairs and into the street. Once there, Mahmoud sees buildings crumbling around them and chaos in the roads. What he doesn’t see, however, is any attempt at aid or rescue. With Mahmoud’s realization, Gratz shows how Syria has become completely destitute and war-torn. There is very little hope left, in that there is no one there who can help rebuild what has been lost or destroyed, and no way for those who live in Aleppo to receive aid. It is these kinds Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit

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: Waleed Bishara, Hana Bishara, Mahmoud Bishara, Fatima Bishara, Youssef Bishara

Related Symbols: Boats

Page Number and Citation: 122

Explanation and Analysis:

After Mahmoud and his family make it to Turkey, they are forced to wait a week before being able to take a boat from Turkey to Greece. Each day, they are told that the boat will leave “tomorrow,” as the smuggler repeats here. This is both an exhausting and a costly prospect, as the Bisharas have very few options of where to stay and how much money they can spend. The repetition of the word “tomorrow” becomes a common thread among all three of the book’s protagonists, as they and their families are perpetually waiting to get somewhere else, uncertain Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis.

“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: Mahmoud Bishara (speaker), Josef Landau, Youssef Bishara

Page Number and Citation: 265

Explanation and Analysis:

When Mahmoud, along with hundreds of other refugees, arrive on the Hungarian border and try to get into the country, they are hit with tear gas canisters and taken to an immigrant detention center, where they are thrown in jail. Mahmoud and the other refugees are stunned at being treated like criminals, because all they want is to be able to pass through Hungary and be able to receive aid. Gratz exposes the injustice and the prejudice of treating the refugees as criminals. He has shown that they are not dangerous; they are simply fleeing a war-torn country and trying Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusanti

Youssef Bishara Character Timeline in Refugee

The timeline below shows where the character Youssef Bishara appears in Refugee. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

Fatima tries to call Youssef, Mahmoud’s father, but they see him running down the street, overjoyed that they are safe.... (full context)

Injustice and Cruelty vs. Empathy and Social Responsibility Theme Icon

Fatima expresses doubts about getting to Germany, but Youssef assures her that they can drive to Turkey and then take a boat, or train.... (full context)

Youssef stops for gas a little north of Aleppo. Fatima puts on a long-sleeved dress and... (full context)

Invisibility and the Refugee Experience Theme Icon

...four soldiers with automatic rifles. Mahmoud tries to disappear in the back of the car. Youssef tells the soldiers that he’s just trying to get his family to safety. The soldiers... (full context)

Family, Displacement, and Culture Theme Icon

The soldiers get into the car and tell Youssef to drop them south, even though the family is trying to travel north. When the... (full context)

Youssef waits for a pause in the gunfire, then runs back to the car. When he... (full context)

...into a giant refugee camp with masses of white tents. While walking through the city, Youssef finds information about a smuggler who can get them from Turkey to Greece, but they... (full context)

...Syrian tradition to be escorted to one’s wedding by a parade of cars. Then, suddenly, Youssef finds Mahmoud and says that he found a ride, but they have to leave immediately. (full context)

Youssef discovers that every hotel in town is booked with three families in each room. The... (full context)

Youssef assures the family that they are only staying there for the night. The Syrian boy... (full context)

...the past week: the boat will come tomorrow. Mahmoud screams, Fatima starts to cry, and Youssef is in shock. Each time they are given a different excuse as to why they... (full context)

...demand that they start paying rent to stay there: 5,000 thousand pounds a night, each. Youssef refuses to give in to this bullying. They then try to sleep in the doorway... (full context)

...and says that he has a small car dealership in which the family can stay. Youssef starts to apologize for bothering the man, but Mahmoud accepts the offer and thanks the... (full context)

...he was forced to leave his home in 1948 during the first Arab-Israeli war. Then, Youssef gets a text from the smuggler, saying that the boat is ready. Nasseer offers to... (full context)

Youssef assures Mahmoud that it looks like the trip will only last a few hours, looking... (full context)

Mahmoud then sees Youssef and Waleed swimming nearby. His father says that the life preservers are fake. Mahmoud is... (full context)

...real boat, a Coast Guard ship from Greece. At the front of the ship are Youssef and Waleed. They pluck Mahmoud and Fatima from the water. Mahmoud explains how they gave... (full context)

When they reach the shore, Youssef kisses the ground and says thanks to Allah. Mahmoud joins him for their morning prayers.... (full context)

...tent to tent, asking about Hana. Mahmoud continues to blame himself for losing his sister. Youssef tells Fatima that Hana probably went ahead of them, and that they should continue their... (full context)

That morning, Mahmoud, Waleed, Fatima, and Youssef take a ferry from Lesbos to Athens. The inside of the ferry is like a... (full context)

When they arrive in Athens, Youssef discovers that they don’t have the right papers to travel past Greece, and it will... (full context)

...the border from Greece to Macedonia, and Mahmoud once again notices how dirty he feels. Youssef uses his phone to determine that they could make it across the border through a... (full context)

...and his family stop at a train station only long enough to recharge their phones. Youssef finds a bus for them to take into Belgrade, and once there, they still aren’t... (full context)

Mahmoud is instantly awake, looking at the gun pointed at him. Youssef begs the taxi driver not to shoot. The driver demands 300 euros—more than twice what... (full context)

Youssef tells Mahmoud and Fatima that they’ll have to walk to a nearby bus stop to... (full context)

...able to open his eyes again, he sees several other refugees in the truck, including Youssef. They are brought to an immigrant detention center. Mahmoud, Youssef, and the other refugees protest... (full context)

When a soldier returns to process them, Youssef asks why they don’t take them to Austria, explaining that the refugees don’t want to... (full context)

When Mahmoud and Youssef line up, they pass another cell for women and children and find Fatima and Waleed—but... (full context)

Youssef again emphasizes that he would never want to live in Hungary. The policeman then says... (full context)

The next morning, Mahmoud and Youssef are taken to a refugee camp in a cold, muddy field surrounded by wired fence.... (full context)

A German official, who has a Turkish name, asks in perfect Arabic if Youssef and his family are seeking asylum in Germany. Mahmoud wonders if this is the end... (full context)

For four weeks, Mahmoud, Waleed, Youssef, and Fatima live in a school in Munich, until a host family agrees to let... (full context)

Youssef Bishara Character Analysis

Youssef Bishara Quotes in Refugee

Mahmoud: Aleppo, Syria – 2015 (3) Quotes

Mahmoud: Izmir, Turkey – 2015, 11 days (1) Quotes

Mahmoud: Hungary – 2015, 16 days Quotes

Youssef Bishara Character Timeline in Refugee