Map by Benjamin Knapp

Aleppo, Syria

benjaminknapp25 — 2025-03-04 16:46:13 UTC

This is where Mahmoud grew up and where his apartment got bombed. This is what caused Mahmoud to leave his home and begin his journey to Germany. Mahmoud felt sacred and helpless because he could control what was going on. Mahmoud faced dangers like bombing and getting shot at. “A year after that, Khalid had died in an air strike anyway.” “The entire outside wall of Mahmoud’s apartment was gone.” Both of these quotes show the danger of living in Aleppo.

Kilis, Turkey

benjaminknapp25 — 2025-03-06 14:47:45 UTC

At this point in the story Mahmoud’s family goes to Kilis for a quick stop. Then Mahmoud’s father finds a taxi for everyone and they get ready to leave. The characters face challenges like the smuggler consistently canceling on them. “All right,” Mahmoud’s father was saying. “A man in the group we walked with gave me the name of a smuggler who can get us from Turkey to Greece.”

İzmir, Türkiye

benjaminknapp25 — 2025-03-06 15:12:25 UTC

Mahmoud’s family is continually being put off by the smuggler. So they have to find a temporary home which is a mall. Though one day they get kicked out of the mall because they weren’t paying to be there. At the end of the chapter they have to buy some life jackets for the trip. “Mahmoud’s heart sank. Three families in each room! And the hotel was full. What were the chances they wouldn’t find a room anywhere else?”

(38.89844647336784, 26.613950239757884)

benjaminknapp25 — 2025-03-06 15:44:07 UTC

Their boat crashes into a rock and in the chaos Mahmoud’s dad and Waleed get rescued by the Greece coast guard. Mahmoud and his mother find out the life vests are fake and don’t work. Mahmoud’s mother has to give away Hana to a boat passing by or else Hana will die. Next Mahmoud takes a life vest off of a dead guy and says a prayer for him. Then they float there for a while and get rescued by the Greek coast guard with Waleed and Mahmoud’s dad on it. “Fake?! Mahmoud was furious, but his anger quickly faded. Every ounce of his energy was focused on kicking, swimming. If he stopped, he and his mother and sister would drown.”

North Macedonia

benjaminknapp25 — 2025-03-06 16:39:17 UTC

Mahmoud’s family is in Macedonia and they’re trying to take a taxi to Hungary by going through Serbia. They see a guy willing to drive them to their destination and everything goes well until the man points a gun at them and makes them pay him 300 euros. After they paid the money and got kicked out they walked to the Hungarian border and go beat by the soldiers. “The Hungarians don’t care, I guess,” Dad said. “They don’t want us in their country, whether we’re coming or going.”

Győr District, Hungary

benjaminknapp25 — 2025-03-06 16:47:07 UTC

This is where Mahmoud’s family was taken. This was where they were held and were treated terribly there. It was so bad Mahmoud’s father even stopped joking around which he always does. “I don’t believe it. They took us almost all the way to Austria,” Mahmoud’s father said, checking his iPhone at last.”

Vienna, Austria

benjaminknapp25 — 2025-03-07 00:12:21 UTC

Mahmoud’s family is lost in the chaos of the detention center and struggle to find each other hope is lost and Mahmoud’s dad even stopped joking. Mahmoud thinks about it and realizes he can just leave the compound. Since there are UN workers there for human rights they can’t shoot him so Mahmoud walks about and his family joins him. They walk to Vienna and apply for asylum to Germany. “I’m not staying in that place and waiting from them to send me back to Serbia. Come on,” Mahmoud said. “We’re walking to Austria.”