Abu Bakr al Rabeeah

AbuBakralRabeeah's memoir Homes, co-written with Winnie Yeung, will be defended by Chuck Comeau on Canada Reads 2019.

The 2019 debates are happening March 25-28, 2019 and will be hosted byAliHassan.

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About Abu Bakr al Rabeeah

Abu Bakral Rabeeahis a high school student in Edmonton, Alta. He published his first book,Homes,in 2018with Winnie Yeung. The book is a memoir of al Rabeeah'sexperiences as a young boy in Syria in the midst of civil war. He and his family moved to Canada in 2014.

Homes was a finalist for the 2018 Governor General's Literary Award for nonfiction.

• Abu Bakr al Rabeeah, teenage refugee from Syria, tells his story with help from his teacher Winnie Yeung
• Syrian refugee and his ESL teacher turn writing exercise into literary nomination
• Edmonton teacher helps refugee tell his story
• Why teenage refugee Abu Bakr al Rabeeah and teacher Winnie Yeung wrote about his family's life in Syria

Abu Bakral Rabeeah onconnecting with Canadian readers

"I hope readers [walk away]knowinghow similar we are,how we have the same things, even though we are from countriesfar apart. When I first came to school [in Canada], some of my friends asked me, 'Do you guys have chairs back in Syria? Do you have schools?' These kinds of question led me to telling my story. The other thing [I hope people learn from the book] is that, yes, we went through a lot of bad stuff, a lot of problems.But we still had a good life there.There are still people who arehappy living in Syria.

We went through a lot of bad stuff, a lot of problems.But we still had a good life there. There are still people who arehappy living in Syria.- Abu Bakral Rabeeah

"Once, after a speech, people came to talk to me. They said, 'We have some new Syrian refugees in the school and now I understand how to connect with them.' That's one of the things that I love."

Read more in Abu Bakr al Rabeeah's interview with CBC Books.

• Read an excerpt fromHomes
• Why Chuck Comeau is defending Homes by Abu Bakr al Rabeeah and Winnie Yeung on Canada Reads

Books by Abu Bakral Rabeeah

Interviews withAbuBakralRabeeah

Abu Bakr al Rabeeah & Winnie Yeung on why we need to understand the refugee experience

6 years ago

Duration 3:52

In this special Canada Reads 2019 edition of the CBC Books' video series, the co-authors of Homes talk about how caring for others is a part of our shared humanity.

The Candy Palmater Show13:22How one teacher helped a teenage refugee tell his story

Winnie didn't imagine at first that she would write a novel based on Syrian refugee Abu Bakr al-Rabeeah's life, but that's exactly what happened. Homes, a novel based on her student's story, has topped the bestseller list in Edmonton.