Countless Journeys Countless Journeys

When Jordanian-born Nour Hadidi arrived in Canada to study commerce at McGill, a roommate introduced her to the world of stand-up comedy via YouTube.

From that moment, Nour knew comedy was something she wanted to pursue. She finished her degree and worked for a few years in finance before taking the leap and working in comedy full-time as a television writer and stand-up comic.

Brutally honest in her routines, Nour draws on her experience as a Muslim woman of colour making her own way on a career path that can sometimes be unwelcoming.

“You know, it kind of takes over your life. There’s a rush when you do stand-up comedy that's unlike anything else. To get up there the adrenaline is, you know, pumping through your body. And to make people laugh, it feels like acceptance.”

Sandy El-Bitar knows a thing or two about not doing OK.

Her father died on the eve of her family’s immigration from Lebanon, she’s worked in palliative care, and, as a drama therapist, she spends her days helping people deal with emotional problems.

But Sandy is also a comic — and instead of running away from the pain in life, she thinks there is something beautiful about finding the humour in it.

Toronto-born Hoodo Hersi knew the moment she made an elevator full of adults break out in laughter that she wanted to learn more about this thing called comedy.

Born to a mother from Djibouti and a father from Somalia, Hoodo has pursued her dream of making it big in stand-up to New York City, where she lives now, making a living in one of the world’s toughest comedy markets.

She tells how she landed a coveted spot on Late Night with Seth Myers on her second night in town, writing for television with Rami Youssef and opening for Hassan Minaj. She also discusses how she continues to hone her craft, putting race, religion and privilege at centre stage.

A bonus episode recorded at the Dumpling Summit at the Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21.

It’s been a tumultuous couple of years inside Iran, with protests over the killing of 22-year-old Masha Amini taking place in dozens of towns and cities around the world.

In Toronto, which is home to the second-highest concentration of Iranians immigrants outside of Iran, the Mohyeddin siblings, Sally, Samira and Amir, have run Banu for eighteen years. Banu is an Iranian restaurant that blends political activism and delicious food.

Alongside the heaping plates of pomegranate beef tenderloin and okra and eggplant stew are reminders of the politics of the home they left behind. Photos of Iranian political prisoners line the walls at the front entrance. There's a memorial to the victims of flight 752 shot down by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard with 176 passengers aboard, 138 of them destined for Canada. And amidst the protests of the last year and a half inside Iran and beyond, that sense of community support has swelled.

“People have been coming in the restaurant and saying, Hey, we support you. And I'm usually in the kitchen so my sister's in the front, and then hug my sister and then just leave.,” says Banu head chef Amir Mohyeddin. “So I find a lot of non- Iranians are now getting it. And even Iranians, there's some Iranians who come in there who's never been political and they're like, wow. Thank you so much for doing this.” 

This episode of Countless Journeys takes you inside the history of Banu, as we hear what the Mohyeddins wanted to create through Banu that they couldn’t find anywhere else in Toronto, and their hopes for their homeland in a time of incredible change.