Revisited: Episode 18 - Escape from Afghanistan

This re-release episode closes with a short update interview with Abdul, completed in November of 2020. The original show was published in December of 2018.

The update-interview starts at 59:18.

Abdul Saboor worked with the US military in Afghanistan before having to flee the country after receiving death threats and having several friends and family members killed by the Taliban. What followed was an overland odyssey across Pakistan, Iran, Turkey, the Balkans, and back and forth across the EU, until he was able to claim asylum in France, where he currently lives. Along the way he endured prison, forced labor, beatings, deportations, and kidnapping. His is one of the more remarkable stories of resilience that I have come across in my years of traveling and working in the Middle East and anywhere else in the world. And he’s an amazing photographer.

We were connected by the people at No Name Kitchen, a Spanish NGO that provides food, sleeping bags and supplies, and a community space for the growing numbers of refugees stuck in Serbia and more recently in Bosnia.

Abdul recommends that you support the following organizations working in Calais:

The Wood Yard
Refugee Community Kitchen
L'Auberge des Migrants

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Episode 60: Refugee Crisis in Greece - Aid

This is the final episode of a four-part series on the refugee crisis in Greece, undertaken in collaboration with Croatian NGO, Are You Syrious. This episode features a range of perspectives from locals, internationals, volunteers, and founders on Lesvos and in Athens, including: 

Douglas Herman from Refocus Media Labs; Lesvos (7:14)

Eric Kempson from the Hope Project; Lesvos (1:10:51)

Salam Aldeen from Team Humanity; Lesvos (1:36:44)

Myrto Symeonidou from Migratory Birds; Athens (2:01:49)

Mania and Mado from Network for Children’s Rights; Athens (2:22:42)

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Clockwise from top left: Malakasa, Skaramagas, and Elionas refugee camps, near Athens; Moria Refugee Camp, Lesvos, Greece

Organizations we recommend supporting…

Episode 59: A Refugee Camp Based On Solidarity

Pikpa Camp has been threatened with closure by October 15th, 2020!

For more information on how you can help to #SavePikpa join this group.

Originally from Athens, Efi Latsoudi studied psychology and worked with a range of vulnerable communities before moving to Lesvos in 2001. Efi’s experiences and her story provide a historical perspective on the refugee crisis in Greece that we almost never get from traditional media. For starters, refugees didn’t start coming to Greece in 2015. That story starts much earlier, and many of the problems and tensions we are seeing today are a repeat of events that took place more than a decade ago. Efi Latsoudi began her work with refugees on Lesvos in the mid 2000’s but it was in 2012 that she founded PIKPA camp, a self-organized squat-camp for refugees, and a political statement about how vulnerable people might be housed and treated if communities and resources were brought together in a more thoughtful and compassionate way. To put it bluntly, PIKPA is the antithesis of Moria Camp. The camp is also very small. At its height in 2015 it hosted around 600 people. But its capacity is closer to 150. However PIKPA is far more than a space for alternative housing. It distributes food, offers language classes and other services, and since its opening in 2012 it’s served tens of thousands of people.

This episode is the third segment of a multi-part collaboration between Latitude Adjustment Podcast and Croatian NGO, Are You Syrious.

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For More Information About PIKPA Camp and Mosaik Support Center

Episode 54: The Protests - Chile

In mid-October, 2019 protests broke out in Santiago, and spread across the nation in what quickly became the largest display of civil unrest in Chile since the Pinochet dictatorship. While the proximate cause was a modest raise in Santiago’s metro fares, it’s been clear from the outset that the protests are concerned with larger structural issues, chief among them being Chile’s decades-old commitment to laissez-faire capitalist policies that have seen the privatization of large sectors of the economy, including public utilities and services such as water and roads, and a two-tier system for healthcare and education have also underscored the large chasm between classes. And finally, the state’s privately managed pension system (designed by the president’s brother, Jose Piñera), has been a focal point with its notoriously poor payout structure. While the pension system’s administrators manage to pull in decent profits the system has left Chilean pensioners struggling to survive.

On October 25th an estimated 1.2 million people took to the streets of Santiago demanding Sebastian Piñera’s resignation. While a number of his cabinet ministers were forced to resign, Piñera - a billionaire who made his fortune bringing credit card companies to Chile under the Pinochet regime- remains in office. The protests have been characterized by violence with scores of metro stations burned, looting and vandalism, and petrol bombs. Piñera called a state of emergency on October 19th, which resulted in street patrols by the armed forces and the militarized Carabiñeros. Hundreds of human rights abuse cases have been reported by individuals, human rights organizations, and medical professionals, including at least 19 deaths, arbitrary arrests and detentions, torture, sexual assault in police custody, and what appears to be the systematic misuse of rubber bullets and non-lethal projectiles to intentionally maim and blind protestors.

Today we speak with three guests: American filmmaker and journalist Joshua Tucker, Chilean social researcher Lorena Ortiz, and Chilean sociologist and professor Conrado Soto Karelovic.

Left-to-right: Lorena Ortiz, Joshua Tucker, Conrado Soto Karelovic, and Lorena Ortiz. Photos are property of the subjects.

Veins of Resistance (Official Trailer) from joshuatreetucker on Vimeo.

Episode 53: The Protests - Iraq

The current protests in Iraq began at the start of October. Much like the ongoing protests in Lebanon, the protests in Iraq have largely been mobilized by youth, with no clear leadership, and with a decidedly anti-sectarian focus, with demands to address chronic unemployment, and to reform entrenched corruption and rule by political elites.

