The Girl from Aleppo by Nujeen Mustafa
Germany
22 September
Rosenheim to Neumarkt
137 miles by bus
Neumarkt to Nuremberg
27 miles by taxi: 50 euros
Nuremberg to Cologne
267 miles by train: 115 euros each
23 September
Cologne to Dortmund (refugee centre)
59 miles by train: 45 euros each
24 September
Dortmund to Essen
30 miles by bus
15 October
Essen to Wesseling
52 miles by minibus
Index
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Ahmed (uncle), 7, 104–7, 130–1, 133–5, 137, 140, 142–3, 145–6, 161, 223
Air Force Intelligence, 63
al Arabiya, 137
Al Darb, 41
Al Jazeera, 45–6, 54, 95, 197
Al Salam hospital, 38, 43
Alawites, 29, 52, 57, 108
Albert, Prince Consort, 115–16
Albright, Madeleine, 243
Aleppo
Assad launches all-out assault, 256
barrel bombing, 72
burning of souk, 72–3
chemical attacks, 87
family leaves, 69–71, 76
family moves to, 24–5
family return for belongings, 86–7
film from, 255
missile attacks, 86
and Syrian revolution, 58, 60–73
and tourism, 31
Aleppo University, 38, 66
student protests, 60–3, 65–6
Alexander the Great, 4, 59, 168, 171
Alexander I, Tsar, 116
Algeria, 48
Algerian family, 232–3
Ali (uncle), 38
alphabet, Kurdish, 17
America’s Got Talent, 99
Anastasia, Princess, 11
Anlaufbescheinigung, 217
Apatin, 187
Arab Revolt, 15
Arab Spring, 45–9
Arai, 106
Aristotle, 4, 140, 164
Armenians, 58
Armstrong, Neil, 40, 72
al-Assad, Asma, 30
al-Assad, Bashar, 12, 29–31, 36, 106, 199, 211, 216, 253
holds elections, 119
personality cult, 29
posters, 62, 64
receives Russian backing, 65, 255
and Syrian revolution, 48, 50–4, 57, 65, 67, 73, 95, 107–8, 201
al-Assad, Basil, 29–30
al-Assad, Hafez, 29, 50, 53
al-Assad, Rifat, 53
Assos, 4, 140
Assyrians, 58
Athens, 161–3, 184, 200
Austria, 137, 179, 182, 197, 203–13, 217
Ayee (mother), 13–14, 19–20, 26, 38, 63, 118, 267
and arranged marriage, 246
enjoys watching tennis, 41
and family’s return to Manbij, 70, 77–8, 82, 104
leaves Manbij, 109–10
and Mustafa’s marriage, 97
Nujeen dreams about, 196
and Nujeen’s arrival in Germany, 215, 246
and Nujeen’s departure, 113–14
and Nujeen’s disability, 23–4, 27, 33
returns to Aleppo for belongings, 86–7
and TV, 40–1, 43
Azaz, 131
al-Azma, Yusuf, 16
Azmar (cousin), 85
Ba’ath party, 19, 49
al-Bab, 95
Baghdad, 55
al-Baghdadi, Abu Bakr, 102
Bahrain, 48, 117
balloons, to protect mobile phones, 5, 133
BAMF (Federal Office for Migration and Refugees), 221
barrel bombs, 72, 256
Barzani, Masoud, 225
Bavaria, attitude to refugees, 219–20
Beauty and the Beast, 18, 259
Bedouin, 13
beheadings, 94, 102–3, 105, 119
Belgrade, 124, 175–6
Ben Ali, Zine al-Abidine, 48
Berlin, 222, 260, 262
Berlin Wall, 132, 260
Bieber, Justin, 243
birds, sense bombing, 68
Bland (brother), 21, 24, 26–7, 38, 41–2
and arrival of Daesh, 94, 103
and family’s return to Manbij, 70–1, 77, 79
fears conscription, 66, 71
granted asylum, 261
journey from Syria, 104–9, 114–15, 122–5, 152, 177
and Nujeen’s arrival in Germany, 220–1, 232–3
and Nujeen’s journey, 121, 125, 156, 196, 215, 217
and Paris attacks, 238
and Shiar’s film, 92
