The Beekeeper of Aleppo by Christy Lefteri is a story based on the challenges experienced by refugees while escaping civil war in their countries. The book was inspired by the author’s interaction with refugees while working as a volunteer in Athens. Refugees face every kind of challenge while struggling to seek asylum in a peace-loving country. The book features Nuri and his wife Afra, the two refugees fleeing civil war in Syria. Before fleeing the war-torn country, the couple lost their seven-year-old son, Sami. Sami was bombed along with other innocent civilians and died instantly.
The impacts of war conflict are felt hardest by Women and children. Afra witnesses her child dying as a result of the explosion. Nuri is a known hardworking person in Aleppo. He spends most of his time looking for his beehives. The inspiration for working as a beekeeper was drawn from Mustafa. Mustafa is Nuri’s cousin but flees immediately after his son is killed by crossfire from the war. Therefore, Nuri is left alone in the beekeeping business. Similarly, when their son is hit and killed by an explosion, Nuri and his wife decide to flee to the United Kingdom.
The journey to England is characterized by brutality and callousness. Nuri depends on various people to cross certain borders. Such incidents are not smooth because at some point they are forced to bear with the situation. For instance, Afra is assaulted sexually by a smuggler who helps them to forge passports to flee to the UK. Nuri and his wife don’t question the smuggler because they want to reach their destination. Such struggles and challenges are common among refugees.
