MigrAsians

Immigration is not a simple process. If I didn't know this before, my conversation with immigration lawyer Dhenu Maru, an immigrant herself, proved this point. We talk about her difficulties acclimating as a young girl emigrating from Mumbai, India, and how this inspired her to become a lawyer, though the reason isn't what you might think. Dhenu talks about common misconceptions such as "immigrants are taking our jobs" or "they just need to get in line" in a way that anyone can understand.

My parents may have immigrated to the United States from India, just like Dhenu, but she talks about how laws have changed, the many reasons people seek out an immigration lawyer, and the hoops you have to jump through to navigate the multidimensional U.S. immigration system.

You can learn more about Dhenu's firm at www.swagatusa.com and by phone at (312) 854-7065. You can also join her Facebook group/community USA Immigration Experience. 

About Nisha
Follow me on Instagram and Twitter! Check out my writing and coaching services on my website, and be sure to sign up for my newsletter!

Music
Shin Kawasaki: Find Another Way
CC Mixter: Recreation and Resonance by Airtone

Cover Art
Tiffany Wong Art

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

We are pausing on MigrAsians interviews for this episode supporting Black lives. The majority Asian Americans would not be living in the United States if it wasn't for the Civil Rights movement and the emotional and physical trauma experienced by Black people. We have been positioned as a model minority to create divisions instead of solidarity. Let us recognize and support Black Americans for what they have done for us and the continued oppression and marginalization they face.

How to Support #BlackLivesMatter

1. Petitions, donations, and other resources
2. Anti-racist book list
3. Black-owned independent bookstores
4. Don't have money? Money from the ad content on this YouTube video will be donated to BLM causes (don't skip the ads!): https://bit.ly/2Mtvrl2
5. Black-owned Etsy shops

Cover Art
Tiffany Wong Art

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

Meet Nic Strack, a Korean and Indian, non-binary autistic Parenting Coach. I had a very very hard time summarizing our conversation for the title of this episode because it was full of SO MANY GEMS. I'm not a parent, but it doesn't matter. Nic blew my mind with their unique migration story, strategies for parenting, and experience with discovering their non-binary self (and how this informs their own parenting style and the work they do!)

We talk about how their dad used translators to talk to their mom, who didn't know any English when they met, and they explain about why saying "use your words" to your kid can be harmful. I loved their story about how discovering systems of oppression transformed the way they think. So many parts of this conversation hit me in the feels. I have a newfound compassion for all the things after chatting with Nic. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

Support me on Patreon if you're able.

Links that Nic mentioned

Nic Strack (they/them):
https://www.nicstrack.com/
https://www.patreon.com/nicstrack
https://www.instagram.com/nicstrack

James-Olivia Chu Hillman (they/them):
https://inquisitivehuman.com/
https://www.instagram.com/inquisitive_human/

Andréa Ranae Johnson (she/they):
https://www.andrearanae.com/
https://instagram.com/andrearanaej

Jenn McCabe (she/her):
https://drjmac.com/
https://www.instagram.com/dr.jennmccabe/

Links I mentioned

• My Medium Article: We Learn What We See, Not What We're Told
• Our Culture of Contempt by Albert Brooks (New York Times)

About Nisha
Follow me on Instagram and Twitter! Check out my writing and coaching services on my website, and be sure to sign up for my newsletter!

Music
Shin Kawasaki: Find Another Way
CC Mixter: Resonance by Airtone

Cover Art
Tiffany Wong Art

Support the show

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

Episode 8! MigrAsians is halfway through its first season, YAY! In today's episode, you'll get your fantasy fix :) I talk to fantasy author James Yu about the historical distinction between Taiwan and China, writing full-time in the age of COVID-19, and why he chooses to write fantasy (I love his answer!) James reminds me about the importance of community, especially when it comes to writing. After all, this is how I know James! We went to a writing coworking space together, and now he's part of my weekly writing feedback group, I love James' spot-on critiques!

I really enjoyed talking to James about how power and political perspectives are written into novels. He talks about how we can have empathy for a perspective we don't particularly care for - not to believe in that perspective, but to understand where it comes from.

Find James on his website: www.jameslyu.com and sign up for his newsletter!