and Syrian revolution, 45–7, 51–2, 58, 60, 63
Bloody Friday, 35–6
Bocelli, Andrea, 102
bones, number in human body, 131
Bouazizi, Mohamed, 48
Bozan (uncle), 85–6, 103, 118–20, 154
Brain Games, 8, 144
Braun, Eva, 60, 260
Bremen, 221
Bremer, Ulrich, 250
Brin, Sergey, 27
Brühl, 236
Brussels attacks, 256
Budapest, 179, 183, 203, 209, 238
Bulgaria, and asylum route, 122–5, 152
Cameron, David, 225, 266
Catherine de Médici, 259
Catherine the Great, Empress, 116
cats and dogs, 21, 24–5, 69, 71, 104, 115, 129, 159–60, 267
Central Council for Muslims, 249
Chios, 125
Christianity, 179–80, 194
Christians, 23, 25, 28, 56, 58
Circassians, 58
coastguards, 7–8, 142–3, 146–7, 149
Coca-Cola, 189–90
Cockta drink, 201
Cologne, 219–20, 222, 224, 231–2, 266
attack on Henriette Reker, 235–6, 263
New Year attacks, 247–50, 262
Cologne Zoo, 258–9
conscription, 66–7, 184
Cook, Captain James, 35
Croatia, 185, 187–9, 191–3, 197, 238
Daesh
advance on Kobane, 117–18
arrival of, 92–5, 101–3
and border crossing, 104–5
dislike of Zenobia, 117
hide among refugees, 220, 238
murder Jordanian pilot, 119
and Paris attacks, 237–8
proclaims caliphate, 102
and Russian involvement in Syria, 255
Western attitudes to, 256–7
Yazidis flee, 198–9
Damascus, 69, 49, 53, 65, 101, 106, 208
French bombardment of, 56
Damascus Spring, 30, 47
al-Dana, 94
Daraya, 256
Darwish, Abdulhamid Haji, 55
dawa forums, 93
Days of Our Lives, 43–5, 67, 87, 95–6, 98–9, 101, 109, 115, 157, 184
fans send gifts, 255, 262–3
Nujeen speaks to stars, 225–7
Days of Rage, 49, 51
Deir al-Zour, 53, 83
Denmark, deters refugees, 225
Deraa, 49, 51–4, 135
Derik, 55
Dilba (cousin), 119, 130
Djokovic, Novak, 174, 177
Dr Oz, 99, 176
Dortmund, 217, 220–1
Dozgeen (Mustafa’s wife), 84, 97, 104, 106–7, 262
dragons, baby, 201
Dresden, bombing of, 75, 255
Druze, 56
Dublin regulation, 123, 132, 158
Düsseldorf, 221
Egypt, 12, 117
and Arab Spring, 46–8, 56, 61
Eid festivals, 27, 69, 73, 78, 104, 136
Einstein, Albert, 243, 259
Elizabeth II, Queen, 11, 72, 184, 225
Erdoğan, Recep Tayyip, 106, 257
Eritrea, 12
Essen, 223–4, 232
Estefan, Gloria, 243
EU, and refugee crisis, 121–5, 137, 197–8, 262, 266
Euphrates, river, 13, 104
Evelin (cousin), 261
Evzonoi, 167, 169
Farhad (brother), 21, 25, 42, 66, 69, 85, 92, 177, 212
Farmana (cousin’s wife), 130
Faymann, Werner, 182
Federer, Roger, 41
fingerprinting, 122–3, 132, 158, 188–9, 192, 206, 210, 217
First World War, 75, 175
flatbread, 104, 131, 234
Flüchtling, 12, 263
food, Western, 151, 223–4, 243
football, 28, 41–2, 236–7, 258
Franz Ferdinand, Archduke, 75, 206
Fraternity therapy centre, 27
Free Syrian Army (FSA), 56–8, 66, 68, 106
checkpoints, 79, 84–5
in Manbij, 69, 71, 76–7, 94
Freilassing, 216
Friedrich, Hans-Peter, 220
Frozen, 243
Gaddafi, Muammar, 48, 57, 121
Gagarin, Yuri, 40
Gambia, 12
Gandhi, Mahatma, 59, 206
Gates, Bill, 259
Gaziantep, 104, 108, 110, 117–18, 127, 148, 184, 215, 257
Nujeen leaves, 113–15
Genghis Khan, 171
Germany
declining population, 266
economic benefits of migration, 265–6
refugee numbers, 250, 263
