Chaker Khazaal

Chaker Khazaal
Born	(1987-09-28) 28 September 1987 Beirut, Lebanon
Occupation	Author, Reporter, Entrepreneur, Public Speaker
Nationality	Palestinian Refugee, Canadian
Genre	Fiction, inspired by true stories, war, thriller, romantic
Notable works	Confessions of a War Child, Confessions of a War Child (Lia), Confessions of a War Child (Sahara), Huffington Post articles

Chaker Khazaal (Arabic: شاكر خزعل, born September 28, 1987)^[1] is a Palestinian-Canadian author, reporter, entrepreneur, and speaker on social media, refugees, international affairs and aid.^[2] He is also a contributor at The Huffington Post.^[3] Chaker is known for his award winning novel, Confessions of a War Child, which was released on March 17, 2013. He released the second story of the trilogy, subtitled Lia, on April 20, 2014. The third book of the trilogy, subtitled Sahara, is set to be released in 2015.^[4] He traveled and interviewed people in war zones to inspire the events of his Confessions of a War Child books. In 2015, Arabian Business Magazine listed Chaker 36th in the The 100 Most Powerful Arabs Under 40 in the World.^[5]

Personal life

Born in Beirut, Lebanon to Palestinian filmmaker father and socio-political activist mother, 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.^[6] He was raised up in Bourj el-Barajneh Palestinian refugee camp in Beirut^[7] then moved to live in Toronto, Canada.

Chaker has attention deficit hyperactivity disorder which he has always refused to take medication for. It has affected his ability on concentrating on one thing at a time and his sleeping patterns. He has spoken about it as something that had empowered him rather than jeopardized his work. He had also 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.^[8]

Career

Early Career (1997-2009)

Starting at age 10, Chaker acted in many local plays in Beirut. In 2000, he starred in the Palestinian film Sugar of Jaffa.^[9] In 2001, Chaker starred in That’s How We Started, a short film about the plight of Palestinian refugees in Lebanon. He traveled with the cast to Europe and Canada showing the film at different venues. The following year, only at age 15, he was invited to Norway by Helene Aall Henriksen to lecture high school and university students in Oslo, Bergen, and Tromso on the situation of refugees in the Middle East.

In 2003, Chaker was selected to participate in the Palestinian Friendship and Leadership Exchange Program where the group of eight Palestinians gave a series of lectures and presentations at Canadian institutions and schools on the importance of peace in the Middle East.

When he was 17, he was awarded the prestigious Global Leader of Tomorrow Award by York University for his excellent academic and leadership skills to study film production and international studies.^[10] During his four years at York University in Toronto, he worked for the Recruitment and Admissions department giving tours of the campus to future students and guests.^[11]

Nations United (2009-2012)

After completing his studies in 2009, Chaker worked for Nations United, a Canadian platform for humanitarian organizations where he excelled in public speaking about refugee affairs. He was the creator and co-host of Nations United's humanitarian web-reality show Faces of Transformation.^[12][13] 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.^[14]

Chaker spoke at events and on television about refugees, sustainable international aid, and children's rights in many countries such as Ukraine, Lebanon, Syria, Egypt, Canada, United States, etc.^[15] He was appointed a Goodwill Ambassador for The Child Well Being Fund of Ukraine in 2011 and for the Palestinian Women's Humanitarian Organization in 2012.

He resigned from Nations United in 2012 to focus on his career as an independent speaker, writer and entrepreneur.^[16]

Author, Entrepreneur, Reporter (2012-Present)

After resigning from Nations United in 2012, Chaker focused on writing his first novel of the Confessions Of A War Child trilogy. He used many stories he had collected while traveling as a speaker to inspire the plot.^[17] He released the first novel in March 2013.

Besides writing, Chaker formed a group of professional refugees from around the world offering them contractual remote employment in e-marketing, graphics, social media management, and different web solutions. His role in the business is to recruit clients and build the marketing strategies. Among the first clients was the Academy Award nominee for Best Foreign Picture Omar.

In November 2013, Chaker was appointed by American businessman Baldev Duggal as a Social Media spokesperson for his global companies, including the Duggal Greenhouse that hosted events and shows for Alexander Wang, Christian Dior, Nike, Lady Gaga, Charity: Water, etc.^[18][19] In an interview with Al Jaras Magazine, Chaker said that Baldev Duggal is an influential mentor in his life.^[20] Chaker and his team of refugees have run the social media and e-marketing of the Duggal companies since then.

