Dr Feras Alkabani has announced the publication of Under the Rubble, a dual-text (Arabic-English) illustrated children's story.

The creative work is the outcome of a collaborative international project between Feras who provided bilingual editorial input, and the Damascus-based author, Mohammed Ani, and illustrator, Mallik Al Abboud.

Under the Rubble is an illustrated children’s short story that imagines a child’s experience of the destructive earthquake that hit Syria and Turkey in the early hours of 6 February 2023. Yaman witnesses the terrifying moment the ground shook and finds himself buried under the rubble of his own family home. Quick and composed, he finds a way to alert the rescuers of his location. Under the Rubble is a story of resilience, hope and gratitude in the face of loss and tragedy.

Pedagogically, the text would make a good linguistic resource for Arabic/English language learners as well as those interested in Translation Studies and the ways in which literary styles of expression are rendered between Arabic and English.

Dr Aisha El-Turki, Convenor of Arabic at Department of Language Studies (DLS), has now included the text on the reading lists of the Advanced and Post-Advanced Arabic modules provided by the Department. Printed copies of the book are now available at the MAH Resource Centre for colleagues and students to access.

Feras would like to thank the Department of Language Studies (DLS) in MAH for funding the printing of a few copies of the book.

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