52 episodes

This podcast that will take you on a journey across the world...without you having to go anywhere. You'll be hearing from the people leaving their countries and everything behind them, to the volunteers working alongside them. Those currently living in refugee camps, and people working on the front line. The humans behind the statistics and the headlines. The real heroes of today. Transcend borders, nationalities, religions and languages to hear from the people with which we share this world...our Worldwide Tribe.

Music by Alexander Wells
Artwork by Milla Adler

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Asylum Speakers Podcast with Jaz O'Hara: Stories of Migration Jaz O'Hara

    • Arts
    • 4.9 • 174 Ratings

This podcast that will take you on a journey across the world...without you having to go anywhere. You'll be hearing from the people leaving their countries and everything behind them, to the volunteers working alongside them. Those currently living in refugee camps, and people working on the front line. The humans behind the statistics and the headlines. The real heroes of today. Transcend borders, nationalities, religions and languages to hear from the people with which we share this world...our Worldwide Tribe.

Music by Alexander Wells
Artwork by Milla Adler

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    51. REUNITED AFTER TEN YEARS: The story of Mez and his little brother Josi: Part One

    51. REUNITED AFTER TEN YEARS: The story of Mez and his little brother Josi: Part One

    This is an episode and a story that I’ve been wanting to share for nearly two years... and I am so happy to finally be able to do so!
    This episode is about my Eritrean foster brother Mez and his younger brother Josi. A few years after Mez left Eritrea to avoid compulsory military service, so too did his little brother Josi. Josi is two years younger than Mez and they grew up doing everything together. They wore the same clothes, liked all the same things and Mez described him as being his little shadow. So despite Mez’s warnings of how dangerous it was, it’s no wonder that when he also became of age to be called up to the military, Josi chose to follow in his older brothers footsteps and flee the dictatorship in which he lived, in the hope of joining his older brother here in the UK. 
    Unfortunately, since Mez made the 9-month journey, things have only got harder, and Josi has spent the last four years on this journey. Most of that time he has been trapped in Libya, trying to cross the Mediterranean sea to make it to the safety of Europe. He has attempted the sea crossing four times, been captured by the Libyan coastguard four times, thrown into Libyan smuggler prison and suffered the unimaginable horrors that come with that. Beatings, torture, modern day slavery, starvation and more.
    This is the story of how Mez has spent the last few years doing everything he possibly can to get his brother to safety. It's a very personal episode and I hope you enjoy it. Part two coming soon!
    --
    To support the show: https://www.patreon.com/theworldwidetribe
    This episode is brought to you by Skin + Me - a personalized skincare solution that has not only transformed my skin, but also my packing experience wherever I’m going. Use the code ASYLUMSPEAKERS for an over 85% discount on your first month.

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    • 44 min
    50. Imad's Syrian Kitchen with Imad Al Arnab

    50. Imad's Syrian Kitchen with Imad Al Arnab

    In today’s episode I speak to the wonderful Imad Al Arnab of Imad’s Syrian Kitchen. Imad has such an amazing story. He was a successful restaurateur in his home city of Damascus, Syria where he owned multiple restaurants, several juice bars and coffee shops. After they were all bombed and it became apparent he had to leave, he made the dangerous journey to the UK, where at first he worked in a car wash and as a car salesman. It didn’t take long for him to go on to open his very successful restaurant in Central London - Imad’s Syrian Kitchen.. He’s now written a recipe book also called Imad’s Syrian Kitchen - a love letter from Damascus to London, and is in the process of opening an even bigger restaurant still in Kingly Court off Carnaby Street.
    In the run up to interviewing Imad I read loads of articles about his story. In some he spoke about the 65 days he spent living in Calais, holding on to the underside of lorries trying to get to the UK. But most importantly I remember him talking about how cooking was always a part of his journey. How a British Pakistani volunteer had given him a small stove and gas canisters so he could cook for himself and 14 friends. How he didn’t want to carry a knife and appear dangerous so he broke the vegetables up with his hands, and how a local Calais resident had been annoyed with them fishing close by, until one day Imad offered him some of the dish he had made with the fish, and from then on, he allowed Imad and his friends to charge their phones at his house. 
    Imad is so instantly warm and likeable. We recorded this episode in the restaurant after having lunch there together. I didn’t order, but before I knew it the table was covered in colourful, beautiful dishes. I remembered some of Imad’s words from another article saying “In Syria we don’t ask ‘what do you want to eat? We just serve lots of food and you can eat whatever you like, whenever you like. It’s like family.”
    I LOVED Imad’s positive outlook and came away from the conversation totally topped up and inspired… I’m so sure you will too…
    --
    To support the show: https://www.patreon.com/theworldwidetribe
    This episode is brought to you by Skin + Me - a personalized skincare solution that has not only transformed my skin, but also my packing experience wherever I’m going. Use the code ASYLUMSPEAKERS for an over 85% discount on your first month.


