Migrant Odyssey

stephen barden
  • 3.1 (17)
  • PLACES & TRAVEL
  • UPDATED MONTHLY

Real voices. True journeys. Humanity without borders Migrant Odyssey tells the stories of people who’ve crossed borders and kept going — individuals whose intelligence, determination and generosity of spirit enrich any country or community they reach . These are stories of  true worth — proof that migration is not a problem, but part of what makes us human.

  1. Gaza Voices

    DEC 8

    Gaza Voices

    With Gaza all but obliterated - do the memories and stories of Gazans lie under the rubble as well? If universities, cafes, homes, mosques, churches, hospitals, workplaces and even entire streets have been flattened, what happens to the memories that filled those places? Two organizations have designed ingenious projects to make sure  that Gaza voices do not disappear. Stephen Barden talks to Jo Friel and Lina Ayesh from Yalla Labs and Ahmad Jaafil from Waves to Home. l24P71jC2om4S6aAFhhu Gaza Living Story: https://yallalabs.org/resources/healing-through-storytelling-gaza-living-story Waves to Gaza  website: https://www.wavestohome.org/category/palestine/gaza/ Send us a text Support the show You know as well as I do that stories about migrants don’t attract big sponsors. Governments are hostile, corporations stay cautious, and even NGOs hang on to their tightening budgets. That's why we need your help. Migrant Odyssey exists — to make sure those voices are still heard. If you’ve ever felt that empathy without action isn’t enough, this is one real way to make a difference. Even a small monthly contribution — one you’ll hardly notice — helps keep these voices alive.

    1h 5m
  2. Ep 21. The Children of the Dispossessed: what happens next?

    NOV 18

    Ep 21. The Children of the Dispossessed: what happens next?

    This is the story of a 6 year old girl who was left to look after her younger brother and sister while her migrant parents worked every day and most of the night.  This is the story of Mirujaa, eldest daughter of Sri Lankan refugees whose single minded goal was to succeed in their new country while paying back their families "back home". This is the story of how the burden of the desperate and the dispossessed is passed onto the next generation. And how it is lifted. Send us a text Support the show You know as well as I do that stories about migrants don’t attract big sponsors. Governments are hostile, corporations stay cautious, and even NGOs hang on to their tightening budgets. That's why we need your help. Migrant Odyssey exists — to make sure those voices are still heard. If you’ve ever felt that empathy without action isn’t enough, this is one real way to make a difference. Even a small monthly contribution — one you’ll hardly notice — helps keep these voices alive.

    51 min

  3. OCT 19

    Sudan: Ethar, the lemon tree, the meandering donkey and 70 years of war.

    A sandstorm birth, a village donkey named Kajol, and a gun barrel to the head during the Khartoum Massacre—Ethar’s story pulls you straight into Sudan’s living history and insistently asks a hard question: 70 years of warfare has changed nothing, so where does real change begin?  We open with a clear, human overview of Sudan’s long arc of coups, civil wars, Darfur’s horrors, and the power struggle between the SAF and RSF, then step into a home where a Ministry of Justice mother and a communist father model how to disagree politically while being totally aligned morally and ethically. That paradox becomes a compass as Ethar learns to push back—against assumptions, about her religion, her beliefs, her capabilities and her country.  As Ethar, reminds us, the wars in Sudan were never for the people - but for power. And her stories in this episode have people at their core - her family, her neighbour who rescued her from a mob, her friend who saved her life. And Ethar herself, who insists that change only comes when ordinary people's daily lives are tangibly changed for the better. Village by village, town by town, person by person. Please help support the show: by sharing with your network; by making a small contribution and by sending us feedback.  Send us a text Support the show You know as well as I do that stories about migrants don’t attract big sponsors. Governments are hostile, corporations stay cautious, and even NGOs hang on to their tightening budgets. That's why we need your help. Migrant Odyssey exists — to make sure those voices are still heard. If you’ve ever felt that empathy without action isn’t enough, this is one real way to make a difference. Even a small monthly contribution — one you’ll hardly notice — helps keep these voices alive.

    1h 16m
  4. Ruchira Gupta: "Where are all the girls?"

    JUL 29

    Ruchira Gupta: "Where are all the girls?"

    Stephen Barden talks to Ruchira Gupta, lifelong activist against human trafficking - especially the trafficking of women. This extraordinary woman not only founded a global organization to protect and educate sexually trafficked women and their daughters but, through her work with the United Nations, has driven changes in global laws on human trafficking and drawn up rules of behaviour for the peacekeepers themselves.  In this episode we hear how she started on her campaign decades ago when she was covering a story in Nepal and discovered there were no girls in village after village. Her question "Where are all the girls", set her on a path that she's following to this day. Send us a text Support the show You know as well as I do that stories about migrants don’t attract big sponsors. Governments are hostile, corporations stay cautious, and even NGOs hang on to their tightening budgets. That's why we need your help. Migrant Odyssey exists — to make sure those voices are still heard. If you’ve ever felt that empathy without action isn’t enough, this is one real way to make a difference. Even a small monthly contribution — one you’ll hardly notice — helps keep these voices alive.

