Asylum Speakers Podcast with Jaz O'Hara: Stories of Migration and Displacement

The final part of the story!!!

Welcome back to the Asylum Speakers Podcast! I can’t believe it’s been so long since the last episode, and so much has happened since then… and that’s what this episode is here to fill you in on today!!!

If you haven’t yet listened to the last episode that we put out, (about my foster brother Mez trying everything to get his younger biological brother Josi safely to the UK), I would highly recommend you go back and listen to that episode, because it sets the context for today’s episode.

To give you a brief overview…Mez left his country of Eritrea as an unaccompanied child, fleeing compulsory military service, nearly 10 years ago, crossing the Sahara, the Mediterranean sea and hiding underneath the Eurotunnel train to make it to the safety of the UK, where he became my foster brother. (He shares that whole journey in Season One of this podcast if you want to go back and listen). A few years after Mez left, his younger brother Josi also fled Eritrea for the same reasons. He too crossed the Sahara, after which he got stuck in Libya, where he tried several times to cross the mediterranean sea unsuccessfully. Here, he had a very difficult time, facing modern day slavery, forced imprisonment and many other life-threatening risks. During this time, Mez was doing everything he could to bring Josi to us and our family in the UK, safely and legally. It was a long and painful process that at times seemed impossible.

In today’s episode, you will be hearing the climax of this journey, the most incredible reunion of Mez and his brother Josi, and what life has been like since they found their way back to each other after ten years aart and many, many challenges. You'll hear from Mez, my mum, Mez and Josi's immigration lawyer and most importantly... Josi himself!

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This is an episode and a story that I’ve been wanting to share for nearly two years... and I am so happy to finally be able to do so!

This episode is about my Eritrean foster brother Mez and his younger brother Josi. A few years after Mez left Eritrea to avoid compulsory military service, so too did his little brother Josi. Josi is two years younger than Mez and they grew up doing everything together. They wore the same clothes, liked all the same things and Mez described him as being his little shadow. So despite Mez’s warnings of how dangerous it was, it’s no wonder that when he also became of age to be called up to the military, Josi chose to follow in his older brothers footsteps and flee the dictatorship in which he lived, in the hope of joining his older brother here in the UK. 

Unfortunately, since Mez made the 9-month journey, things have only got harder, and Josi has spent the last four years on this journey. Most of that time he has been trapped in Libya, trying to cross the Mediterranean sea to make it to the safety of Europe. He has attempted the sea crossing four times, been captured by the Libyan coastguard four times, thrown into Libyan smuggler prison and suffered the unimaginable horrors that come with that. Beatings, torture, modern day slavery, starvation and more.

This is the story of how Mez has spent the last few years doing everything he possibly can to get his brother to safety. It's a very personal episode and I hope you enjoy it. Part two coming soon!

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To support the show: https://www.patreon.com/theworldwidetribe

This episode is brought to you by Skin + Me - a personalized skincare solution that has not only transformed my skin, but also my packing experience wherever I’m going. Use the code ASYLUMSPEAKERS for an over 85% discount on your first month.

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In today’s episode I speak to the wonderful Imad Al Arnab of Imad’s Syrian Kitchen. Imad has such an amazing story. He was a successful restaurateur in his home city of Damascus, Syria where he owned multiple restaurants, several juice bars and coffee shops. After they were all bombed and it became apparent he had to leave, he made the dangerous journey to the UK, where at first he worked in a car wash and as a car salesman. It didn’t take long for him to go on to open his very successful restaurant in Central London - Imad’s Syrian Kitchen.. He’s now written a recipe book also called Imad’s Syrian Kitchen - a love letter from Damascus to London, and is in the process of opening an even bigger restaurant still in Kingly Court off Carnaby Street.

In the run up to interviewing Imad I read loads of articles about his story. In some he spoke about the 65 days he spent living in Calais, holding on to the underside of lorries trying to get to the UK. But most importantly I remember him talking about how cooking was always a part of his journey. How a British Pakistani volunteer had given him a small stove and gas canisters so he could cook for himself and 14 friends. How he didn’t want to carry a knife and appear dangerous so he broke the vegetables up with his hands, and how a local Calais resident had been annoyed with them fishing close by, until one day Imad offered him some of the dish he had made with the fish, and from then on, he allowed Imad and his friends to charge their phones at his house. 

Imad is so instantly warm and likeable. We recorded this episode in the restaurant after having lunch there together. I didn’t order, but before I knew it the table was covered in colourful, beautiful dishes. I remembered some of Imad’s words from another article saying “In Syria we don’t ask ‘what do you want to eat? We just serve lots of food and you can eat whatever you like, whenever you like. It’s like family.”

I LOVED Imad’s positive outlook and came away from the conversation totally topped up and inspired… I’m so sure you will too…

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To support the show: https://www.patreon.com/theworldwidetribe

This episode is brought to you by Skin + Me - a personalized skincare solution that has not only transformed my skin, but also my packing experience wherever I’m going. Use the code ASYLUMSPEAKERS for an over 85% discount on your first month.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In today’s episode we’re exploring what it’s like to be displaced and part of the LGBTQ+ community. This episode is dedicated to everyone who sits at this intersection, and faces not only the challenges of being an asylum seeker or a refugee, but also the discrimination that comes with their sexuality or gender identity.

We will hear from three people. A new friend of mine Hiba - the first openly trans filmmaker in Pakistan and is now living in London and seeking asylum in the UK. My other two guests today I’ll be keeping anonymous. One of them, we’ll call him A - runs a shelter for LGBTQ+ refugees from all over the world in Istanbul where he lives as a refugee himself from Iraq. My final guest M, you might remember from a previous episode recorded at his home in Beirut. He’s Syrian and lives as a refugee in Lebanon with his boyfriend, where he told me the painful but powerful story about what happened to them.

