Refugee: Mahmoud: Hungary – 2015, 16 days Summary & Analysis

Mahmoud is choking on the tear gas, his eyes streaming tears. He is pulled off the ground, his hands are tied with plastic, and he is lifted into a truck. When he is 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 that they’re not criminals and that they simply need help. The guards ignore them, leaving them in holding cells. Hours pass without food or water, and Mahmoud and Youssef don’t know where Waleed and Fatima have ended up.

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 stay in Hungary anyway. The soldier beats Youssef, yelling in Arabic that they don’t want their “filth” in Hungary either, calling them “parasites.” Mahmoud cries out, trying to stop the guards by telling them they’ll agree to be processed.

When Mahmoud and Youssef line up, they pass another cell for women and children and find Fatima and Waleed—but the family is unable to be processed together. When they are processed, a man in uniform asks if they want to claim asylum in Hungary. Youssef says he would never stay in a country that beats and locks up refugees. He asks again why they don’t allow them to go to Austria. The policeman shrugs, saying he’s “just doing his job.”

Youssef again emphasizes that he would never want to live in Hungary. The policeman then says that they will be sent back to Serbia. When Youssef and Mahmoud return to their cell and pass Fatima again, she cries out to them. But they don’t acknowledge her, keeping their eyes on the ground to avoid being beaten again.