Syrian refugee turns to filmmaking to practice English
The northern coastal community of Prince Rupert is the unexpected setting of an English-Arabic translation of Shel Silverstein's The Giving Tree, a classic children's picture book.
When 17-year-old Syrian refugee Abdul Ataya moved to Prince Rupert last year, he didn't speak English, a situation that left him bored and isolated.
Instead of wallowing in that boredom, he turned to filmmaking as a way to occupy his mind and practice English.
He chose to translate 1964's The Giving Tree, into Arabic and tell the story through images he gathered from around town.
The short film follows the cardboard boy who betrays the love and generosity of a caring apple tree.
Message of respect
In the story, the apple tree loves the boy unconditionally. The boy takes all of its apples, branches and eventually the wood of its trunk to satisfy his own needs, but he never gives anything back.
In the final frame of the video the words "This is you, and the tree is your parents," appears over two cardboard characters.
The message is clear: take care of and respect one another.
Ataya came to Prince Rupert — a coastal town of fewer than 12,000 people — in 2016. Before the Syrian war began in 2011, he lived in Homs, Syria's third largest city.
Ataya visited Old Massett and Queen Charlotte City as part of the Haida Gwaii Literacy event over the weekend, sharing his story and film with residents there.
"I'm nervous but I'm excited. I will show English [speaking] people and I will show a Syrian family over there," he told George Baker, associate producer at CBC's Daybreak North.
Listen to Abdul Ataya's conversation with George Baker here.