    49 min
  5. Kejsi Hodo and the "invisible" referendum to change Italy's citizenship laws

    MAY 25

    Kejsi Hodo and the "invisible" referendum to change Italy's citizenship laws

    Send us a text Support the show You know as well as I do that stories about migrants don’t attract big sponsors. Governments are hostile, corporations stay cautious, and even NGOs hang on to their tightening budgets. That's why we need your help. Migrant Odyssey exists — to make sure those voices are still heard. If you’ve ever felt that empathy without action isn’t enough, this is one real way to make a difference. Even a small monthly contribution — one you’ll hardly notice — helps keep these voices alive.

    45 min
  6. Lex Takkenberg - 30 years in the most scrutinised of all UN agencies

    APR 21

    Lex Takkenberg - 30 years in the most scrutinised of all UN agencies

    From the frontlines of one of the world's most enduring humanitarian crises comes a story of extraordinary dedication.  Dr Lex Takkenberg  takes us through his extraordinary four-decade journey working with refugees and displaced persons, including thirty years with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA). What begins as an academic interest in international law at the University of Amsterdam transforms into a lifelong commitment when Lex joins UNRWA during the first Intifada. Through his eyes, we witness the evolution of conflict in the region - from the relatively contained stone-throwing confrontations of the late 1980s to the increasingly lethal violence that followed the second Intifada and beyond. Lex  offers rare insights into UNRWA's precarious position between competing stakeholders. Initially established to provide relief while deflecting attention from refugees' right of return, the agency evolved into an essential provider of education, healthcare, and social services while constantly navigating accusations of bias from all sides. His account of developing "robust neutrality frameworks" reveals the extraordinary scrutiny UNRWA faces compared to other UN agencies. Send us a text Support the show You know as well as I do that stories about migrants don’t attract big sponsors. Governments are hostile, corporations stay cautious, and even NGOs hang on to their tightening budgets. That's why we need your help. Migrant Odyssey exists — to make sure those voices are still heard. If you’ve ever felt that empathy without action isn’t enough, this is one real way to make a difference. Even a small monthly contribution — one you’ll hardly notice — helps keep these voices alive.

    55 min
  7. All Good Stories Start with our Grandmothers

    MAR 27

    All Good Stories Start with our Grandmothers

    Send us a text Support the show You know as well as I do that stories about migrants don’t attract big sponsors. Governments are hostile, corporations stay cautious, and even NGOs hang on to their tightening budgets. That's why we need your help. Migrant Odyssey exists — to make sure those voices are still heard. If you’ve ever felt that empathy without action isn’t enough, this is one real way to make a difference. Even a small monthly contribution — one you’ll hardly notice — helps keep these voices alive.

    55 min
  8. Ahmad's story: from sight to insight

    MAR 2

    Ahmad's story: from sight to insight

    Ahmad Jaafil shares his story of extraordinary and persistent willpower, He  talks matter of factly about his severe  and rare eye disease and the horrendous struggle  to try and save his sight- in Lebanon and then the USA. If you want to know, in painful detail, what it's like for a  family to do everything and more to heal their young son, this episode will do that for you. And it's also a story of -  fierce determination and huge will  - of a young man who went from being seen as "hopeless and weak" by his classmates to being named student of the year  - of the power of acceptance of what is, but not of what can be Help support Waves to Home (www.wavestohome.org) and amplify the stories of all uprooted people  around the world.  And, please do tell us what  you think and feel about Migrant Odyssey.  We need your support. We love your feedback  Send us a text Support the show You know as well as I do that stories about migrants don’t attract big sponsors. Governments are hostile, corporations stay cautious, and even NGOs hang on to their tightening budgets. That's why we need your help. Migrant Odyssey exists — to make sure those voices are still heard. If you’ve ever felt that empathy without action isn’t enough, this is one real way to make a difference. Even a small monthly contribution — one you’ll hardly notice — helps keep these voices alive.

    48 min
See All (22)

3.1
out of 5
17 Ratings

About

Real voices. True journeys. Humanity without borders Migrant Odyssey tells the stories of people who’ve crossed borders and kept going — individuals whose intelligence, determination and generosity of spirit enrich any country or community they reach . These are stories of  true worth — proof that migration is not a problem, but part of what makes us human.

Information

  • Creator
    stephen barden
  • Years Active
    2023 - 2025
  • Episodes
    22
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2025 Migrant Odyssey
  • Show Website
    Migrant Odyssey

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