These are three very important voices, and ones we all need to listen to.

To support the show: https://www.patreon.com/theworldwidetribe

This episode is brought to you by Skin + Me - a personalized skincare solution that has not only transformed my skin, but also my packing experience wherever I’m going. Use the code ASYLUMSPEAKERS for an over 85% discount on your first month.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode we hear the incredible story of Ayman Alhussein. Ayman is an actor, cinematographer and co-writer of amazing new short film, Matar, directed by Hassan Akkad, starring Ahmed Malek and available to watch online, for free on Waterbear.

The film Matar tells the story of an undocumented delivery driver in London and highlights the challenges of navigating hostile environment Britain and its broken asylum system. This podcast episode brings you the incredible real life story behind the film. Ayman’s story. 

To support the show: https://www.patreon.com/theworldwidetribe

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This week’s guest is one of my favourite storytellers ever. Filmmaker Nadir Nahdi speaks so beautifully about his upbringing spanning many cultures, the ways that food has woven those pieces together and why the stories he tells and the films he makes are so disruptively important in our society today. 

I was introduced to Nadir’s work through his most recent youtube series Bad Pakistani about his journey through Pakistan to explore and understand his Pakistani heritage. I loved it. His work spans themes of culture, travel, heritage, belonging, food and more - all my favourite topics. I hope you enjoy this conversation as much as I did…

To support the show: https://www.patreon.com/theworldwidetribe

This episode is brought to you by Skin + Me - a personalized skincare solution that has not only transformed my skin, but also my packing experience wherever I’m going. Use the code ASYLUMSPEAKERS for an over 85% discount on your first month.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to the FINAL episode of The Journey!

Today’s episode is designed to speak to that rhetoric that refugees or asylum seekers might be a burden... that they take from us, economically, culturally, or whatever that fear might be. I’m honoured to be able to share multiple examples of how much we have to gain from welcoming refugees and asylum seekers with open arms. 

This episode came to be because along this journey we met many people working in grassroots refugee response, who have lived experience of migration themselves. By this I mean, refugees, people who have been displaced themselves, going on to support others in their same situation. 

So this episode is about those inspirational people turning their struggle into something incredible, going full circle and using their knowledge, expertise and depth of understanding through personal experience, to give back to their community. 

This episode is in honour of them.

We first hear from Nour and James, founders of The Great Oven. They build giant community ovens and donate them to those in need.

Next we hear from my lovely friend Danika who works unaccompanied minors in Paris. Her approach to humanitarian work has always inspired me.

Finally, we finish with some inportant words from Mustafa of Velos Youth.

https://velosyouth.org/

To support this podcast:

https://patreon.com/theworldwidetribe

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Welcome back to Episode FIVE of The Journey - a 6-part podcast series following migration routes from Africa, The Middle East and Ukraine, to northern Europe.

Today’s episode is about what life looks like for people once they make it to their final destination. What is life like in their host country? What’s new and difficult? What does integration look like or even mean? What can we, as listeners do to help with this process?

We begin this episode in Athens where we hear from the wonderful Murtaza from Afghanistan. We also hear from Anneke - founder of UK-bassed befriending service Host Nation, and two people who have benefitted from her service - Henry and Afeworki.

We finish with some final words from Susie in Cairo and Dalal in Lebanon talking about life in your new country.

https://velosyouth.org/

To support this podcast:

https://patreon.com/theworldwidetribe

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In his memoir about leaving Syria to life in the UK, my friend Hassan (also a previous podcast guest), shared the terrifying experience he had when attempting to reach Greece by boat. His rubber dinghy was approached by three masked men on a bigger boat, who stole their petrol tank and violently pushed them away from the shore. 

What Hassan experienced was a pushback.

What are pushbacks you might ask, well…in short, a pushback is when refugees and migrants are forced back over a border, generally immediately after they have crossed it. It is not just illegal to send someone back without consideration or assessment of their individual circumstances, but the violence with which these pushbacks are often carried out is costing lives. 

Welcome back to Episode FOUR of The Journey - a 6-part podcast series following migration routes from Africa, The Middle East and Ukraine, to northern Europe.

So far this season we’ve explored the reasons why people are leaving their countries, we’ve taken a look at what life looks like in the first countries they arrive to and we’ve delved into the risks they face along their journey’s.

Today’s episode is a very important one. Before we went on this trip we had a rough idea of what the themes of these episodes might be…. But this one was unexpected. Pretty much every person we spoke to, and definitely in every country along the way we heard stories about pushbacks.

In this episode we hear from academics, aid workers and also the testimony of someone who has actually lived the experience of being pushed back.

This is a shocking topic and episode, but one I truly believe we all need to know about, as the first step to stopping these pushbacks from happening at our borders. 

To support this podcast:

https://patreon.com/theworldwidetribe

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to Episode THREE of The Journey - a 6-part podcast series following migration routes from Africa, The Middle East and Ukraine, to northern Europe.

So far this season we’ve explored the reasons why people are leaving their countries, and taken a look at what life looks like in the first countries they arrive to. As a result of how difficult things can be in that first country, we also know that many people are forced to continue their journey until they find a country where they can live in safety… 

But what do these journey’s look like? How do people cross borders, often without passports, visas or documentation? Do they use smugglers? Whats it like crossing the desert or the mountains or the sea? 

We might have seen the newspaper articles about how dangerous these journey’s can be, but let’s hear it directly from the people with lived experience…

In this episode we hear from a young Afghan friend of mine, Shikhali, about how he crossed land and sea to make it to safety in France. We also hear some familiar voices such as Anne O'Rorke in Turkey, and Susie and Rashid in Egypt.

https://www.syrianeyes.org/

To support this podcast:

https://patreon.com/theworldwidetribe

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.