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
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, 357
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, Stephenie, 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
disability, 23–4, 27–8, 32–3, 130, 221
‘disability benefits’, 46, 69, 90, 152, 175, 216, 224
and execution of Saddam Hussein, 136, 148
experience in Slovenia, 189–201
favourite colour, 3, 258
favourite saying, 31
fear of flying, 127–8
goes on school trip, 253–5
imagines European future, 188
impressions of Germany, 233–6, 239
journey to Hungary, 173–85
journey to Lesbos, 1–8, 139–60
journey to Macedonia, 166–72
learns Arabic, 28, 59
learns German, 207, 224, 234, 254, 258
leaves Gaziantep, 113–15
leaves Syria, 104–9
leg operation, 38, 41–3
and marriage, 246
meaning of her name, 13
meets Shiar for first time, 91
and Mustafa’s wedding, 96–7
‘Nujeen principles’, 31, 135, 239
and reading, 89–91, 101
recognised from photograph, 190
Rhine trip, 263
speaks English, 99, 115, 148, 151, 154, 157, 177, 180, 184, 242, 265
suffers asthma, 24, 27–8, 58, 169
Nuremberg, 218
Obama, Barack, 117
O’Brien, Stephen, 256
Öcalan, Abdullah, 195
Oliver, John, 225
Oman, 48
Orbán, Viktor, 179, 181
Orhan (cousin), 17
Ottoman Empire, 15
Pakistan, 12
Palestinian family, 199–200
Palmyra, 117, 119, 255
Panarbora park, 253–4
Paris attacks, 237–9, 256
Pegida, 248
people smugglers, 134–6
Perišče, 192
Pharaoh and the Sphinx, 241–2
Picot, Georges, 15
Pikpa camp, 155
PKK, 83, 195
Plato, 4
Political Security Directorate, 50
Poseidon, 145–6
Postojna Centre, 194, 201
Power, Samantha, 260
Prince (rebel commander), 80
Princip, Gavrilo, 75, 175
al-Qaeda, 73
Qatar, 58, 65
quarks, 263
quiz shows, 40–1, 109
Ramadan, 65, 69–70, 72, 78, 136, 257–8
Raqqa, 53, 94, 102, 257
refugees, suffocated in truck, 203, 209
Reker, Henriette, 235–6, 263
rihlat al-moot (route of death), 8
Road to Aleppo, 92
Rodrigo, Concierto de Aranjuez, 102
Rosenheim, 217
Röszke, 178
S., Frank, 235–6, 263–4
St Paul, 4
St Petersburg, 253
Saladin, 16
salep, 21
Salzburg, 212
Samar, 78
Samos, 125
Sardar (aid-worker), 152–3, 158
Saudi Arabia, 48, 58, 65, 95
Schengen Agreement, 121
Scott, James, 115,
226, 247
Scud missiles, 86
Second World War, 75, 266
Seehofer, Horst, 219
Serbia, 123–4, 171–4, 179–80, 187, 238
shabiha, 63, 66
Shamsa (aunt), 85–6, 103, 118–20
Sharm El-Sheikh, 48
Shereen (aunt), 130, 145, 149, 161, 223
Shia prayers, 194–5
Shiar (brother), 13–14, 19–21, 24–5, 43
his daughter, 33, 93
and family’s leaving Syria, 108, 110, 115
filming in Syria, 91–3, 95, 99
flies to Athens, 163–5
and Nujeen’s arrival in Germany, 219–21, 223, 236
and Syrian revolution, 66, 69
transfers money, 134
SIA refugees, 169, 171
SIM cards, 156
Six Day War, 50
Skala Sikamineas, 150
Slovenia, 185, 187, 189–201, 204–5, 212
Slumdog Millionaire, 109
smoking, 27
Sofia, 122–3
Somalia, 12
Soros, George, 243
Sound of Music, The, 211
Spielfeld, 205
Sriaa (tortoise), 38–40
Stalin, Josef, 59–60
Streets of Freedom, 80
suicide bombers, 237–8
Sweeney, Alison, 115, 226–7
Sykes, Mark, 15
Syrian National Council, 106
Tahrir Square, 46
Talabani, Jalal, 55
Taliban, 216
Tehran, 16
tennis, 41
Thatcher, Margaret, 259
Thessaloniki, 166–7
Thutmose, Pharaoh, 241–2
time dilation, 166
Tishrin dam, 13
Tomislav, King, 189
tortoises, 38–40
torture, 50
Tower of London, 253
Treaty of Sèvres, 15
Tripoli, 57
Tunisia, 48, 56
Turkification policy, 17
Turkomans, 58
UAE, 117
UN Convention on Refugees, 122
UNHCR, 171, 177, 193, 262
vendettas, 97
Victoria, Queen, 11, 115–17
Victoria and Albert Museum, 156
Vienna, 124, 203
von Trapp family, 211–12
Walking, 19
Wesseling, 231, 254
Who Wants to be a Millionaire?, 40
William, Prince, 96, 194
wristbands, 206–7, 217–18
Würzburg attack, 264
Yaba (father), 13, 16, 18, 21, 38, 267
and family’s return to Manbij, 77–8, 84
and Nujeen’s arrival in Germany, 215, 246
and Nujeen’s departure, 114
and Nujeen’s disability, 24, 32
returns to Aleppo for belongings, 86–7
sadness for Syria, 257
and Syrian revolution, 53–4, 58, 61, 63–5, 69
and tortoise, 39–40
Yarmouk, 199
Yazidis, 117, 193, 198, 256
Yemen, 48
YPG, 57, 65, 68, 101, 118, 120, 257
Zagreb, 188–9
Zenobia, Queen, 116–17, 137
Zorba the Greek, 13
Zuckerberg, Mark, 115