The Push-Pull Factor

Despite Sierra Leonean and Nigerian heritage Nkechi ""Kiki"" Gillman was actually born in Germany and had quite an immigrant journey across a few countries before finding herself in the U.S. and becoming both a citizen and a lawyer. Currently self-employed and managing her own immigration law firm based in Minneapolis, Minnesota Kiki is no stranger to the immigration process as she has gone through it herself and has held several different statuses throughout her life journey.

We have quite the conversation in this episode and finally we get to speak with an immigration lawyer about their day to day! We touch on her life and her experiences coming from Sierra Leone initially to the Bahamas and then to the United States, what drew her specifically to wanting to be an immigration lawyer and how personal the work is to her, the nitty gritty detail of her Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) casework and the harsh reality of being an immigration lawyer in today’s America.

You won't want to miss a thing learning from one of the most informed and charismatic immigration lawyers in the States.

Learn more about Kiki and Gillman Immigration:

https://gillmanimmigration.com/

https://www.instagram.com/gillman_immigration/?hl=en

Check us out on more platforms:

https://pushpullfactor.com/

https://twitter.com/pushpullfactor

https://www.instagram.com/pushpullfactor/

From Nigeria to Canada - Lola's story starts in Lagos and ends up in Toronto with a few pit stops along the way. Currently working as an African Heritage Educator and leveraging her experiences back home to teach the youth, Lola supplements her time with a YouTube channel and is building a brand as one of the key voices providing educational content for new and prospective Canadian immigrants.

Our conversations spans many topics and leverages Lola’s myriad of experiences from working in a government school to being educated in the U.K. to seeing (and living) the difficulties of the black immigrant experience first hand. Find out what drew her to Canada, what’s kept her in a vibrant city like Toronto and the difficulties she’s had to overcome to start shining her light and helping others.

Discover more about Lola:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgD7ixLJ5Cdi6Ar3C61egnw

https://www.instagram.com/lolablackofficial/

Lola's Video What Racism in Canada Looks Like:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dqbUiYF6-hk

Check us out on more platforms:

https://pushpullfactor.com/

https://twitter.com/pushpullfactor

https://www.instagram.com/pushpullfactor/

"From the suburbs of Kigali back to his home in Rwanda to the bustling city of Vancouver - Ezra Kwizera has had quite a journey.

Colonialism, power and greed are just part of the story that defines Rwanda in the late 20th century. They had a history of conflict rooted in the historical differences of power and access between Hutu and Tutsi groups. Not only did this stem as the catalyst for the Rwandan Genocide but it also created a precarious push factor for the disadvantaged communities. Ezra himself was born to refugee parents living in Uganda.

Our conversation talks on a myriad of topics from the dimensions of tribalism in Africa and Ezra’s own perspective on it, identity building in refugee children, Ezra opening the first private studio in Rwanda and his expansive music career that led to performances with stars such as Zimbabwe’s Oliver Mtukudzi, Mali’s late Farka Touré and Uganda’s Jose Chameleon. A lot is packed into this very informative episode and it’s not one that you want to miss.

Source:

https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/civil-war-erupts-in-rwanda

Learn more about Ezra Kwizera:

http://www.ezrakwizera.ca/

His organization Narrow Road Africa:

http://www.narrowroadafrica.com/

Check us out on more platforms:

https://pushpullfactor.com/

https://twitter.com/pushpullfactor

https://www.instagram.com/pushpullfactor/"

There were thousands of victims of the civil war that emerged in Sudan in the 1900s and many of them were young children who marched alone, thousands of miles, before arriving at the Kakuma Refugee Camp in Kenya that had a massive young population. The UNHCR quickly got involved and in collaboration with the U.S. Department of State approximately 3,600 young refugees were brought to cities all over the United States.

While this generation started to gain notoriety as the “Lost Boys of [South] Sudan” there were still an unrepresented group that got overlooked in the popular consciousness but was still part of the equation - The Lost Girls of Sudan. Of these 3,600 refugees less than 100 of them were women and one of them is speaking with us today.

