In this episode, we focus on unaccompanied children and youth migrants. We know that the challenges faced by migrants are numerous. Those challenges and vulnerability are heightened for children and youth on the move due to their age. 

Young migrants have reported severe challenges, such as lack of food, poor shelter, health issues, theft, lost or stolen documents, and deprivation of liberty. 

Tune in as we bring further attention to the plight of these young people and the continued complexities of global migration. 

To all the unaccompanied, separated, missing, and unaccounted-for children and young migrants out there, you are not forgotten.

To get in touch, feel free to email us at [email protected]! 

Follow us on Instagram/Threads @reflections_onmigration! 

Love and light,

Khaddija and Lola

Take Action Today (NGOs supporting unaccompanied minors)

• SB Espoir
• Kids in Need of Defense
• The Young Center
• Church World Service

Sources /Further Readings 

1. Unaccompanied Children - UNHCR
2. Europe — Migrant and Refugee Children in Europe - Accompanied, Unaccompanied and Separated (January — December 2023) - IOM 
3. Child and young migrants - Migration Data Portal
4. Data and Children on the Move: Unpacking relevant terminology, concepts and data sources - UNICEF DATA 
5. From Promises to Action: Towards Better Data for Migrant and Displaced Children - UNICEF 
6. International Data Alliance for Children on the Move (IDAC)
7. Youth on the Move, Travelling by Sea and by Land to Europe in 2023. Focus on IOM's latest report - IOM
8. Child migration through the Darien Gap up 40 per cent so far this year - UNICEF 
9. One Unaccompanied Minor's Journey to the US Sparks Hope in California's Pilot Program | KQED 
10. Migrant and refugee children via mixed migration routes in Europe - UNHCR, UNICEF, IOM 
11. Toolkit on Unaccompanied and Separated Children - IOM (Interagency Working Group on Unaccompanied and Separated Children) 

We’re finally talking about passport power! What does it mean to have a powerful passport? Do you freely travel without ever worrying about entry or visa restrictions? Tune in to hear about what passport power is and how our personal travel experiences have been shaped by the passports we hold.  

To get in touch, feel free to email us at [email protected]! 

Love and light,

Khaddija and Lola

1. Henley Passport Index: https://www.henleyglobal.com/passport-index/ranking
2. Thing-power-politics: the passport as an object of global circulation by Mark B. Salter:https://millenniumjournal.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/salter-passport-things-power-politics-lse.pdf
3. Passports, Mobility, and Security: How smart can the border be? Mark B. Salter https://www.jstor.org/stable/44218867
4. The Global Visa Regime and the Political Technologies of the International Self: Borders, Bodies, Biopolitics Mark B. Salter: https://www.jstor.org/stable/40645180

Almost 10 years ago, Alan Kurdi, a 3-year-old Syrian child drowned and washed ashore in the Turkish resort town of Bodrum. The initial reaction to the photo of his lifeless body ignited worldwide sympathy for the plight of Syrian refugees in what was dubbed “Europe’s migration crisis.” Ten years later, has the rhetoric and aid surrounding refugees changed? Is Europe still experiencing a ‘migration crisis’, especially in light of the Russia-Ukraine war? Are we more sympathetic to refugees or only to ones who look a certain way? 

Tune in to hear about Alan’s story and our thoughts surrounding the aftermath of his death. 

To get in touch, feel free to email us at [email protected]! 

