Personal Info
- Country of residence: British Virgin Islands
Information
Shaker Khazal is a Palestinian-Canadian author born in Lebanon on September 28, 1987. Shaker is a Palestinian-Canadian writer active on social networks about refugee rights and public relief activities. He authored a trilogy of short stories entitled “Confessions of a War Child,” from which he released “Confessions of a War Child (Section One)” in March 2013, and “Confessions of a War Child - Leah” in April 2014.
personal life
Shaker was born to a Palestinian father, director Mahmoud Khazal, and his mother, Palestinian social activist Olfat Mahmoud, is the eldest of his three brothers, Fayez, Hadi and Hani. His ancestors were displaced from Palestine in 1948 and took refuge in Lebanon. Shaker grew up in the Burj al-Barajneh Palestinian refugee camp in Beirut, Lebanon. Shakir moved to Toronto in 2005 to begin his undergraduate studies at York University.
Shakir suffers from Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), which he spoke of as something that encouraged him to move forward rather than hindered him in his path forward. Shakir mentioned that he is a nocturnal creature, meaning that he prefers to work and write at night while taking naps at regular times during the day.
The work
Shaker worked as an actor in several local plays in Beirut and at the age of 13, he starred in the movie Sukkar Jaffa. At the age of 17, he received an award from York University in Toronto for his academic excellence and leadership skills in the study of Film Production and International Studies. He moved to Canada to study at York University in Toronto, Ontario and graduated in 2009 to join the United Nations where he became a spokesperson for refugee rights, co-presenting Faces of Transformation on the web.
He left the organization in 2013 to devote his time to writing. He also remained active in the rights of Palestinian refugees in Lebanon, and advocated for the rights of Syrian refugees and others. He received several awards, including the Tomorrow’s Leaders Award from York University, a grant to continue his studies at the university, and the Innovation Award from the Order of Saint Lazarus for his book “Confessions of a War Child (Section One)”, and was included in the list of the 250 most influential Middle Eastern personalities in social communication. He had media appearances, including the Canadian Radio, the Huffington Post and the Arab press.
Achievements and Awards
Awards
Shaker Khazal receives the Saint Lazarus Award
Source
- Years in active
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