Chaker's career as an author and entrepreneur made him a popular and influential figure on social media, with many considering him a voice for refugees and young writers worldwide.^[21] In 2013, Chaker was among the Most 200 Influential Arabs on Social Media.^[22]

Since late 2013, Chaker started traveling to conflict zones where he interviewed people for the second and third book of his Confessions of a War Child trilogy. 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.^[23]

In 2014, Chaker 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).^[24][25]

In 2015, Arabian Business Magazine listed Chaker 36th in the The 100 Most Powerful Arabs Under 40 in the World.^[26]

The Huffington Post (2015)

In January 2015, Arianna Huffington, President and Editor-in-Chief of The Huffington Post Media Group, invited Chaker to become a regular contributor to The Huffington Post. Chaker then announced that he will be publishing weekly articles covering various topics, mainly related to world events, politics, and the Middle East. He stated that once a month, he would be writing about a topic that is unrelated to politics. Below is a list of Chaker's articles in the Huffington Post:

Date	Title
01/12/2015	The Syria I Miss [27]
01/16/2015	Oscar-Worthy Performances by World Leaders (Paris Edition) [28]
01/23/2015	Syrian Refugees: Prostitution Rises When Aid Fails [29]
01/30/2015	13 Tips for Writing a Novel [30]
02/03/2015	Our Fight Against ISIS [31]
02/12/2015	Horse Wedding: With This Carrot I Thee Wed [32]
03/02/2015	7 Ways To Fight ISIS [33]
03/03/2015	Baldev Duggal, Immigrant to Icon: An American Dream [32]
03/23/2015	Interfaith, Interlove Project: Love Conquers All [34]
04/01/2015	Palestinian Refugees: Employment Is the Solution [35]
04/27/2015	Martin Garrix Spins His Tale [36]

Brand Ambassador and Advertisements (2015)

Chaker's popularity on social media led Château Ksara to choose him as a brand ambassador to its wine.^[37] Chaker appeared in different print advertisements for the Lebanese winery which he is known to like.^[38]

In March 2015, the Social Enterprise Project in Jordan (SEP Jordan) chose Chaker as a Goodwill Ambassador to its project which provides Palestinian refugees in Jarash camp with the tools and means to produce embroidery products that are sold in the international market. SEP Jordan named one of its scarfs as #ChakerScarf honoring Chaker’s advocacy for employment for refugees as a sustainable solution instead of traditional aid. He appeared in advertisements promoting the organization and the scarf named after him.^[39]

In addition, Chaker was featured in the International Federation for Equestrian Sports advertisement with Olympians Lisa Wilcox (equestrian) and Richard Fellers, promoting the Show Jumping World Cup and Dressage World Cup finals of Las Vegas in April 2015.^[40][41]

Books

Year	Title	Details
2013	Confessions of a War Child	The first novel of the trilogy, inspired by the plight of refugees, especially Palestinians.
2014	Confessions of a War Child (Lia)	The second novel of the trilogy, inspired by Khan al-Assal chemical attack in Syria and the Arab spring movements.
2015	Confessions of a War Child (Sahara)	The last book of the trilogy, inspired by the wars in the Middle East and the horrific rise of ISIS.

Confessions of a War Child trilogy

Chaker started his writing career in 2013 when he released the first part of Confessions of a War Child, a thriller romantic trilogy of fiction inspired by true stories of refugees and war around the world, mainly in the Middle East.^[42] 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.^[43] 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."^[44]

Chaker traveled to conflict zones, mainly in the Middle East, where he interviewed people to inspire the plot of the three books. When writing the second book of his trilogy, Confessions of a War Child (Lia), he interviewed people affected by the Syrian conflict. In 2014, Chaker interviewed people affected by terrorism in the Middle East for the last book of his trilogy, Confessions of a War Child (Sahara).

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."^[45]

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.^[46] The novel was launched at the Société de Lecture in Geneva.^[47] 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 murder which subsequently caused the war between Kabar and Saghar to begin.^[48] He emphasizes eternal and unconditional love, watching out for his Camilia from the World of the Dead.^[49] 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.^[50] 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?^[51]

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.”^[51]

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.^[52] In December 2014, Chaker described the plot of his new book by posting on all his social media accounts: "Hardships of Conflict, Art of Manipulation, Rise of Terrorism, Power of Love vs Love of Power."

Politics

Chaker is an advocate for Palestinian refugees to immigrate to countries that are in need of their skills. His views have been welcomed by many refugees and notable Palestinian figures such as author and TV host Rula Jebreal,^[53] but opposed by advocates of the Right of Return. He has helped Palestinian refugees to obtain remote employment via the internet in marketing, social media, web design, and graphics. Chaker has appealed several times through media to the international community for help in providing employment to the educated and skilled Palestinian refugees.^[54]

After his trip to the Middle East in 2014, Chaker released controversial statements encouraging Lebanon to close its borders with Syria. His statements implied that Lebanon needs to protect itself and its citizens from the Syrian conflict. He believed that Lebanon can not economically accommodate all two million Syrians and demanded that refugees are sent back to their homes or other countries that are able to assist. His statements caused dialogue and controversy among the public, and many were surprised and outraged at his views especially that he is a former refugee.^[55]

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.^[10]
• 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.^[56]

References

External links

• Official website