Libya
Libya is introduced as Suleiman's status quo. The imagery is his setting, first and foremost, but to Western readers, it also illustrates significant differences between life in North Africa and in Western nations. For one thing, Suleiman's life is embedded in his community, and everyone who lives nearby each other knows each other well. Qaddafi's wrath is felt through that community first, so Suleiman's concrete experience of Libya is combined with the abstract experience of community as the society starts to fall apart.
Death and torture
The imagery that infects his reality is the imagery of death, which leaves his community highly at risk. He watches as a trusted man from his community admits to crimes he didn't commit, as a puppet of Qaddafi's propaganda. When they execute him publicly, that is the ultimate imagery for Suleiman. It is without a doubt the most perplexing, horrifying event he has ever witnessed. Also, he watches the same thing happen to his own father.
Paranoia
Throughout the book, the introduction of injustice, torture, and death brings a sense of paranoia into the community. If anxiety is the fear of something that might happen, then paranoia is the fear of something one suspects actually will happen. In this case, the families in this Libyan community are forced to examine this emerging imagery of paranoia, because it will decide whether they leave or stay. They need to decide whether they are actually in danger, and when Sulaiman's father dies, they choose to leave.
Egypt
Egypt is a place of exile for Suleiman's family. The concrete imagery is almost irrelevant compared with the abstract imagery that Egypt represents to them. They are not welcomed parts of communities, but instead, they are alone, against all odds, with a nearby government out to kill them, and so they are in Egypt as refugees and victims of Qaddafi's injustice. That doesn't automatically make Egypt a welcoming place for them, either, so Egyptian imagery represents the difficult challenges that await them.