Love and light,

Khaddija and Lola

1. The changing political impact of compassion-evoking
2. pictures: the case of the drowned toddler Alan Kurdi - https://www.researchgate.net/publication/328521095_The_changing_political_impact_of_compassion-evoking_pictures_the_case_of_the_drowned_toddler_Alan_Kurdi
3. The Aunt Of The Drowned Syrian Boy Tells What Happened After The Tragedy - https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2018/08/31/642952840/an-aunts-memoir-remembering-the-drowned-syrian-boy-on-the-beach
4. Al Jazeera documentary on Alan Kurdi - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZjVq0oX4DPQ
5. Too dead? Image analyses of humanitarian photos of the Kurdi brothers - https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/1472586X.2020.1731325
6. Understanding the Images of Alan Kurdi With “Small Data”:
7. A Qualitative, Comparative Analysis of Tweets About
8. Refugees in Turkey and Flanders (Belgium) - https://ijoc.org/index.php/ijoc/article/viewFile/7252/2155
   

This episode highlights the story of Faustina Tay, a young Ghanaian woman who tragically ended her life in 2020 due to the abuse and violence she faced at the hands of her employers while working under a government-sponsored program in Lebanon.

To contact us, email us at [email protected] or on Instagram @reflections_onmigration!

(We apologise for the audio. We ran into issues around 15:00. Fast forward 45s to 16:17. Thank you for your understanding.)

Love and light,

Khaddija and Lola

Sources

1. ‘The desperate final days of a domestic worker in Lebanon’ - https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2020/4/7/the-desperate-final-days-of-a-domestic-worker-in-lebanon
2. “ Faustina Tay Mentions the Sexual abuse by Hussein and Ali Dia” https://youtu.be/x65PnurOY8Q?si=gmFsk391YNWAF9gx
3. This is Lebanon, the organization Faustina Tay contacted numerous times to help her before her tragic passing. https://thisislebanon.site/
4. Mannon, S. A., Petrzelka, P., Glass, C. M., & Radel, C. (2011). Keeping Them in Their Place: Migrant Women Workers in Spain's Strawberry Industry. International Journal of Sociology of Agriculture and Food , 83-101.
5. Moreno Fontes Chammartin, G. (2004). The feminization of international migration . International Migration Programme, ILO, 39-47.
6. International Labour Organization . (2019). Migrant domestic workers. Retrieved from ILO: https://www.ilo.org/global/topics/labour-migration/policy-areas/migrant-domestic-workers/lang--en/index.htm
7. DW ‘Behind the Produce’ Documentary: https://youtu.be/Z5sA0ioZcNE?si=d821bqXoPAE6L-u6

On this episode, we discuss one of the most dangerous migrant routes in the world, the Darien Gap.

Crossing the Darien can take days or weeks depending on the time of year. There are no roads, bridges, cellphone service, or other viable infrastructure to facilitate easy crossing. 

Tune in, as Lola walks us through this thick jungle of danger and uncertainty. 

Find us at @reflections_onmigration / [email protected]! 

Love and light,

Lola and Khaddija 

Sources /Further Readings 

Lola is back! In today's episode, we discuss the externalization of borders, bringing in both concrete and personal experiences. Discussions include the 2015 EU-Turkey deal, CBP One app, and the Rwanda-UK asylum deal.

Don't forget to follow us on Instagram @reflections_onmigration!

Love and light,

Khaddija & Lola

Sources

Today, I talk about two returnees from Sierra Leone and the horrors they faced in Algeria while trying to reach Europe via the Mediterranean Sea. 

The story is from a BBC titled ‘We failed to Reach Europe – Now Our Families Disown Us’ by Tim Whewell (2019). 

Follow us on Instagram @reflections_onmigration!

Love and light,

Khaddija & Lola 

In this solo episode, Khaddija discusses where she's been and the current state of migration today.

Follow us on Instagram @reflections_onmigration!

Love and light,

Khaddija & Lola

Welcome to Reflections on Migration! Get to know your hosts Lola and Khaddija! Our first episode gives an overview of who we are, how we met and why Reflections on Migration exists. Follow us on Instagram @reflections_onmigration for episode updates, cheeky laughs and insightful conversations on migration/human mobility! 

Lastly, a huge thank you to Kayla from @blacktruecrimepodcast for literally hooking the girlies up with getting information on setting this podcast up! 

Love and light always, 

Lola and KJ 

P.S. Reflection of the day: what is your understanding of migration/human mobility? When you think of a migrant, who do you picture? How do they look?