Here are some of the Asian fantasy authors and writing books James mentions:

Asian Fantasy Authors:
1. Fonda Lee - The Green Bone Saga
2. Rebecca Kuang - The Poppy War
3. Gene Yang, cartoonist

Writing books
1. The Emotional Craft of Fiction by Donald Maass
2. The Story Grid by Shawn Coyne

About Nisha
Follow me on Instagram and Twitter! Check out my writing and coaching services on my website, and be sure to sign up for my newsletter!

Music
Shin Kawasaki: Find Another Way

Cover Art
Tiffany Wong Art

Support the show

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

Meet Sonalee Rashatwar (she/they), known as @thefatsextherapist on Instagram! They're an award-winning superfat queer bisexual non-binary clinical social worker, sex therapist, adjunct lecturer, and grassroots organizer based in Philadelphia.

This episode was recorded toward the end of March, just as many shelter-in-place orders were taking effect.

First of all, we talk cantaloupes! Our melon chat frames a very serious dialogue about Sonalee's challenges within the social work field and creating an activist community. We also discuss Hindu casteism and how it relates to body image and body purity. The common thread in our discussion is navigating family dynamics and relationships, especially when family members support Hindutva/Hindu nationalism. Sonalee also sheds light about what it means to work as a sex therapist.

Find Sonalee on Instagram @thefatsextherapist and at www.sonaleer.com.

And here are some links I promised to share!

1. Unmasking Modi - The New Republic
2. Read what Ambedkar wrote on why Brahmins started worshipping the cow and gave up eating beef
3. East Coast Solidarity Summer
4. The zine Sonalee mentioned: Guilty Pleasures in the Age of the Problematic Fave

Cover Art by Tiffany Wong: www.tiffanywongvisualart.com

Music by Shin Kawasaki "Find Another Way" - Get his newest EP! Search for Shinkawasaki (one word) on Spotify and all other music streaming platforms.

Support the show

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

Meet Marzieh Saffarian, the collage artist behind @psychpersia. Marzieh is also a speech-language pathologist who I met during graduate school. Our conversation flowed in so many wonderful directions. We chat about her feminist artistic inspirations, the Iranian revolution, identity and assimilation, and the challenges both of us face around speaking our native language, especially given our speech and language backgrounds. I love how Marzieh so beautifully connects feminism, art, and culture in this episode. I hope you do too!

Find Marzieh on @psychpersia and @vintagepersia.

Here are links to Marzieh's collage art that I mentioned as well as the data I cited toward the end.
1. Example of Marzieh's collage art
2. Iran: A Vast Diaspora Abroad and Millions of Refugees at Home

Cover Art by Tiffany Wong: www.tiffanywongvisualart.com

Music by Shin Kawasaki "Find Another Way" - Get his newest EP! Search for Shinkawasaki (one word) on Spotify and all other music streaming platforms.

Please support MigrAsians on Patreon at www.patreon.com/migrasians, anything helps!

Support the show

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

In this episode, I explore the C-word, but not the one that's all over the news lately (though I will touch on it a little bit). This episode focuses on the CENSUS! Yes, the U.S. Census, which is given every 10 years, should be in your mailbox. It looks at household information like age, sex, home information, race, and ethnicity. And, you guessed it, I'm going to talk about how the "Asian" category is "defined" on the Census, which is under the Office of Management and Budget (the OMB). Let's just say that I was pretty surprised that, on the Census, individuals from the Middle East are considered White. I'm going to get pretty heavy on some history here, so listen up to find out why and hear other nuggets too! If you'd like to dive in more, check out the references below!

Let me know what you think! You can email me at [email protected].

Also, I'd appreciate any support you can give, even if it's a one-time donation! Please visit www.patreon.com/migrasians

References

U.S. Census Website References:
About Race. The United States Census Bureau. Retrieved March 25, 2020, from https://www.census.gov/topics/population/race/about.htm

Questions Asked on the Form. 2020Census.Gov. Retrieved March 25, 2020, from https://2020census.gov/en/about-questions.html

Research to Improve Data on Race and Ethnicity. The United States Census Bureau. Retrieved March 25, 2020, from https://www.census.gov/about/our-research/race-ethnicity.html

Revisions to the Standards for the Classification of Federal Data on Race and Ethnicity. (n.d.). The White House. Retrieved March 25, 2020, from https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/node/15626

Scholarly Books and Articles

Kayyali, R. (2013). US Census Classifications and Arab Americans: Contestations and Definitions of Identity Markers. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 39(8), 1299–1318. https://doi.org/10.1080/1369183X.2013.778150

Nobles, M. (2000). Shades of citizenship: Race and the census in modern politics. Stanford University Press.

