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

In the second episode of FATMATA, we travel to Greece, where Fatmata and Abu first arrive in Europe.

Through conversations with the volunteers who came to know them during their time there, we begin to understand life inside Greek refugee camps, the friendships they formed, and the moments of joy they found during these ten months of waiting.

But after several rejections of their asylum claims, it because clear that they would not be able to stay in Greece. In this episode, we follow the decisions that would lead them to leave Greece, and continue their journey north.

To support the show: https://www.patreon.com/asylumspeakers

Instagram: www.instagram.com/asylum_speakers
www.asylumspeakers.com

To find out more about Second Tree: https://secondtree.org/

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

In the first episode of FATMATA, we travel to Freetown, Sierra Leone, to meet the couple at the heart of this story.
Through conversations with her husband, Abu Bakar, her sisters, her mother, and those who knew her best, we begin to get to know the remarkable Fatmata Kamara - or Fatima, as she was known to her family and friends.
Fatmata left a lasting impression on everyone she met, so what led a young woman with so much love around her to leave everything she knew behind?
In this episode, we begin to understand the decisions that would take her thousands of miles from home, on a journey from which she would never return.

To support the show: https://www.patreon.com/asylumspeakers

Instagram: www.instagram.com/asylum_speakers
www.asylumspeakers.com

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

On 19 April 2023, a young woman was shot and killed by a policeman at the border between Greece and North Macedonia. Her name was Fatmata Kamara, known to her friends and family as Fatima. She was 23 years old. She died that night in the arms of her husband, Abu Bakar.
Her death barely made the news.
Her story raises many important questions… Who was Fatmata, and what really happened that night? Why did her death pass with so little attention? What does it say about whose lives are most valued, who is protected by the law—and who is not? And in the end… what does justice look like for those she left behind?

This is FATMATA: A new season of the Asylum Speakers Podcast.
Launching on World Refugee Day.
Listen wherever you get your podcasts.

To support the show: https://www.patreon.com/asylumspeakers

#Fatmata #AsylumSpeakers #WorldRefugeeDay #Podcast #Refugees #Migration #HumanRights #borders
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The final part of the story!!!

Welcome back to the Asylum Speakers Podcast! I can’t believe it’s been so long since the last episode, and so much has happened since then… and that’s what this episode is here to fill you in on today!!!

If you haven’t yet listened to the last episode that we put out, (about my foster brother Mez trying everything to get his younger biological brother Josi safely to the UK), I would highly recommend you go back and listen to that episode, because it sets the context for today’s episode.

To give you a brief overview…Mez left his country of Eritrea as an unaccompanied child, fleeing compulsory military service, nearly 10 years ago, crossing the Sahara, the Mediterranean sea and hiding underneath the Eurotunnel train to make it to the safety of the UK, where he became my foster brother. (He shares that whole journey in Season One of this podcast if you want to go back and listen). A few years after Mez left, his younger brother Josi also fled Eritrea for the same reasons. He too crossed the Sahara, after which he got stuck in Libya, where he tried several times to cross the mediterranean sea unsuccessfully. Here, he had a very difficult time, facing modern day slavery, forced imprisonment and many other life-threatening risks. During this time, Mez was doing everything he could to bring Josi to us and our family in the UK, safely and legally. It was a long and painful process that at times seemed impossible.

In today’s episode, you will be hearing the climax of this journey, the most incredible reunion of Mez and his brother Josi, and what life has been like since they found their way back to each other after ten years aart and many, many challenges. You'll hear from Mez, my mum, Mez and Josi's immigration lawyer and most importantly... Josi himself!

Let us know what you think of this episode by sending us a message on Instagram

To support the show and help us to keep bringing you these stories: https://www.patreon.com/asylumspeakers
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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.