refugee policy, 132
Getting to the Moon, 77
Gevgelija, 171
giraffes, lack vocal cords, 12
Golan Heights, 50
gold sovereigns, 65
Golden Dawn, 164
Gone with the Wind, 89–90, 243
Gonsalvus, Petrus, 259
Google, 26, 35, 109
Graz, 204–6, 210
Great Revolt, 56
Greco-Turkish war, 150
Greeks, 58
Gulf War, 19
Ha, Christine, 76
Haifa, 15
Halabja, 35–6, 95, 118
Hama, 53–6, 62, 86
Hamber, Dr, 260
Hamburg, 249, 261
Hamza the Brave, 136
Hansel and Gretel, 213
Haql al-rmy, 37
al-Hasakah, 49, 83
Havliza, Barbara, 264
Hawking, Stephen, 242
Heidi, 90, 211
Helda (cousin), 130
Henri II, King of France, 259
Herod, King, 141
Hess, Rudolf, 236
Hezbollah, 67, 73
Hiba (student), 208–9
High School Musical, 242
hippocampus, 145
Hitler, Adolf, 59–60, 132, 203, 260
Homs, 38–9, 53–4, 57–8, 64–5, 67, 83, 86, 255
honeybees, sniff out explosives, 68
Hoover, J. Edgar, 11
Horgoš, 124, 177
Hughes, Howard, 11
Hungary, 124, 137, 170, 173, 175–85, 197, 208–9, 212
camerawoman trips up refugee, 180, 225
Hussein, Saddam, 35–6, 136, 148
I Used to Be Fat, 163
Idlib family, 196, 200, 204–5
Idomeni, 262
Iran, 12, 95
Iran–Iraq War, 35
Iraqi Kurdistan, 225
Islam, 14, 94, 237, 258, 264
Ismael (uncle), 130
Israel, 50, 165, 199
Istanbul, 16, 122
Italy, 122, 190, 218
İzmir (Smyrna), 5, 7, 114, 128–35, 140, 142, 145, 150, 163
Jabhat al-Nusra (al-Nusra Front), 73, 83, 92, 196
Jäger, Ralf, 248
Jamila (sister), 13, 20, 41, 118, 261, 267
and family’s return to Manbij, 70, 77–8, 86
husband has two wives, 89
marriage, 25–7, 38, 43
Jarablus, 94, 104–5, 107, 262
Jesus Christ, 23
Jews, 58
Jinderes, 108
Jobs, Steve, 243, 259
Jordan, 48–9, 65, 117, 120, 262
Joseph (Yusuf), 141
Juncker, Jean-Claude, 198
Karadžić, Radovan, 175
Karman line, 40, 128
Keane, Fergal, 184, 225
Kemal Atatürk, Mustafa, 15, 17
Khani, Ahmad-i, 16
Kirkuk, 15
Kobane, 3, 14, 64, 83–4, 103, 147, 150, 226, 261
evacuation of city, 117–20
Königsteiner Schlüssel, 222
Koran, 21, 48, 118, 136
Kori Beg tribe, 14
Kos, 125, 147, 200
Kristine (volunteer), 153–5, 158
Kurdi, Abdullah, 147
Kurdi, Aylan, 147–8, 156
Kurdish Democratic Progressive Party, 55
Kurdistan (Rojavo), 15–16, 37, 53, 102, 257, 267
Kurds, 13–19, 101–2, 259
and Arab Spring, 53–4
Bloody Friday, 35–6
festivals, 36–8
granted citizenship, 54
settle in Germany, 223
and Syrian revolution, 55, 57–8, 62
in Turkey, 115
and women’s education, 20–1
Kurmanji (Kurdish language), 14, 198
Laachroui, Najim, 238
Lampedusa, 132, 218
Last Week Tonight, 225
Lebanon, 65, 120, 196, 199, 262
Leonardo da Vinci, 70
Leros, 238
Lesbos, 1, 4, 125, 137, 146–8, 150, 153–4, 157–8, 163, 195, 200, 223, 262
Libya, 48, 57, 121, 132, 218
life jackets, 133
Ljubljana, 194
Logatec, 201, 204
Lojane, 173–4
McDonald’s, 189, 219, 264
Macedonia, 137, 161–2, 168–73, 175, 183, 262
Mahmud (Mustafa’s cousin), 133–4, 145–6
Malta, 122
Manbij, 13–14, 20, 24–5, 155, 224, 234
arrival of Daesh, 92–5, 102
electricity rationing, 98
family leaves, 103–10
family returns to, 69–72, 76–82
kidnapping, 85–6
militant brigades, 80–1
recovered by YPG, 257
Revolutionary Council, 80
