Chaker Khazaal

Chaker Khazaal (Arabic: شاكر خزعل, born September 28, 1987) is a Palestinian Canadian writer and speaker on social media, refugees, and international aid. He is listed as one of the most influential Arabs on Social Media and the youngest to be on the Top charts. Chaker is known for his award winning novel, Confessions of a War Child, which was first released on March 17, 2013. He released the second story of the trilogy, subtitled Lia, on April 20, 2014.

Personal life

Born in Beirut, Lebanon to Palestinian filmmaker Mahmoud Khazaal and socio-political activist mother Olfat Mahmoud, Chaker is the eldest of his three brothers: Fayez, Hadi, and Hani. His paternal grandfather and maternal grandparents were displaced from Palestine in 1948 following Nakba Day and became refugees in Lebanon. His paternal grandmother is Lebanese from Southern Lebanon. He was raised up in Bourj el-Barajneh Palestinian refugee camp in Beirut. Chaker moved to Toronto in 2005 to start his undergraduate studies at York University.

Chaker has attention deficit hyperactivity disorder which he has always refused to take medication for. He has spoken about it as something that had empowered him rather than jeopardized his work. He had said that he is a night creature and he prefers to write and work during the night. In an interview with 20 to 30, Chaker mentioned that he never sleeps for long periods but prefers to take regular naps during the day and night.

Career

Chaker acted in many local plays in Beirut and at age of 13, he starred in the Palestinian film Sugar of Jaffa. When he was 17, he was awarded the prestigious Global Leader of Tomorrow Award by Toronto’s York University for his excellent academic and leadership skills to study film production and international studies. During his four years at York University in Toronto, he worked as a student ambassador giving tours of the campus to future students and guests.

After completing his studies in 2009, Chaker worked for Nations United, a Canadian platform for humanitarian organizations where he excelled in public speaking for refugees worldwide. He was the creator and co-host of Nations United's humanitarian web-reality show Faces of Transformation. The show ran for six months in 2011 and became a success when one of the finalists started Qureshi Farm in India providing employment to locals in Fatehpur District.

Chaker spoke about international aid and sustainability in many countries such as Ukraine, Lebanon, Syria, Egypt, Canada, United States, etc.

He resigned from Nations United in March 2013 to become an independent speaker and focus on his career as a writer.

Chaker is an advocate for Palestinian refugees to immigrate to countries where there are opportunities. His views have been welcomed by many refugees and notable Palestinian figures such as author and TV host Rula Jebreal, but opposed by advocates of the Right of Return. In 2014, he supported protests by Palestinian youth in Lebanon asking for work visas to work away from refugee camps in Lebanon where refugees are not allowed employment. He has helped Palestinian refugees to obtain remote employment via the internet in marketing, web design, and graphics. His team of refugees have been working on the marketing of the Academy Award nominee for Best Foreign Picture, the Palestinian Omar. He has also been an active speaker about the importance of sustainable aid in the form of employment for Syrian refugees.

In 2013, Chaker was appointed by American businessman Baldev Duggal as a Social Media spokesperson for his global companies, including the Duggal Green-House that hosted events and shows for Alexander Wang, Christian Dior, Nike, Lady Gaga, Charity: Water, etc. In an interview with Al Jaras Magazine, Chaker said that Baldev Duggal is an influential mentor in his life.

Chaker has been mainly focused on his career as a writer since the launch of his first novel, Confessions of a War Child (Part One). He has become a popular and influential figure on social media, with many considering him a voice for refugees and young writers worldwide.

In 2013, Chaker was among the Most 200 Influential Arabs on Social Media. In 2014, he was listed in the Top 10 influential people on social media in Lebanon, and ranked 76th for influence in the Middle East and North Africa region (MENA).

