Having worked in journalism and culture back at home, she enjoys the freedom of publishing in Canada. She makes books of all kinds available without restrictions.
In a Zoom interview, Hadaq told Al-Fanar Media that she founded her publishing house with her own efforts, and that it does not yet generate a profit. She is currently seeking support from international institutions and establishing partnerships with European bookstores.
“I would like to prove that, as a refugee, I am not dependent on my host country,” said Hadaq.
On the Regime’s ‘Wanted List’
Hadaq is a media graduate of Damascus University. She was forced to leave Syria in December 2011 after discovering she was on the Syrian authorities’ “wanted list” for her involvement in the civil protests that preceded the war.
She moved to Ghana, where her father works. In Ghana, she had to wait for about eight years for her asylum case before she and her daughter moved to Canada in February 2020. Throughout the years, she had hoped to return to Syria, but this hope has faded as the crisis goes on, she said.
Within a year of launching the Ishtar House for Culture and Arts, Hadaq participated in international book fairs and managed to deliver about 5,000 books to Arab readers in Canada.
She also concluded agreements to publish the works of four Arab authors in Canada and the United States this year. In November, the house entered into a partnership with the Toronto Public Library, to supply it with Arabic books.
However, the publishing house faces several challenges. These include high shipping prices, taxes, and the lack of a headquarters. In addition, the restrictions imposed by the Covid-19 pandemic limit its ability to hold cultural events.
A Positive Impact
Samer Al-Kadri, the founder of an Arabic publishing house in the Netherlands, agrees with Hadaq about the material difficulties facing refugees who try to maintain cultural projects in exile.
“It is almost impossible to turn them into a source of profit as a commercial project, for reasons related to high printing costs, taxes, and wages,” he said.