life rattle show no. 1283

Presented on THURSDAY, November 21, 2013

Hosted by Virginia ashberry

featuring

"My Two Worlds"
"The Elevator"
and
"Subway"

by Bayan Khatib

tonight's Show

Tonight, Life Rattle Number 1283 presents classic stories by Life Rattle writer Bayan Khatib.

Bayan Khatib was born in Aleppo, Syria, in 1979. Her parents left her with her maternal grandparents when she was eleven months until she was seven years old. This separation of mother and daughter forms the emotional core of the stories Khatib has written for Life Rattle. The family came to Toronto when Bayan was eight, after spending half a year in Calgary and before that, half a year in Denver, Colorado. Bayan Khatib married at seventeen, moved to Mississauga and began university studies the next year. Today, she lives in Toronto with her husband and children.

Bayan Khatib has written a series of heartbreaking stories with the honest voice of a seven-year-old child from Aleppo, Syria. Separated from her parents as a baby, she is reunited with parents she doesn't remember, under less than ideal circumstances.

Khatib is not looking for pity…the kid she portrays is stoic and accepting, but her pain resounds as a clear subtext. Bayan Khatib draws a vivid descriptive picture throug the little girl's eyes. Her writing is unsentimental, yet still wrenching.

In tonight's first story, "My Two Worlds," a seven-year-old is returned to her parents who had to leave her behind in Syria when she was just a baby.

In our second story, "The Elevator," newly arrived from Syria, a seven-year-old girl has to learn new skills and especially, who to trust.

In tonight's final story, "Subway," Dad likes his kids to learn by being thrown in the deep end, or, in this case, off onto transit alone.

Please note: tonight’s stories include situations that some listeners might find offensive. Parental discretion is advised.