‘No one was born to become a refugee’: Tareq Hadhad champions What Strange Paradise | CBC Books
With four books left on the Canada Reads table, and free agent Suzanne Simard’s vote up for grabs, the panellists dug deeper into each of the books on the second day of debate.
There were four rounds — each focused on a book — where champions had to answer criticisms on structure, character development and how themes of hope and self-discovery were presented in their books.
Entrepreneur Tareq Hadhad, championing What Strange Paradise by Omar El Akkad, was the last panellist in the hot seat.
What Strange Paradise tells the story of a nine-year-old boy named Amir, the only survivor from a ship of refugees coming to a small island nation. When Amir wakes up on a beach, surrounded by bodies and debris, he sees masked men and, instinctively, runs away. He finds safety with a local teenage girl, Vanna, who — troubled by the xenophobic attitudes of the officials, tourists and locals on her home island — becomes determined to deliver him to safer shores.
The novel tells their stories, while asking difficult questions about the global refugee crisis, like, “How did we get here?” and “What are we going to do about it?”
WATCH | The book trailer for What Strange Paradise
Omar El Akkad’s novel will be championed by Tareq Hadhad on Canada Reads 2022. 1:09
Hadhad, the CEO of Peace by Chocolate, spoke about how much What Strange Paradise resonated with his own experience as a former refugee from Syria. He argued that, in these cynical times, Canadians need to hear the powerful stories of refugees.
“No one was born to become an immigrant, no one was born to become a refugee. It is not a choice. It is not a decision. You are forced to go through that experience. [What Strange Paradise] certainly represented what it means to be that human being who lost everything and became a number on this certificate from the United Nations,” said Hadhad.
The topic of refugees has been politicized by populists who turn anxiety into votes.
“The beauty of Omar is that he’s brought the perspectives of other people on the boat and other people on the island who have different perspectives on what it means to be kind.
“The topic of refugees has been politicized by populists who turn anxiety into votes… I think that was the power of What Strange Paradise — it delivered on that topic very lightly, in a way that connects and humanizes refugees, in a way that no other book that I have read tells my own story. “
LISTEN | Learn more about What Strange Paradise
Canada Reads31:16Canada Reads 2022: Get to know What Strange Paradise
In this introduction to the novel What Strange Paradise, discover what the book is about and why entrepreneur and former Syrian refugee Tareq Hadhad chose it for Canada Reads 2022. 31:16
Meet the champions and their chosen books:
Here’s how you can tune into Canada Reads 2022:
ON RADIO: Canada Reads will air on CBC Radio at 11:05 a.m. ET, CST, MT, PT; at 1:05 p.m. in AT, and at 1:35 p.m. in Newfoundland and Labrador. It replays at 8 p.m. local time and 8:30 p.m. in Newfoundland and Labrador.
ON TV: CBC TV will broadcast Canada Reads at 1 p.m. ET, CST, MT, PT; at 2 p.m. in AT, and at 2:30 p.m. in Newfoundland and Labrador.
ONLINE: CBC Books will livestream the debates at 11 a.m. ET on CBCBooks.ca, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and Gem. The debates will be available to replay online each day. The livestreams on YouTube and Facebook will be available to watch outside Canada.
PODCAST: Listen to the debates as a podcast on CBC Listen. The episode will be posted each day after the live airing.
WARNING: The books chosen for Canada Reads deal with difficult topics, such as trauma and abuse. These stories may be shared during the broadcast. Click this link to find publicly available resources for support.
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