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The Girl from Aleppo

Page 20

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

  The pagination of this electronic edition does not match the edition from which it was created. To locate a specific entry, please use your e-book reader’s search tools.

  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
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  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
’s leaving Syria, 104–5, 108–10, 114

  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

 

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