Tabitha, photographer and pre-school teacher, earnestly shares her journey as one of the 89 Lost Girls of Sudan who found their way in the United States. Her cheerful demeanor and matter-of-fact recollection brings you on a story from her upbringing in Kakuma to her first arrival in Mississippi - which grew into quite a life where she has now married one of the Lost Boys of Sudan and currently resides in Houston. We have quite the conversation which stems culture, food, parenting and the trials and tribulations of life itself - you can’t miss this one!

Sources:

https://www.rescue.org/article/lost-boys-sudan

https://www.rotary.org/en/lost-girls-south-sudan

Check us out on more platforms:

https://pushpullfactor.com/

https://twitter.com/pushpullfactor

https://www.instagram.com/pushpullfactor/

From Kazakhstan to Singapore to the United States! Dina shares quite a lot about the truth on growing up in Kazakhstan and she definitely shares her opinion on the Borat films. An interesting journey of discovery not only do we get insight into a young country forging it's identity but also a young woman forging hers and choosing her own path. We have quite the conversation ranging from exotic meats to international student percepetions of LGBTQ+ life so you can't miss out!

Sources:

https://thediplomat.com/2019/06/why-is-kazakhstan-a-growing-destination-for-central-asian-migrant-workers/

Check us out on more platforms:

https://pushpullfactor.com/

https://twitter.com/pushpullfactor

https://www.instagram.com/pushpullfactor/

"From South Korea to the United States! Tony Lee takes us through his childhood migration from Seoul and touches on his relationship with his own Korean-American identity, education and pop culture! We talk everything from familial expectations to Kpop recs and you'll definitely walk away from this one knowing more about Korea and Tony.

Discover more from Tony:

http://www.sheckii.com/

Source:

https://www.qc.cuny.edu/Academics/Centers/RCKC/Documents/Koreans%20Immigration%20to%20the%20US.pdf

Check us out on more platforms:

https://pushpullfactor.com/

https://twitter.com/pushpullfactor

https://www.instagram.com/pushpullfactor/

From Lviv to New Jersey! Roman Prokopchuk takes us from his humble beginnings in the former Soviet Union, currently Ukraine, where he and his family of six people left to live in a two bedroom apartment in the New Jersey area. Learn more about his journey, launching his podcast Digital Savage Experience and agency Nova Zora Digital, cultural nuances and the tie to his homeland in the name of his own company - Nova Zora Digital.

https://www.novazoradigital.com/

Source:

https://www.wilsoncenter.org/blog-post/losing-brains-and-brawn-outmigration-ukraine-0

From India to the U.S. to Germany! Swapnika takes us through her journey from her highly international education in Hyderabad to her college and career successes in the United States and a fresh perspective on her move to Germany… recorded less than two months after she’s officially landed in the country - right at the start of that culture shock curve. It’s a fresh perspective on Berlin and a fun conversation with one of Aidan’s close college friends!

It’s the Holiday Special! From Kenya to the United States (with a pit stop in South Africa) Norah steps into the studio to talk the holiday season in Kenya and the clothing expectations, her motivations to pursue higher education outside of her home country, how salient her blackness was depending on where she was and of course some discourse on whether or not ethnic group identity outweighs the importance of a national one on the continent. An interesting conversation with a fun holiday tie!

Source:

https://www.whychristmas.com/

From Iran to the United States! Aidan chats with Dahlia and uncovers the journey that she made from Tehran (yes like 1991 film Not Without My Daughter… but also 100% not) at the tender age of two and the life that she and her family have built for herself in New York City. Hear everything from falsified passports to the intricacies of Iranian parenting and probably the most complex answer to the Aidan’s flagship question we’ve had yet!

Source: https://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/iran-vast-diaspora-abroad-and-millions-refugees-home