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

The whole world was shocked by the footage of last week’s explosion in Beirut. It hardly looked real. But amongst the thousands of videos of the blast and the statistics being reported in the press internationally, are the hundreds of thousands of people who have been impacted by the tragedy. 

Today you will hear from two of these people, Lebanese rapper and director at Beirut Records, Jeff Bourjaili, and Syrian refugee and communications officer at SB Overseas, Ahmad Hafez. Both of them call Beirut home. 

In this episode, both guests share their important and different perspectives on the explosion. Jeff, whose home in the neighbourhood of Gemmayze in the city centre, has been completely destroyed, explores the failings of the Government and the frustration of the Lebanese people. 

Ahmad Hafez, who has been living in Beirut since 2018 when he fled compulsory military service in his hometown of Aleppo, represents the huge refugee population living in and around Beirut. An estimated up to 1 million Syrians live in the city, and around 1.5 million Syrians live across Lebanon.

Ahmad Hafez also works for the incredible grassroots charity SB Overseas, who focus mainly on education and empowerment for displaced people in Lebanon - predominantly Syrians and Palestinians. In Beirut, SB Overseas run a beautiful school for the Syrian children living in Shatila refugee camp, which I had the pleasure of spending some time in last year. Even though Shatila camp is pretty far outside of the city centre, it’s residents were still impacted by the explosion and Ahmad Hafez explains the heartbreaking effects on his community. 

In the aftermath of the explosion, SB overseas have shifted their focus to support the city’s most vulnerable with their urgent needs - including Lebanese residents. Their work is incredible and invaluable, and this podcast episode is in support of them. To donate:

https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/wwtsupportbeirut

Beirut will never be the same again, and everyone there will carry the events of the 4th August, 2020 with them forever. They will make it through this but right now they need not just out empathy, but our action. Most of us are not able to be there digging through the rubble, but can can support those that are. 

For anyone who has never been to Beirut, or doesn’t know anyone there, it’s natural that the events of this last week might feel far away. Thank you for being here and opening your hearts and your minds to these important voices and to Beirut and it’s people. They need us right now. 

To support this podcast: https://www.patreon.com/theworldwidetribe

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Today is the six year anniversary of the Yazidi Genocide. 

If you don't know about the Yazidi people or what happened to them...this is the episode for you. 

My guest this week is Farida Khalaf - a Yazidi girl from a village in Northern Iraq - 100km west of Mosul. The Yazidi religion is an ancient minority in predominantly muslim Iraq, and when ISIS seized the city of Mosul in June 2014, Farida feared that her village would be next.

On 3rd August 2014, ISIS fighters began the systematic slaughter of Farida’s people. Just under two weeks later, on the 15th August, they surrounded her village, rounded up it’s inhabitants and killed every man and boy. The women were taken to be sold, tortured, raped and enslaved.

Farida shares her insanely harrowing story, from a simple village life, to mass rape, beatings and abuse at the hands of ISIS. Amazingly, Farida managed to escape and has gone on to write a book about her experience called ‘The Girl Who Beat ISIS'. She now lives in Germany where she is an advocate for Yazidi women globally. 

This episode is dedicated to every Yazidi who lost their life, experienced torture or continues to live under ISIS control. 

To support this podcast: https://www.patreon.com/theworldwidetribe

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Prepare yourself for what is definitely one of the most amazing conversations that I’ve ever had. You might want to take notes during this episode, I felt like I did whilst Giles spoke these words to me. I wanted to remember every word that left his mouth...

My guest this week is Giles Duley. Giles describes himself as an anti-war photographer, documenting humanity, love and connection in conflict zones all over the world. After years of working as a photographer in fashion and music, he realised he was not fulfilled in his purpose as a photographer, and set up Legacy of War (http://legacyofwar.com/), a photo project to connect people experiencing the impact of war. Very soon after, Giles stood on a landmine whilst photographing soldiers in Afghanistan, losing both legs and his left arm. Giles’s own body became part of the story that he had set out to tell... the impact of war on innocent people. 

In this episode Giles shares stories of the people he has met along the way, and the impact that they have had on his life. Listen out for Olive in Rwanda, Khouloud in Lebanon, Dawood in Mosul and more. Legacy of War has gone on to become a charitable foundation (https://www.legacyofwarfoundation.com/) which now not only shares people’s stories, but changes the direction of them for the better.

I’m so excited to hear your thoughts on this episode and I hope that this is the first of more that we record together because Giles has so many important stories and so much wisdom to share.

To support this podcast: https://www.patreon.com/theworldwidetribe

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It’s an absolute honour to have been able to interview this week’s guest...

Waad Al-Kateab is a Syrian filmmaker, journalist, mother and director of the film For Sama. For anyone who hasn’t heard of this film, go and watch it immediately (it’s available for free online)...but be prepared. It’s one of the most emotional and impactful films I’ve ever seen.

Waad and her family’s story is mind blowing. Waad documented living through the uprising and the siege in Aleppo, Syria for 5 years. During this time she fell in love and got married to a doctor called Hamza, and gave birth to her daughter Sama, a beautiful juxtaposition in amongst so much death and destruction. 

Today she shares stories of loss, laughter and survival, and what has happened since the release of the film. This interview is one of the highlights of my time working in this space and I’m so proud to share it with you!

