The world has many refugecs (难民), but we usually hear little about their lives. This year's Nobel Prize winner in Literature, Tanzanian writer Abdulrazak Gurnah, is helping people know more about their stories.
Gurnah's works are mainly about refugees. These people leave their countries because of wars or to find a better life. Readers can see how colonialism (殖民主义) influences people with his works. "These are things that are with us every day. People are dying, people are being hurt around the world—we must deal with these problems in the kindest way, " said Gurnah.
In fact, this problem is very close to his own heart. When he was just 18, Gurnah was forced to leave his home country as a refugee. He moved to England and soon started writing novels there.
Aged 73, Gurnah has written 10 novels and a number of short stories. In 1994, Gurnah wrote Paradise (《天堂》), one of his best—known novels. It's about a boy in Africa called Yusuf, who grew up during World War I. Yusuf was sold by his father to a travelling trader to pay a debt (债务). As he travelled, Yusuf saw war, disease and child slavery.
Before Gurnah retired, he was a professor at the University of Kent in England. The head of the university's School of English said that Gurnah's works "have touched millions worldwide and shine a light on human experiences".
