Informationen zum Autor ROY RATNAVEL was born in 1969 in the capital city of Colombo, Sri Lanka. At the age of seventeen, he became a political prisoner, and spent grueling months in brutal and oppressive conditions. After his miraculous release from prison, he arrived in Canada all alone at the age of eighteen. Ratnavel is now an executive at Canada's largest independent asset management company. He is an accidental Sri Lankan by birth, an unapologetic Tamil by heritage, and a proud Canadian by choice. Prisoner #1056 is his first book. Ratnavel currently resides in Toronto with his wife and son. Klappentext "An incredible rags-to-riches immigrant story from a prominent Tamil Canadian who fled torture and imprisonment, arriving in Canada with $50 in his pocket, then rising from the mailroom to the executive suite. For CI Financial executive Roy Ratnavel, "started in the mailroom" is more than a clichâe. That was his start on Bay Street only a few years after escaping the ethnic violence that was engulfing Sri Lanka. Ratnavel's incredible journey begins when he was 17, taken by government soldiers to a prison camp for no reason other than guilty of being Tamil. He was tortured for two months, until he was able to get word out to a family friend--a colonel in the Sri Lankan army. "Uncle" Fernando was able to rescue Ratnavel from the camp and return the bruised, bloodied boy to his family. Ratnavel's father understood that there was no future for his son in Sri Lanka. He sought refuge for his son in Canada. When the consular immigration officer asked for proof that the boy faced danger in his homeland, Roy simply lifted his shirt to show the man his raw scars. It wasn't long before Ratnavel was on a plane. His father was shot two days later. To repay the debt he owed to his hero of a father, Ratnavel was determined to find the bright future that had been envisioned for him. He went to night school, worked three jobs at a time, and lived in tiny apartments with four roommates. He persevered, and he hustled. He accepted no charity, even from relatives, but he made the most of the opportunities set in his path and the mentorship offered by those Canadians who recognized his work ethic. Prisoner #1056 is not only a hugely moving immigrant success story and a searing account of overcoming unimaginable injustice and trauma--it is a passionate narrative of determination, and of finding a way to thrive in the darkest of circumstances."-- Zusammenfassung #1 NATIONAL BESTSELLER BRONZE MEDALIST IN MEMOIR/BIOGRAPHY FOR THE AXIOM BUSINESS BOOK AWARDS An incredible immigrant story from a prominent Canadian Tamil who fled torture and imprisonment, arrived in Canada with $50 in his pocket, then rose from the mailroom to the executive suite of the country's largest independent asset management company. Roy Ratnavel's astonishing journey began at age seventeen, when he was seized by government soldiers and interned in a notorious prison camp for no reason other than being born a Tamil. He saw friends die, and was tortured for a few monthsuntil an unlikely encounter allowed him to send a message beyond the prison walls, which led to his release. Seeing nothing but more danger in his son's future, Ratnavel's father sought refuge for his son in Canada, far from the ethnic violence that was consuming Sri Lanka. When the consular immigration officer asked for proof that the boy's life was at risk in his homeland, Ratnavel simply lifted his shirt to show the man his unhealed scars. It wasn't long before he was on a plane. His father was shot and killed three days later. To repay the debt he owed to his hero of a father, Ratnavel was determined to find the bright future that had been envisioned for him. He went to night school, worked three jobs at a time, and lived in a tiny space with seven housemates. Ratnavel persevered, and he hustled. He accepted no charity...

Klappentext

An incredible rags-to-riches immigrant story from a prominent Tamil Canadian who fled torture and imprisonment, arriving in Canada with $50 in his pocket, then rising from the mailroom to the executive suite.

For CI Financial executive Roy Ratnavel, "started in the mailroom" is more than a cliché. That was his start on Bay Street only a few years after escaping the ethnic violence that was engulfing Sri Lanka.

Ratnavel's incredible journey begins when he was 17, taken by government soldiers to a prison camp for no reason other than guilty of being Tamil. He was tortured for two months, until he was able to get word out to a family friend-a colonel in the Sri Lankan army. "Uncle" Fernando was able to rescue Ratnavel from the camp and return the bruised, bloodied boy to his family.

Ratnavel's father understood that there was no future for his son in Sri Lanka. He sought refuge for his son in Canada. When the consular immigration officer asked for proof that the boy faced danger in his homeland, Roy simply lifted his shirt to show the man his raw scars. It wasn't long before Ratnavel was on a plane. His father was shot two days later.

To repay the debt he owed to his hero of a father, Ratnavel was determined to find the bright future that had been envisioned for him. He went to night school, worked three jobs at a time, and lived in tiny apartments with four roommates. He persevered, and he hustled. He accepted no charity, even from relatives, but he made the most of the opportunities set in his path and the mentorship offered by those Canadians who recognized his work ethic.

Prisoner #1056 is not only a hugely moving immigrant success story and a searing account of overcoming unimaginable injustice and trauma-it is a passionate narrative of determination, and of finding a way to thrive in the darkest of circumstances.

Zusammenfassung
*#1 NATIONAL BESTSELLER
BRONZE MEDALIST IN MEMOIR/BIOGRAPHY FOR THE AXIOM BUSINESS BOOK AWARDS*

An incredible immigrant story from a prominent Canadian Tamil who fled torture and imprisonment, arrived in Canada with $50 in his pocket, then rose from the mailroom to the executive suite of the country’s largest independent asset management company.**

Roy Ratnavel’s astonishing journey began at age seventeen, when he was seized by government soldiers and interned in a notorious prison camp for no reason other than being born a Tamil. He saw friends die, and was tortured for a few months—until an unlikely encounter allowed him to send a message beyond the prison walls, which led to his release.

Seeing nothing but more danger in his son’s future, Ratnavel’s father sought refuge for his son in Canada, far from the ethnic violence that was consuming Sri Lanka. When the consular immigration officer asked for proof that the boy’s life was at risk in his homeland, Ratnavel simply lifted his shirt to show the man his unhealed scars. It wasn’t long before he was on a plane. His father was shot and killed three days later.

To repay the debt he owed to his hero of a father, Ratnavel was determined to find the bright future that had been envisioned for him. He went to night school, worked three jobs at a time, and lived in a tiny space with seven housemates. Ratnavel persevered, and he hustled. He accepted no charity, even from relatives, but he made the most of the opportunities set in his path, the mentorship offered by those Canadians who recognized his potential, and by his new homeland, a country shaped by openness, tolerance, and a commitment to merit.

Prisoner #1056 is not only a moving immigrant success story and a searing account of surviving unimaginable injustice and trauma—it is an urgent warning that the dark forces of populism that tore apart the once-prosperous island of Sri Lanka can do their ugly work in Western societies too. Passionate, raw, thoughtful, and far-seeing, Prisoner #1056 makes the case that our destiny is in our own hands.