In July 2014, amidst the Israel-Gaza conflict, Chaker was hired by Medium Magazine, a publishing platform founded by Twitter co-founders Evan Williams and Biz Stone, to write a tribute piece for a page on their website that lists all the victims of the conflict, on both sides, with information about them beyond what's on the news.

Books

Chaker started his writing career in 2013 with Confessions of a War Child, a thriller romantic trilogy of fiction inspired by true stories of war children around the world. The three books are narrated by dead people and the events take place in Kabar and Saghar, two fictional towns in the Arab desert. However, the stories are inspired by Chaker's upbringing as a Palestinian refugee in Lebanon, his world travels, and the political instability in the Middle East. Some events take place in France, Italy and on an unspecified island. Each story of the novel has its own theme and independent plot, yet most characters continue from one part to the other. Chaker never confirmed which stories in Confessions of a War Child are based on his own experiences, leaving the readers to wonder which part of fiction and which part is not. In an interview with Ahmed Shihab ElDin, Chaker confirmed that he does not believe in fiction, saying "every fiction has a reality behind it."

Chaker wrote the trilogy during the night only, living the events of the book as if they were real. Close sources confirmed that whenever he completed a part, he went into depression for leaving the characters and the writing. In an interview with 20 to 30, Chaker said that he "truly fell in love with one of the characters, and it felt like a break up after completion."

Confessions of a War Child (Part One)

Chaker started writing Confessions of a War Child (Part One) in July 2012 and released it in March 2013. The novel was launched at the Société de Lecture in Geneva. The first story of the novel is narrated by a man from the fictional town of Saghar who was killed on his wedding ceremony to a French woman, Camilia. The deceased groom narrates events of conspiracy that led to his [...] which subsequently caused the war between Kabar and Saghar to begin. He emphasizes eternal and unconditional love, watching out for his Camilia from the World of the Dead. Meanwhile, the French Camilia keeps a secret to herself that falls in the hands of a 24-year-old refugee. It is rumoured that the character Nader is a reflection of Chaker himself and each character is a reflection of someone that he knows. As Nader unawarely holds a key to Camilia's big secret, he looks for her on the fictional island, running into different characters that he shares his past with. Among the people he meets is Lia, an undercover police officer who becomes a focal character in the second story of the trilogy.

Confessions of a War Child (Lia)

Inspired by the tragic events in Syria and his close work with refugees, Chaker released the second story of the trilogy on April 20, 2014. Confessions of a War Child (Lia) was featured on several media platforms upon release such as The Huffington Post with HuffPost Live, hosted by Ahmed Shihab-Eldin. The novel was published by La Rayan Publishing, a company owned by Lebanese-Canadian businesswoman Laila Maiden. A summary of the book is posted on Chaker's website: After taking his own life, the merciless President of Kabar observes from the World of the Dead the chaos of his final act of revenge on his people. A letter given to his former prisoner, his beloved Lia, remains the last hope for his nation's survival. Will the devastating chemical attack he woefully planned against his own people happen, or will they be saved at the last minute?

Mike Finnerty of the CBC Radio One stated that "Chaker Khazaal writes, with exquisite simplicity, fables which capture perfectly this moment of rapid change in the Arab and Western world. Confessions of a War Child – Lia is a page-turner both brutal and beautiful where love scores few clean victories but by God it puts up a fight.”

Confessions of a War Child (Sahara)

In May 2014, Chaker announced through his official Twitter account that the third part of Confessions of a War Child is subtitled Sahara. He is currently writing the last story of the trilogy which is set to be released in 2015.

Awards

• Global Leader of Tomorrow Award from York University: Granted to four candidates a year, Chaker was selected for the Global Leader of Tomorrow Award in 2005-2009 and won $42,000 for his education.
• Award of Innovation from the Order of Saint Lazarus. Ambassador Princess Karen Cantrell nominated Chaker Khazaal for this award that he won in California in September 2013 for his Confessions of a War Child (Part One) novel. He accepted the award with a message on the importance of social media in bringing nations together.