US airstrikes, 257
Mandela, Nelson, 59, 195
Maribor, 204
Marja Square, public executions, 56
Márquez, Gabriel García, 90, 101
marriages, arranged, 43–4, 246
Masterchef, 75–6, 99, 151
Mazjek, Almin, 249
Mem and Zin, 17–18, 209
mercenaries, Afghan, 95
Merkel, Angela, 132, 137, 180, 199, 220, 263, 265
and Cologne attacks, 248–50
Messi, Lionel, 41, 76
Meyer, Stephanie, 115
Mikhail, Tsar, 11
Miratovac, 175
Mitilini, 148, 151, 154, 160, 200
al-Mohammad, Ahmad, 238
Mohammed (cousin), 25, 85–6, 120, 130–1, 139, 157, 159, 162
Mohammed (another cousin), 224
Mohammed (Mustafa’s relative), 129, 155
Moria camp, 154, 159
Morocco, 48
Mosul, 15, 102
Mother’s Day, 38
Mount Sinjar massacre, 117
Mubarak, Hosni, 46–8
Muhammad, Prophet, 136
Mukhabarat, 30
Munich, 217, 264
Murray, Andy, 41
music, Daesh ban on, 102
Muslim Brotherhood, 53
Mustafa (brother), 4, 21, 25–6, 33, 40, 42
agrees to marry, 84–5, 96–7
applies to America, 262
and arrival of Daesh, 92–3
and family
and family’s return to Manbij, 70, 81–4
and Nujeen’s journey, 121, 177, 212, 232
refuses to marry, 43–4, 53
robbed by militants, 83–4
and Shiar’s return, 91
and Syrian revolution, 46, 54–5, 57–8, 64–5
Mustafa (husband of Nahda), 128–9, 143, 146, 261
Nadal, Rafael, 41
Nahda (sister), 21, 24–5, 38, 47, 85
arrives in Germany, 168, 220–1, 223–4
and German language, 234
granted asylum, 261
her in-laws, 130, 161–2
journey to Lesbos, 3, 128–30, 133, 140, 143–4, 146, 149–50, 153–6
journey to mainland, 158–9
Nahra (sister), 21, 25, 28, 59, 250–1, 261
Najeeb, General Atef, 50–1
Napoleon Bonaparte, 116
Nasrine (sister), 13, 17, 21, 23, 26–8, 32, 43, 73
and arrival of Daesh, 93–4, 103
arrives in Athens, 161–5
arrives in Austria, 203–13
arrives in Germany, 213, 215–25
attends university, 38, 60, 79–80
Berlin visit, 260–1
and Christianity, 194
and Cologne attacks, 248, 250
determines to reach Europe, 125
encourages Nujeen to be independent, 245–6
enjoys watching tennis, 41
and execution of Saddam Hussein, 136, 148
experience in Slovenia, 189–201
and family’s return to Manbij, 70, 77–9, 82, 86, 95
fear of flying, 127–8
granted asylum, 261
journey to Hungary, 173–85
journey to Lesbos, 3–5, 7, 130–1, 134, 139–48, 152, 156–7
journey to Macedonia, 166–72
learns German, 258
leaves Syria, 104, 106–9
leaves Turkey, 113–15
meets Fergal Keane, 184
and missile attacks, 86
and Nujeen’s diet, 223–4, 243
and Paris attacks, 237–8
and puppy on Lesbos, 160
and reading, 89–90, 101
returns to Aleppo for belongings, 86–7
and Rhine trip, 263
sits in wheelchair, 244
and soap opera stars, 227
and Syrian revolution, 46–7, 49, 51, 60–4, 66
twenty-sixth birthday, 215
Neumarkt, 218
New York, 253
Newroz festival, 36–8, 47, 54, 247
Nicholas II, Tsar, 11
Nujeen
acquires new wheelchair, 258
appearance, 23
applies for asylum, 221
arrives in Athens, 161–5
arrives in Austria, 203–13
arrives in Germany, 213, 215–25
attends church, 257–8
attends hospital in Bonn, 245
attends special school, 241–4
becomes more independent, 245–6
Berlin visit, 260–1
determines to reach Europe, 125