Tareq is the book’s primary protagonist. A teenage Syrian boy forced to flee his homeland, Tareq’s character reveals the physical and emotional toll such an odyssey takes on a person. He goes from being a boy to a man—as implied by the grey hairs he grows and the fact that another man offers him a cigarette—an act that Tareq realizes marks the first time he’s “considered a man in the eyes of those around him” (154). Tareq’s conflicting emotions about leaving his homeland serve to remind the reader that refugees do not choose to become refugees: Tareq misses the familiarity of Syria and fails to feel at home elsewhere, whether in Istanbul or Germany.

As a representation of the refugee experience, Tareq makes it clear just how hard it is to be forced to leave home. As other characters in the book demonstrate, however, the choice is usually one of life or death. Tareq’s character likewise speaks to another theme, the universal nature of trauma. Tareq is one of many characters who goes through traumatic events, for instance witnessing the death of a woman on his boat. The repercussions are clear, as he will go on to have nightmares and anxiety, even after he has safely arrived in Germany.