Gaza

Gaza is portrayed by the author as an epicenter of ongoing violence and humanitarian crisis being perpetrated by the Israeli government and military. Akkad opens many chapters with stark descriptions of suffering there, grounding his personal reflections in the harsh reality faced by Palestinians. Gaza symbolizes the human cost of political conflict, serving as a constant reminder of the urgent ethical issues that the book seeks to highlight.

Egypt

Egypt is Akkad’s home country. Egypt in the book serves as both a place of origin and a site of repression. Akkad recounts his father’s experience there, highlighting the authoritarian nature of the regime, such as when soldiers destroy his father’s papers, risking his disappearance. Egypt represents the backdrop of political persecution that prompted his family’s migration, contrasting with the relative safety they later find in the West, even if that safety remains imperfect...