Seeking Refuge

In our final episode of 2021, we talk to Nathaniel Dennison about his work with migrants across the Americas and his non-profit foundation Through My Eyes. Nathaniel talks about his experiences traveling with asylum seekers and forced migrants on caravans and most recently across the Darién Gap in Panama. He talks about why people are forced to make these dangerous journeys and the importance of creating avenues for them to tell their own stories.

The Through My Eyes Foundation website can be accessed here (you can also find them on Facebook): https://www.throughmyeyesfoundation.org/

If you want to learn more about the Darién Gap, check out this article from NPR: https://www.npr.org/2021/11/13/1055503661/the-darien-gap-was-no-mans-land-now-its-a-popular-migrant-path-to-the-u-s

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If you or someone you know would like to share their personal refugee story, send us an email at [email protected] or [email protected], or connect with us on any of these social media platforms:

https://twitter.com/refugepodcast

Anusha Ghosh (Host/Scriptwriter)

Opening Track: Ketsa - Where We Are (http://bit.ly/2nKJWaW)

Welcome to our Health Care Episode! Today, we'll be discussing how the separation millions of refugee children experience growing up can impact them in the future. Dr. Mary Ellen Warren is a Psychiatrist specializing in early childhood and infant mental health as well as a Professor! This semester, one of our hosts, Esha, has gotten the privilege to take one of her courses centering around development throughout the first five years of life. Follow along as Esha and Dr. Warren discuss some of the major detriments facing refugee children along with their development and figure out how we can help facilitate and improve matters.

Liked this episode? Let us know! Subscribe and leave us a review below!

If you or someone you know would like to share their personal refugee story, send us an email at [email protected] or [email protected], or connect with us on any of these social media platforms:

https://twitter.com/refugepodcast

Aidan Thomason ( Producer)

Opening Track: Ketsa - Where We Are (http://bit.ly/2nKJWaW)

Today we continue talking with the staff at the Anne Frank Center in Columbia, SC. Dr. Doyle Stevick is the executive director of the AFC and a professor in the Education department at the University of South Carolina. We talk the creation and development of the center, the systemic forces that forced the Franks into hiding, and how Anne's legacy applies in the present day.

The Anne Frank Center at UofSC is the first and only permanent partner site in North America to the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam. The other permanent sites are in Berlin, Germany, London, England, and Buenos Aires, Argentina. You can learn more about the AFC, including how to set up a tour, here: https://sc.edu/study/colleges_schools/education/partnerships_outreach/anne_frank/index.php You might even have Doyle as your tour guide!

To learn more about the Anne Frank House, the Secret Annex, and the lives of the Frank family, check out their website here: https://www.annefrank.org/en/

Liked this episode? Let us know! Subscribe and leave us a review below!

If you or someone you know would like to share their personal refugee story, send us an email at [email protected] or [email protected], or connect with us on any of these social media platforms:

https://twitter.com/refugepodcast

Aidan Thomason (Host, Producer)

Opening Track: Ketsa - Where We Are (http://bit.ly/2nKJWaW)

Today we talk with Diana Serhal, a graduate assistant for the Anne Frank Center (AFC) at the University of South Carolina. Diana worked at the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam and moved to Columbia, SC, to develop the AFC here. We discuss Anne's life, the Franks' journey as refugees, and the power of an individual story to communicate important history.

The Anne Frank Center at UofSC is the first and only permanent partner site in North America to the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam. The other permanent sites are in Berlin, Germany and Buenos Aires, Argentina. You can learn more about the AFC, including how to set up a tour, here: https://sc.edu/study/colleges_schools/education/partnerships_outreach/anne_frank/index.php You might even have Diana as your tour guide!

To learn more about the Anne Frank House, the Secret Annex, and the lives of the Frank family, check out their website here: https://www.annefrank.org/en/

Liked this episode? Let us know! Subscribe and leave us a review below!

If you or someone you know would like to share their personal refugee story, send us an email at [email protected] or connect with us on any of these social media platforms:

https://twitter.com/refugepodcast

Claire Mattes (Host, Producer)

Opening Track: Ketsa - Where We Are (http://bit.ly/2nKJWaW)

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In this news brief, we break down why so many Haitians are seeking asylum in the US and in other Latin American countries. Political turmoil, natural disasters, and lack of security in the country have led thousands to flee across dangerous paths in search of safety.

The Washington Post article about Nathaniel Dennison's journey across the Darién Gap in can be found here: https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/filmmaker-darien-gap-black-migrant/2021/10/02/b0bbb85a-230b-11ec-8200-5e3fd4c49f5e_story.html Since Dennison's trek, reports of increasing numbers of children crossing the Darién Gap and of more sexual assaults during the crossing have come to light.

For more information on how Haitian asylum seekers move, check out this Reuters article: https://www.reuters.com/article/factcheck-haiti-route/fact-check-how-haitian-migrants-make-their-way-to-the-u-s-border-idUSL1N2QQ1XB

Liked this episode? Let us know! Subscribe and leave us a review below!

