Chapter 37: Leaving Homs – The Journey to the Sea
⚠️ Spoiler Warning: This guide contains detailed spoilers for the entire novel. Proceed only if you've finished reading or are comfortable knowing the plot.
Summary
The chapter opens with Salama describing the fragile routine of her neighborhood—moments of hope between bombings. Today, she says goodbye to her old self. She, Kenan, Yusuf, and Lama prepare to leave Homs. Salama takes a final look at Layla’s painting in the living room, then kisses the blue door goodbye. They walk through the streets to Khalid Mosque, where they wait for Am, the smuggler. When Am arrives in a gray Toyota, he notices Layla is missing. Salama’s pain is raw; Am comments that her absence means one less payment, which angers Salama.
They drive toward the first military checkpoint. Am warns that Kenan’s bruises—from the hospital breach—might draw attention. At the checkpoint, a soldier forces them to roll down the window, searches Salama’s bag, and taunts her. He mocks Kenan’s injuries, suggests he was protesting, and demands payment. The soldier also pulls at Salama’s hijab, saying she would be prettier without it. Am pays the bribe, and they are allowed through. Over the next hours, they pass fifteen to twenty checkpoints, each bringing new harassment: waits, pat-downs, insults, and a soldier who threatens to take Lama.
Finally, they reach Tartus. Salama smells the sea before she sees it. Am shows them the boat: a battered, overcrowded fishing boat that looks nothing like a safe vessel. Salama protests, but Kenan reminds her that staying means death. Am gives them life jackets and takes their payment—money and gold—before swearing on his daughter’s life that the boat will reach Europe. Salama confronts Am, telling him she feels remorse for what she did but that he is not a saint. He drives away. With Kenan, Yusuf, and Lama, Salama wades into the Mediterranean, ignoring the waves that try to push them back.
Key Events
- Salama, Kenan, Yusuf, and Lama leave their home in Old Homs.
- Am picks them up at Khalid Mosque; he notes Layla’s absence with callous practicality.
- At the first military checkpoint, a soldier searches and humiliates the group, demanding a bribe.
- The soldier taunts Salama, pulling at her hijab and insulting Kenan’s injuries.
- They survive fifteen to twenty more checkpoints, each with varying degrees of harassment.
- Am stops a soldier from taking Lama by distracting him with trivial questions.
- The group arrives in Tartus and sees the Mediterranean Sea.
- Salama is horrified by the dilapidated, overcrowded fishing boat that is their escape.
- Am insists the boat is safe and swears on his daughter’s life.
- Salama confronts Am about his greed, then they board the boat by wading into the sea.
Character Development
Salama transforms from a young woman clinging to her home into a refugee willing to risk death. Her internal goodbyes—to her house, her old self, and Layla—show her grief hardening into resolve. She finds the strength to confront Am, acknowledging her own remorse without backing down.
Kenan carries deep guilt over the hospital breach and his bruises. Despite his fear, he steadies Salama with his presence. His decision to board the boat reflects a painful realism: staying guarantees death; leaving offers a slim chance. He holds his siblings close.
Am is shown as a pragmatic smuggler who profits from desperation. He shows no sentimentality about Layla’s death, but his oath on his daughter’s life hints at a twisted code of honor. His irritation with Salama reveals his selfishness, yet he fulfills his side of the deal.
Lama and Yusuf remain mostly silent, their trauma shown through physical clinging and shivering. Lama’s close call with the soldier underscores the sexual violence that threatens girls even in transit.
Layla, though absent, haunts the chapter. Her death is a wound that Salama carries, and Am’s cold reference to “one less payment” emphasizes how the regime reduces human life to economics.
Themes, Symbols, or Motifs
Exile and Belonging: The chapter’s central act is leaving home. Salama kisses the blue door and later feels the earth’s grief pulling at her feet. Tartus’s mountains and sea become the boundary between a stolen homeland and an unknown future.
Checkpoints as Instruments of Power: The soldiers use the checkpoints to strip dignity, extract bribes, and assert control through humiliation. The soldier who pulls at Salama’s hijab weaponizes her faith and gender. The constant threat of violence keeps the characters in a state of terror.
The Boat as Ambiguous Symbol: The fishing boat represents both hope and danger. It is described as “a ticking time bomb,” yet it is the only route out. The overcrowded vessel mirrors the refugee crisis and the impossible choices forced upon civilians.
The Mediterranean Sea: The sea is personified as angry, with waves that try to push the characters back. It is a threshold that separates Homs from safety, and its salt offers a kind of cleansing or purification. Salama’s vision of ancestors walking along the sand ties her personal journey to a long history of displacement.
Lemons: The lemons in Salama’s bag appear as a small, mundane object that could be incriminated by the soldier. They symbolize the absurdity of being suspect for carrying fruit—and the way everything becomes a risk under oppression.
Why This Chapter Matters
This chapter marks the physical departure from Homs and the beginning of the refugee journey. It condenses the emotional weight of leaving everything behind—home, family, memories—while facing a future that may end in drowning. The checkpoints illustrate the systematic dehumanization that the regime inflicts on its citizens, and the boat scene shows the impossible tradeoffs war forces on civilians. For Salama, this is the final step before the unknown; the story pivots from survival inside a besieged city to survival on the open sea.
Study Questions and Answers
1. Why does Salama decide to trust Am’s promise that the boat will reach Europe?
Salama has no other option. Returning to Homs is impossible; the military could capture them at any time. Am swears on his daughter Samar’s life, and Salama knows he loves his child. She chooses to believe that vow because staying means certain death.
2. How does the soldier’s treatment of Salama at the first checkpoint reflect the regime’s control?
The soldier uses psychological torment: he demands eye contact, pulls at her hijab, and suggests she is prettier without it. This sexualized harassment is a display of power that reduces Salama to an object. The regime weaponizes gender, religion, and personal dignity to break resistance.
3. What does the description of the fishing boat reveal about the risks refugees face?
The boat is dirty, battered, overwhelmed with passengers, and appears unseaworthy. Am admits it is a fishing vessel built for far fewer people. The description shows the desperation of refugees who must trust flimsy, dangerous transport because all legal routes are closed. The crying babies and the threat of capsizing emphasize the constant possibility of death.