Pulitzer prize-winning author Viet Thanh Nguyen is the guest on this episode of Displaced, and talks to Grant and Ravi about his background, and the traumatic experience of being separated from his parents when he was 4 years old. He goes on to talk about the role of trauma in shaping the lives of refugees, and how that has informed his own work. They discuss the label 'refugee', and the place of refugees in America in this current moment.

This is the last episode of Displaced in season 1. Check out our previous episodes here in the show notes: www.rescue.org/displaced. 

Get in touch with the show via email: displaced@rescue.org

Support the show by leaving us a review, and subscribe to Displaced for new content in your feed when Season 2 is released in January.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Viet Thanh Nguyen on trauma, displacement, and identifying as a refugee

The world is facing the largest displacement crisis since WWII as a number of humanitarian emergencies rage on. Grant Gordon and Ravi Gurumurthy from the International Rescue Committee (IRC) have in-depth conversations with leading humanitarians, foreign policymakers, and innovators to understand how they think about, and tackle these global crises. Produced by the Vox Media Podcast Network.

Society & Culture

Personal Journals

History

Philosophy

Places & Travel

News

Politics

Government

In 1942, nine year-old Krishnan Gurumurthy fled to India from Burma with his family. It was just after the Japanese invasion, and they had just missed the final ferries out of Rangoon. So his family travelled by a treacherous land route -- a 1,500 mile journey that took over 42 days.
Years later, Krishnan moved from India to the U.K., worked as a radiologist, and had a three kids: Krishnan, Geeta, and Ravi. Today, Ravi interviews his father about his journey from Burma to India and how his experience of displacement shaped the rest of his life. 
Displaced is a production by the International Rescue Committee and Vox Media. You can read more about this episode in our show notes.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What it Takes to Succeed After Displacement

Glenna Gordon is a documentary photographer and photojournalist. She's been commissioned by the New York Times Magazine, Time Magazine, The Wall Street Journal, and other outlets. She’s photographed a range of subjects, from Muslim women writing romance novels in Boko Haram territory in Northern Nigeria to the American women of the alt-right. 
She’s also Grant Gordon’s older sister. This week, Grant interviews Glenna about her work in Nigeria, her current project documenting the alt-right, and the danger of a single narrative.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Complicating Narratives with Documentary Photographer Glenna Gordon

The cruel irony of climate change is that it disproportionately impacts those who have contributed least to global warming—the world’s poorest and most marginalized groups. 
For Mary Robinson—former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, president of the Mary Robinson Foundation–Climate Justice, and the former, first female President of Ireland—rectifying these injustices is an essential part of the international effort to address climate change. This week, Ravi and Mary Robinson discuss the links between climate change-related displacement, human rights, and global equality.
Displaced is a production by the International Rescue Committee and Vox Media. You can read more about this episode in our show notes.
Join our conversation about climate change by tweeting your thoughts to @grantmgordon and @rgurumurthy. Make sure you include the hashtag #DisplacedPodcast!
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Climate Change: Former President of Ireland Mary Robinson on Climate Justice

Although cross-border displacement affects local communities, international efforts to address it typically take place at the highest levels. How can affected communities make their voices heard in these intergovernmental negotiations?
This week, Ravi and Grant sit down with Walter Kaelin, Envoy of the Chair at the Platform on Disaster Displacement and former Representative of the UN Secretary-General on the Human Rights of Internally Displaced Persons. Kaelin has been at the forefront of these intergovernmental processes, and he discusses how they've sometimes generated solutions - and sometimes been detached from them. 
Displaced is a production by the International Rescue Committee and Vox Media. You can read more about this episode in our show notes.
Join our conversation about climate change by tweeting your thoughts to @grantmgordon and @rgurumurthy. Make sure you include the hashtag #DisplacedPodcast!
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Climate Change: How Local Communities Can Build Resilience to Climate Change

As climate change causes rapid and large-scale migration, countries already facing environmental challenges become increasingly vulnerable to instability and humanitarian crisis. Sherri Goodman, Senior Fellow at the Wilson Center and former U.S. Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Environmental Security, describes climate change as a threat multiplier. This week she joins Grant and Ravi to discuss how climate change is linked to conflicts happening now, and what it might lead to in the future. 
Displaced is a production by the International Rescue Committee and Vox Media. You can read more about this episode in our show notes.
Join our conversation about climate change by tweeting your thoughts to @grantmgordon and @rgurumurthy. Make sure you include the hashtag #DisplacedPodcast!
One last thing: we are conducting an audience survey to better serve you. It takes no more than five minutes, and it really helps out the show. Please take our survey here.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Viet Thanh Nguyen on trauma, displacement, and identifying as a refugee

Download our free app to listen on your phone