If you or someone you know would like to share their personal refugee story, send us an email at [email protected] or connect with us on any of these social media platforms:

https://twitter.com/refugepodcast https://instagram.com/seekingrefugepodcast https://fb.me/seekingrefugepodcast

Claire Mattes (Head News Writer)

Opening Track: Ketsa - Where We Are (http://bit.ly/2nKJWaW)

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Today we talk with Mayor Wilmot Collins of Helena, Montana. Mayor Collins is a former Liberian refugee, and we talk about his refugee journey from Liberia, his time in the Navy, and his career pivot into Montana politics. Mayor Collins also discusses advocating for refugees and gives his thoughts on current displacement crises.

You can check out Mayor Collins' re-election website here: https://www.wilmotcollins.com/

Liked this episode? Let us know! Subscribe and leave us a review below!

If you or someone you know would like to share their personal refugee story, send us an email at [email protected] or connect with us on any of these social media platforms:

https://twitter.com/refugepodcast

Patrick Anderson

Opening Track: Ketsa - Where We Are (http://bit.ly/2nKJWaW)

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Today we are kicking off our new season by going a bit more local. We talk to the leadership of Gamecocks Aiding Refugees, an advocacy and service organization on our very own University of South Carolina campus! Lauren, Nora, and Natalie talk about their experiences working alongside refugees and witnessing refugee community right here in Columbia, SC. They also talk about how students can be engaged and educated on the refugee crisis in a local and global context!

Check out Gamecocks Aiding Refugees (GARC) here: https://www.instagram.com/uscgarc/?hl=en

Liked this episode? Let us know! Subscribe and leave us a review below!

If you or someone you know would like to share their personal refugee story, send us an email at [email protected] or connect with us on any of these social media platforms:

https://twitter.com/refugepodcast https://instagram.com/seekingrefugepodcast https://fb.me/seekingrefugepodcast

Patrick Anderson

Opening Track: Ketsa - Where We Are (http://bit.ly/2nKJWaW)

This podcast is powered by Pinecast.

As of the beginning of 2020, there were 2.6 million Afghan refugees in the world, a number which was growing quickly, according to the UNHCR. With the US withdrawal from Afghanistan on August 30, 2021 and the concurrent Taliban takeover in Kabul, this number will surely rise significantly. The longstanding US backlogs for special visa applications mean that interpreters and other US allies were not allowed to escape to the US before the American military evacuation. We are breaking down what happened when the US left Afghanistan, what that means for people trying to escape persecution, and what the future looks like for the Afghan people.

On Saturday, the 20th anniversary of the September 11 attacks, the Taliban raised their flag over the Afghan presidential palace. Read or listen more about life in Afghanistan moving forward here: https://www.npr.org/2021/09/12/1036387304/what-life-in-afghanistan-will-be-like-under-taliban-rule

We encourage you to keep following this story on your own, and we will try to keep you updated on the major developments. We particularly encourage you to see if any Afghan refugees are coming to your community and learn how you can welcome them.

Liked this episode? Let us know! Subscribe and leave us a review below!

If you or someone you know would like to share their personal refugee story, send us an email at [email protected] or connect with us on any of these social media platforms:

https://twitter.com/refugepodcast https://instagram.com/seekingrefugepodcast https://fb.me/seekingrefugepodcast

Patrick Anderson

Opening Track: Ketsa - Where We Are (http://bit.ly/2nKJWaW)

This podcast is powered by Pinecast.

In this episode, Aidan attends a protest at the South Carolina Statehouse organized to bring attention to the military coup in Burma (also known as Myanmar). The coup, which took place on February 1, 2021, sparked global outcry against the military regime and against the international community for the lack of resistance. In Columbia, a group of people, mostly resettled refugees from Burma, hold protests some Sunday afternoons to call attention to the military's atrocities against its own citizens.

Liked this episode? Let us know! Subscribe and leave us a review below!

If you or someone you know would like to share their personal refugee story, send us an email at [email protected] or connect with us on any of these social media platforms:

https://twitter.com/refugepodcast

Have a story you want us to cover? Let us know!

Patrick Anderson

Opening Track: Ketsa - Where We Are (http://bit.ly/2nKJWaW)

This podcast is powered by Pinecast.

In the past few months, the United States has seen an all-time high of asylum seekers and migrants arriving at the Southern Border. The Biden administration has struggled to respond, and conditions in detainment facilities for asylum seekers have remained awful. Additionally, Biden has blamed the humanitarian crisis at the border for his delays and reversals in raising the U.S. refugee cap from its current historic low. We're breaking down what is going on.

Liked this episode? Let us know! Subscribe and leave us a review below!

If you or someone you know would like to share their personal refugee story, send us an email at [email protected] or connect with us on any of these social media platforms:

https://twitter.com/refugepodcast https://instagram.com/seekingrefugepodcast https://fb.me/seekingrefugepodcast

Patrick Anderson

Opening Track: Ketsa - Where We Are (http://bit.ly/2nKJWaW)