Artwork by https://www.milla-adler.com/

To support this podcast: https://www.patreon.com/theworldwidetribe

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Kicking off the season today I’m joined by a guest who’s name might be familiar to you. Rob Lawrie is an ex-soldier turned volunteer from the north of England who made international headlines when he was caught smuggling a 4 year old girl from the Calais Jungle refugee camp in France, across the border and into the UK.

Rob’s actions saw him facing years in a French prison, with some branding him a criminal; but others saw him as a hero, and his crime, a crime of compassion. For those of us volunteering in Calais at the time, it posed the question, would we do the same? 

As you listen to this episode, I imagine you’ll be asking yourself a similar question.

But Rob’s story didn’t end with the judge’s verdict. His relationship with this little girl’s family has gone on to take many more unexpected twists and turns over the years. This episode is full of tension, surprise and mixed emotions...have a listen!

To support this podcast: https://www.patreon.com/theworldwidetribe

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This episode is another absolute treat.

This week’s guest is ‘Hairdresser to the Homeless,’ Joshua Coombes. After years of living parallel lives working to destigmatize and unpick the stereotypes around some of the most marginalised of society, it’s been a long time coming that we record this episode together. 

Josh started a hashtag and global movement called Do Something for Nothing after he began cutting hair for people living on the street and sharing before-and-after photos on Instagram, using them as a vehicle to share people’s stories.

We talk about shame, trust, patience and pain and some of the amazing people he has met on the street over the years.

We also share the project we’ve been working on together over the last few months. It’s called People of the Pandemic and it’s a global portrait series amplifying the stories of the every day heroes getting us through COVID-19. It’s something we truly believe in to set new foundations for the future, and we’re very happy to share it with you!

This episode is a collection of some of our learnings both individually and together over the last 5 years. It’s a really important and personal one to me, so I hope you enjoy it. 

Artwork by https://www.milla-adler.com/

To support this podcast: https://www.patreon.com/theworldwidetribe

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How do you self-isolate when you live in a refugee camp?

How do you wash your hands with no running water?

How do refugees even know about COVID-19 with no internet connection or phone signal?

You lot told me what you wanted to hear next on the podcast, so here it is... COVID-19 in a refugee camp. And I thought we might as well start with the biggest one in the world, Kutupalong Camp in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, home to over 1.6 million Rohingya refugees.

This episode is with Dr. Maryam, who has been working in Kutupalong since 2018.

I spent some time in the camp at the end of last year and got to know Maryam as a friend. We recorded this conversation together, in person whilst I was there. Little did we know what 2020 had in store, and how relevant her words and insight into healthcare in the camp would be. She has since been updating me where possible on the situation in the camp now, and I have included these voice notes to bring you the most well-rounded account of dealing with a pandemic in a refugee camp, that I possibly could. 

To support this podcast: https://www.patreon.com/theworldwidetribe

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Sarah Mardini has been on my radar for years.

Her and her sister Yusra, who we heard from in the last episode, became known for swimming their boat to safety from Turkey to Greece after fleeing Syria. 

A year later, they were in Rio for the 2016 Olympics, where Yusra represented the refugee swimming team which was heavily documented by international press.

But it was after that trip to Rio, that Sara and Yusra’s lives forked in different directions, and Sarah’s story took a pretty dramatic turn, ending up with her and her friend Sean Binder currently facing 25 years in prison, aged 24 and 25. 

From a war zone to the Olympics, from swimming for her life, to asylum in Germany, and one fateful day at an airport, that she will never forget...Sarah’s story is everything from refugee to rescuer, hero to prisoner and more….

Recorded just before lockdown, I hope you enjoy it!

To support this podcast: https://www.patreon.com/theworldwidetribe

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In today’s episode I talk to Yusra Mardini. We recorded this conversation in her flat in Hamburg, just before the world went into lockdown due to the Covid_19 pandemic.

During this time of self-isolation, it seems more important than ever to amplify voices like Yusra’s. As a Syrian refugee, Yusra knows what it feels like not to have borders open to her or the freedom to travel, and to be separated from loved ones for long periods of time. 

Her story is one of ultimate adversity and huge triumph. She became well known for swimming her boat to shore when crossing as a refugee from Turkey to Greece, then going on to swim in the Rio Olympics one year later, as just 17 years old. She has now written a book, met Barack Obama and advocates for refugees worldwide. I’m sure that Yusra’s story is exactly what is needed during this pivotal moment in history. 

In this episode we discuss social media, sisters, swimming and more. Her outlook, at such a young age, truly blew me away. I hope you enjoy it...

To support this podcast: https://www.patreon.com/theworldwidetribe

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In this episode I talk to Lord Alf Dubs. 

Alf is my hero. A child refugee himself, he fled the Nazi’s in Prague in 1939 when he was 6. Over 80 years later he’s still fighting for the rights of child refugees today.

We recorded this interview at the Refugee Solidarity Summit in London, on stage in front of an audience for the first time. I was pretty star struck and Alf did not disappoint.

We discussed our Government's recent actions against child refugees and what has changed in Britain's refugee response in comparison to WWII. 

I hope you enjoy it, and most importantly, I hope for everyone in the UK and beyond to better understand the decisions our government has been making on our behalf. 

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