Why Am I In Your Country?

By Trojan Women Project - Charlotte Eagar and William Stirling

Trojan Women Project presents the refugees and asylum seekers who have fled danger and come to the UK telling you EXACTLY what they escaped and why they are here. For the last ten years we have bee

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FAQs about Why Am I In Your Country?:

How many episodes does Why Am I In Your Country? have?

The podcast currently has 17 episodes available.

Why Am I In Your Country? episodes:

June 12, 2025 Trojans: Why Am I In Your Country? Hounslow Arts Centre April 2025
The audio recording of the extraordinary Trojans: Why Am I In Your Country? production, at Hounslow Arts Centre, which we produced in April 2025, with a cast of Syrian, Palestinian, Ukrainian, Afghan, Iranian, Saudi and other refugees. It was the result of a year long psycho-social support drama and oral heritage project, backed by the National Lottery Heritage Fund. We ran around 40 workshops, over 11 months for a total of 120 refugees and asylum seekers, most of whom were Iranians. The Iranians were a mixture of political refugees from the Women! Life! Freedom! movement and a large number of Christians who had converted INSIDE in Iran, where Christianity is punishable by death: it turns out there seems to be a grassroots wave of Evangelical Christianity sweeping Iran. But if the Religious Police catch you, the punishments are brutal, including death. We then built this new version of the play, with those workshop participants who wanted to go on stage. The play was directed by Luna Laurenti and William Stirling, and adapted from Euripides' Trojan Women by Charlotte Eagar, Luna Laurenti, William Stirling, Amanda Waggot, Olha Shvets, Alina Vinnachuk, Arwa Omaren and the cast, who worked their own stories of exile and loss into the play. Featuring the poetry of Olha Shvets. Produced by Trojan Women Project. copyright 2025/
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52min
May 28, 2025 Trojans: Why Am I In Your Country? Hounslow Arts Centre April 2025
The audio recording of the extraordinary Trojans: Why Am I In Your Country? production, at Hounslow Arts Centre, which we produced in April 2025, with a cast of Syrian, Palestinian, Ukrainian, Afghan, Iranian, Saudi and other refugees. It was the result of a year long psycho-social support drama and oral heritage project, backed by the National Lottery Heritage Fund. We ran around 40 workshops, over 11 months for a total of 120 refugees and asylum seekers, most of whom were Iranians. The Iranians were a mixture of political refugees from the Women! Life! Freedome! movement and a large number of Christians who had converted INSIDE in Iran, where Christianity is punishable by death: it turns out there seems to be a grassroots wave of Evangelical Christianity sweeping Iran. But if the Religious Police catch you, the punishments are brutal, including death. We then built this new version of the play, with those workshop participants who wanted to go on stage. The play was directed by Luna Laurenti and William Stirling, and adapted from Euripides' Trojan Women by Charlotte Eagar, Luna Laurenti, William Stirling, Amanda Waggot, Olha Shvets, Alina Vinnachuk, Arwa Omaren and the cast, who worked their own stories of exile and loss into the play. Featuring the poetry of Olha Shvets. Produced by Trojan Women Project. copyright 2025/
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52min
April 18, 2025 Easter Special: Mina's story: Episode two - The road to Damascus - or in this case Tehran. A Christian Conversion
In this episode, Mina, a 30-something Iranian photographer, tells how her disgust at the Iranian Regime - its treatment of women and its manipulation of Islam to control the population - inspired her to look for spiritual salvation elsewhere
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28min
April 14, 2025 New Thinking For a New World: Alan Stoga of the Tallberg Foundation interviews Charlotte Eagar and William Stirling about the Trojan Women Project for the Tallberg's podcast
11 years ago the Tallberg Foundation invited Syria: The Trojan Women to Geneva. Over a decade later, we catch up on where the project has gone since and why
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41min
April 09, 2025 Mina's Story: Part One: Spy drones, hijab cams, confiscating cars and cameras
Mina was a professional photographer working in Iran, but the Regime spied on her with drones at private parties, and photogaphed her in her car to check she was wearing a hijab. Then Mahsa Amini was killed and Mina's family were swept up into the violence. Through all this, she started to look for other ways of finding spiritual meaning in life.

In this episode of 'Why Am I In Your Country?', hosts Charlotte Eagar interviews Mina, a refugee from Iran. Mina shares her harrowing journey of fleeing Iran due to the oppressive regime, particularly focusing on the challenges and dangers she faced as a female photographer. She discusses the moral policing, the stringent hijab laws, and the punishing consequences of involvement in the Mahsa Amini movement. Mina recounts the traumatic experience of witnessing her nephew's arrest during a protest, the subsequent search for him, and her enduring mental and emotional struggles. The episode also touches on Mina's eventual turn to Christianity as a source of hope and strength in a time of profound despair. This podcast is part of an oral heritage archive funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund and Hounslow Council, to be lodged at Gunnersbury Park Museum.

This episode is Hosted by Charlotte Eagar
Translation by Nikoo Khakpour
Editing by Luna Laurenti Sellers

Thank you to the National Lottery Heritage Fund
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33min
April 05, 2025 Samira Kitman: Part Three - Escaping the kidnappers of Kabul, but can I ever rebuild my life in the UK?
Why a girl who loved her family and wanted to rebuild her country had to come here in fear of her life
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36min
February 24, 2025 Neda’s Journey: Escaping Persecution in Tehran - Part Two
In this episode of the 'Why Am I in Your Country' podcast, we continue Neda's harrowing story of fleeing Iran with her young daughter after her involvement in the women life freedom movement. After the death of Mahsa Amini, Neda became an active protester against the morality police. Forced to escape after her husband was detained, she recounts their dangerous journey to the UK, the hardships they faced, and her ongoing struggles as a new asylum seeker. This episode provides a stark look at the real-life impacts of political unrest and the difficult asylum process in the UK.

Thank you to the National Lottery Heritage fund for making this series possible.
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27min
February 07, 2025 Trojans UK 24 Performance
Bonus Episode - Hush Unheard Voices Festival Chelsea Theatre
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55min
February 06, 2025 Neda’s Journey: Escaping Persecution in Tehran - Part One
Neda seemingly had everything—a thriving career, a beautiful home, a loving husband, and a precious baby girl. Her life in Iran seemed secure, even enviable. But beneath those superficial comforts, she had always known the weight of living under a regime that criminalizes womanhood. When Mahsa Amini died at the hands of the morality police, Neda could no longer stay silent. She took to the streets, fighting for the rights of women whose freedom and safety were being stripped away. What she didn’t know was that this act of courage would cost her everything. Branded as a threat, hunted by the authorities, and forced into hiding with her infant daughter, she had no choice but to flee. In this episode, hear Neda’s harrowing journey—from fearless protester to refugee.
This is Neda's journey... part one.
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27min
February 01, 2025 Samira Kitman: Part Two Art painting the way to Afghan Businesswoman of the Year...
What could possibly go wrong? Tall Afghan poppy syndrome and the loneliness of the long distance asylum seeker
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31min

FAQs about Why Am I In Your Country?:

How many episodes does Why Am I In Your Country? have?

The podcast currently has 17 episodes available.