The Found in Translation Podcast

Found in Translation: Frehiywot Kassa


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2:52 Introduction

3:30 Ethiopia’s regional distinctions

4:06 The current regional conflict in Ethiopia

6:33 The media’s role in misrepresentation of Ethiopia

8:53 Tribal differences in cultural traditions

11:11 The Visa lottery

14:25 Story: Arriving in New York

17:22: The importance of honesty in communicating the American experience to those abroad

19:35 Exchanging American currency

22:07 The role of immigrant advocates

22:55 "The people who arrived here first should take responsibility for [the safety and comfort of] newcomers"

24:00 Fear of deportation

25:01 "you don't just come here and relax" 

26:40 "America is uniquely challenging", mental colonization, cultural erasure by assimilation to whiteness

30:08 "is America glamorized?"

31:12 The impossibility of hiding your identity as an immigrant

34:04 The experience of immigration to America from an uncolonized African country

37:18 The Ethiopian Orthodox Calendar

38:49 America as a closed society

41:20 The importance of finding community

42:02 "When I travel somewhere the first things I look for are where the Orthodox church and Ethiopian restaurants are"

42:28 Food as a connection to culture

43:24 "The more I make what they make, the more it feels like they're living again, so it means everything to me"

44:19 "What inspires the importance of you holding your culture close to you?"

45:39 "I'm not gonna cut your hand and keep it with me"

46:25 Ethiopian culture post-civil war 

48:35 "How your re-learning of Ethiopian history shaped your worldview and understanding of who you are?"

51:48 "The African immigrant experience is so consistently centered around education"

58:40 The stress and emotional invisibility of education and immigration

59:27 "No one knows who I am here"

59:53 African misrepresentation in American media

1:02:01 The importance of "informing our own" 

1:06:09 Mitigating the emotional toll of immigration

1:07:29 Imagining alternatives to traditional community resource networks

1:11:46 Perspectives on America's future 

1:13:03 Returning to Ethiopia

1:14:38 "No matter what condition I go back to, I feel like I'll be happier there"

1:17:24 Perspectives on Africa's future


Found in Translation is a Pan-African documentary interview series exploring the cultural intersectionality of African descendants across the global diaspora. Guests reflect on the layers of their identity and the role of culture in the modern world.

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If you'd like to provide feedback or if you're interested in sharing your story on the show please email us at [email protected]

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The Found in Translation PodcastBy The Found in Translation Podcast

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