Palestinian-Canadian author, reporter and entrepreneur  Chaker Khazaal spent his early life living in Bourj El Barajneh, a Palestinian refugee camp in Beirut. He later emigrated to Canada after winning the Global Leader of Tomorrow Award from York University in Toronto.

He released his critically acclaimed novel Confessions of a War Child in 2013, the first in a trilogy of fiction inspired by true stories of refugees. He also writes on regional issues and politics for US website HuffPost.