Prewitt, K. (2016). What Is Your Race?: The Census and Our Flawed Efforts to Classify Americans.

Strmic-Pawl, H. V., Jackson, B. A., & Garner, S. (2018). Race Counts: Racial and Ethnic Data on the U.S. Census and the Implications for Tracking Inequality. Sociology of Race and Ethnicity, 4(1), 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1177/2332649217742869

Takaki, R. (1998). Strangers from a different shore: A history of Asian Americans. Little, Brown.

About Nisha
Follow me on Instagram and Twitter! Check out my writing and coaching services on my website, and be sure to sign up for my newsletter!

Music
Shin Kawasaki: Find Another Way

Cover Art
Tiffany Wong Art

Support the show

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

I chat with Khadija aka @browngirlbiz on Instagram in this episode about the multiple diasporas she has been through, how that has made her more self-reliant, and how entrepreneurship is more than what we think! Khadija strives to help other children of immigrants navigate society, especially entering the job market. We talk about how leadership can look, how to alter our views about money, and...Oprah! You'll have to listen to the end for that conversation :)

Find Khadija on Instagram @browngirlbiz.

As I mention at the end, the best work comes from collaboration, I gave a shout out to some amazing Instagram accounts:

• @sharynaholmes
• @tiffanywongart
• @teachandtransform
• @asiansdotherapy
• @radreads94
• @decolonizingtherapy
• @dr.rosalesmeza
• @dr.marielbuque
• @reflectionswithaparna
• @suh.ad
• @ravideepkaur_
• @desireeadaway
• @asiansformentalhealth
• @wagatwe
• @britthawthorne
• @millanasnow
• @thefatsextherapist
• @seerutkchawla
• @yumisakugawa
• @thewitchesmuse
• @witchdoctorpoet
• @cassandra_solano

About Nisha
Follow me on Instagram and Twitter! Check out my writing and coaching services on my website, and be sure to sign up for my newsletter!

Music
Shin Kawasaki: Find Another Way
CC Mixter: Resonance by Airtone

Cover Art
Tiffany Wong Arts

Support the show

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

CW: rape, sexual assault

In this episode, award-winning author, actress, screenwriter, and speaker Reema Zaman joins me! She is the author of I Am Yours: A Shared Memoir, a global story of sexual assault, being silenced, and finding your voice. She talks to me about her book, abusive relationships, the challenges of the immigration process, as well as family healing.

Find Reema on Twitter and Instagram @reemazaman and at www.reemazaman.com

Research cited:
Decker, M. R., Raj, A., & Silverman, J. G. (2007). Sexual Violence Against Adolescent Girls: Influences of Immigration and Acculturation. Violence Against Women, 13(5), 498–513. https://doi.org/10.1177/1077801207300654

Murphy, J., Samples, J., Morales, M., & Shadbeh, N. (2015). "They Talk Like That, But We Keep Working": Sexual Harassment and Sexual Assault Experiences Among Mexican Indigenous Farmworker Women in Oregon. Journal of immigrant and minority health, 17(6), 1834–1839. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10903-014-9992-z

VAWnet: https://vawnet.org/sc/immigrant-women-and-sexual-violence

About Nisha
Follow me on Instagram and Twitter! Check out my writing and coaching services on my website, and be sure to sign up for my newsletter!

Music
Shin Kawasaki: Find Another Way

Cover Art
Tiffany Wong Art

Support the show

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

Meet Tiffany Wong, the artist behind the MigrAsians cover art! I loved Tiffany's flowing art and colors, and I knew she would make amazing cover art for this podcast. And she did!

In this episode, Tiffany and I talk about perfectionism, making time your friend, and her art process. We had a delightful conversation about how it feels to be othered and defining "normal" as the children of Asian immigrants.

Tiffany Wong
Instagram: @tiffanywongart
Website: http://tiffanywongvisualart.com/

Strangers From a Different Shore by Ronald Takaki: http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/754098836

About Nisha
Follow me on Instagram and Twitter! Check out my writing and coaching services on my website, and be sure to sign up for my newsletter!

Music
Shin Kawasaki: Find Another Way
CC Mixter: Resonance by Airtone

Cover Art
Tiffany Wong Art

Support the show

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