    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    • 51 min
    49. Being an LGBTQ+ Refugee: Everything you need to know with Hiba Noor

    49. Being an LGBTQ+ Refugee: Everything you need to know with Hiba Noor

    In today’s episode we’re exploring what it’s like to be displaced and part of the LGBTQ+ community. This episode is dedicated to everyone who sits at this intersection, and faces not only the challenges of being an asylum seeker or a refugee, but also the discrimination that comes with their sexuality or gender identity.
    We will hear from three people. A new friend of mine Hiba - the first openly trans filmmaker in Pakistan and is now living in London and seeking asylum in the UK. My other two guests today I’ll be keeping anonymous. One of them, we’ll call him A - runs a shelter for LGBTQ+ refugees from all over the world in Istanbul where he lives as a refugee himself from Iraq. My final guest M, you might remember from a previous episode recorded at his home in Beirut. He’s Syrian and lives as a refugee in Lebanon with his boyfriend, where he told me the painful but powerful story about what happened to them.
    These are three very important voices, and ones we all need to listen to.
    To support the show: https://www.patreon.com/theworldwidetribe
    This episode is brought to you by Skin + Me - a personalized skincare solution that has not only transformed my skin, but also my packing experience wherever I’m going. Use the code ASYLUMSPEAKERS for an over 85% discount on your first month.


    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    • 46 min
    48. The true story behind recent short film MATAR, with co-writer, actor and cinematographer Ayman Alhussein

    48. The true story behind recent short film MATAR, with co-writer, actor and cinematographer Ayman Alhussein

    In this episode we hear the incredible story of Ayman Alhussein. Ayman is an actor, cinematographer and co-writer of amazing new short film, Matar, directed by Hassan Akkad, starring Ahmed Malek and available to watch online, for free on Waterbear.
    The film Matar tells the story of an undocumented delivery driver in London and highlights the challenges of navigating hostile environment Britain and its broken asylum system. This podcast episode brings you the incredible real life story behind the film. Ayman’s story. 
    To support the show: https://www.patreon.com/theworldwidetribe


    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    • 45 min
    47. Food, heritage, identity, cultural mobility and going viral with Indonesian, Kenyan, Pakistani and Yemeni Filmmaker Nadir Nahdi

    47. Food, heritage, identity, cultural mobility and going viral with Indonesian, Kenyan, Pakistani and Yemeni Filmmaker Nadir Nahdi

    This week’s guest is one of my favourite storytellers ever. Filmmaker Nadir Nahdi speaks so beautifully about his upbringing spanning many cultures, the ways that food has woven those pieces together and why the stories he tells and the films he makes are so disruptively important in our society today. 
    I was introduced to Nadir’s work through his most recent youtube series Bad Pakistani about his journey through Pakistan to explore and understand his Pakistani heritage. I loved it. His work spans themes of culture, travel, heritage, belonging, food and more - all my favourite topics. I hope you enjoy this conversation as much as I did…
    To support the show: https://www.patreon.com/theworldwidetribe
    This episode is brought to you by Skin + Me - a personalized skincare solution that has not only transformed my skin, but also my packing experience wherever I’m going. Use the code ASYLUMSPEAKERS for an over 85% discount on your first month.


    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    • 51 min
    46. THE JOURNEY Episode 6: Going Full Circle

    46. THE JOURNEY Episode 6: Going Full Circle

    Welcome to the FINAL episode of The Journey!
    Today’s episode is designed to speak to that rhetoric that refugees or asylum seekers might be a burden... that they take from us, economically, culturally, or whatever that fear might be. I’m honoured to be able to share multiple examples of how much we have to gain from welcoming refugees and asylum seekers with open arms. 
    This episode came to be because along this journey we met many people working in grassroots refugee response, who have lived experience of migration themselves. By this I mean, refugees, people who have been displaced themselves, going on to support others in their same situation. 
    So this episode is about those inspirational people turning their struggle into something incredible, going full circle and using their knowledge, expertise and depth of understanding through personal experience, to give back to their community. 
    This episode is in honour of them.
    We first hear from Nour and James, founders of The Great Oven. They build giant community ovens and donate them to those in need.
    Next we hear from my lovely friend Danika who works unaccompanied minors in Paris. Her approach to humanitarian work has always inspired me.
    Finally, we finish with some inportant words from Mustafa of Velos Youth.

    To find out more about the organisations featured in this episode:
    https://www.greatoven.org/https://velosyouth.org/
    To support this podcast:
    https://patreon.com/theworldwidetribe

    To buy our merch:https://theworldwidetribeshop.com/–Many of the people we spoke to along this journey are being supported by projects funded by Comic Relief. Thanks to donations from the UK public, Comic Relief's Across Borders programme has invested over £7 million in organisations supporting refugees and people seeking asylum along these routes. Find out more about Comic Relief’s work and how to support it at comicrelief.com.

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    • 49 min

Customer Reviews

4.9 out of 5
174 Ratings

174 Ratings

Heeb16 ,

Amazing people

Wow, how amazing are Jaz and their family?
I have never heard such raw, emotional stories - and I’m really pleased they are sharing the important stories and narratives that aren’t shared in the media.
I didn’t know half the battles that the asylum seekers have to go through - really hope that this podcast and world wide tribe can keep growing to help change the narrative & help even more people in need

Luzzy B ,

Blown away

So pleased to have found this podcast - it’s challenging to listen to but totally opened my eyes to the realities of being an asylum seeker. Would 100% recommend!

ettolrahc27 ,

My #1 most recommended podcast

I recommend this podcast to EVERYONE. Every episode is so important. Thank you Jaz and the team for all the hard work put into every series, and thank you to all the people who have shared their experiences.

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