Emirati writer Dr. Alyazia Khalifa, Director of Al Fulk Translation and Publishing, recently released the Russian version of her book “The Humba Tree”, on the sidelines of her participation in the UAE delegation at the 37thIBBY World Congress, which was held in Moscow.
First published in Arabic within the “Books Made in the UAE” project, the book is a true story about an Emirati girl whose grandmother gave her a Mango (Humba) fruit. The child planted its seed until it grew into a tree. The story reflects the local lifestyle and encourages farming.
Dr. Alyazia stressed that the book’s reaching the Russian reader is very important, not only in Russia, but also in the UAE, which has a large Russian community estimated at 600,000 people. “The book contributes to introducing the Russian people to the Emirati culture and the local dialect in their mother tongue.”
She pointed out that the Al Fulk had previously translated works for children from Italian and Icelandic, without changing the names of the characters to Arab ones. “We were keen on preserving the spirit of each story and culture of each country, and for Arab children to be able to understand foreign cultures, and get to know them in in their true reality.”
Al Fulk Translation and Publishing was established in Abu Dhabi in October 2015. It specializes in publishing and translating children’s and youth literature from various languages into Arabic, and has previously translated books from Italian, Icelandic, English, Spanish, Korean, Dutch, and French.