They are also the largest protest in Iraq since the end of the Saddam Hussein regime. Unlike Lebanon, protests in Iraq have seen a heavy handed response from the government that has already led to more than 300 deaths.

We speak with political analyst Raed Jarrar to get more context, and to learn what and who are behind the protests and just who is running Iraq these days.

This episode is the second in a series that Latitude Adjustment podcast will be putting out on current protests around the world. Be sure to check out the other episodes in the ongoing series.

#LatitudeAdjustment_Protests

Episode 52: The Protests - Lebanon

Since mid October Lebanon has seen some of its largest protests in years and, in a country where sectarianism has been institutionalized since the end of the 15-year civil war, it’s noteworthy that one of the key issues protestors are rallying against is sectarianism itself.

We talk to activist and development professional Jad Sakr in Beirut to get more context on the causes and aspirations for these protests, as well as the many challenges to be overcome.

This episode is the first in a series that Latitude Adjustment podcast will be putting out on current protests taking place around the world. Be sure to check out the other episodes in our ongoing series.

#LatitudeAdjustment_Protests

Episode 51: Transgender Community

Adrien Lawyer is the founder and director of the Transgender Resource Center of New Mexico, an organization that “provides support, community, and connection to transgender, gender nonconforming, nonbinary, and gender variant people and their families through advocacy, education, and direct services.”

For this conversation I wanted to avoid the trap of asking easy questions and settling for easy answers, and instead just let my confusion and my preconceptions hang out there to see what came back at me. I learned a lot.

Whether you identify as transgender, or as someone who is questioning, or as an ally, or as someone who is confused, skeptical, or ambivalent on the subject of transgender identity and rights, I think you’re going to get something out of this exchange.

Transgender Resource Center of New Mexico

Episode 50: Zimbabwe

What comes to mind when you think of Zimbabwe? Perhaps a generic collection of images from the African continent? Wildlife, poverty, and despotism? Perhaps the long rule of Robert Mugabe, or the astronomical rates of inflation and illness and out-migration that have captured the scant bit of international publicity that the country has received in recent years?

When I traveled to Zimbabwe as a 14-year-old the country changed how I viewed the world and my place in it forever, and while the country has endured much hardship since I visited back in 1992, it remains a place of wonder in my memory as well as a place and a people deserving of more attention than the negative headlines.

When Robert Mugabe’s three decades of rule ended with a military coup in 2017 there were cautious hopes for what this might mean for the fortunes of Zimbabweans. Now two years later the country is still run by his ZANU-PF party, headed now by his former Vice President, and there are worrying signs that Zimbabwe may be edging back towards the type of economic crises that devastated the country in the 2000’s. What will it take for things to change for the better in Zimbabwe? Will the old revolutionary guard that has had a vice grip on power for decades need to be swept away by yet another revolution in order for the country’s fortunes to improve?

Anesu Masube grew up moving around Zimbabwe, so he has the good fortune to call the whole nation his home. We caught up with him in Washington, DC where he currently works as a Technology and International development professional.

Opportunities for Zimbabweans (Anesu is a co-founder)

Episode 48: AfricaTown, Alabama (Part 2 of 2)

In this second of a two-part conversation I talk to Major Joe Womack (USMC-retired) about AfricaTown. Now part of Mobile, Alabama, AfricaTown was founded by survivors of the last slave ship to bring Africans to the US. And the shipwreck was just discovered in 2019. Joe Womack was born and raised there and now he is leading a fight to prevent its ongoing exploitation and pollution by toxic industries. It’s a story that goes to the heart, not only of the Deep South, but of America’s failure to reconcile itself to the darkest chapters of its history. It’s also a story of how those events might be used to breathe new life into a struggling community.

Joe Womack (photo credit, Mike Kittrell, Birmingham Times)

C.H.E.S.S. community foundation for AfricaTown, Alabama

Episode 47: Last Slave Ship to the US (1 of 2)

In this first of a two-part conversation I talk to Major Joe Womack (USMC-retired) about AfricaTown. Now part of Mobile, Alabama, AfricaTown was founded by survivors of the last slave ship to bring Africans to the US. And the shipwreck was just discovered in 2019. Joe Womack was born and raised there and now he is leading a fight to prevent its ongoing exploitation and pollution by toxic industries. It’s a story that goes to the heart, not only of the Deep South, but of America’s failure to reconcile itself to the darkest chapters of its history. It’s also a story of how those events might be used to breathe new life into a struggling community.

Joe Womack (photo credit Carol Adams-Davis)

C.H.E.S.S. community foundation, AfricaTown, Alabama

Episode 46: Gaza Sky Geeks & Women in Palestine

Dalia Shurrab is the Communication and Social Media Coordinator at Gaza Sky Geeks. We talk about the challenges of running the first tech hub in the Gaza Strip and the status of women's rights in Palestine.

Episode 45 (2 of 2): Armenia, Armenians, and Armenian-ness

In this second half of our two-part conversation with Nareg Seferian we speak about the Armenian Genocide, the modern state of Armenia, the Armenian diaspora, and Armenian identity.  

Nareg Seferian received his education in India, Armenia, the United States, and Austria. Nareg served on the faculty at the American University of Armenia for three years, and he is currently pursuing his PhD at Virginia Tech's School of Public and International Affairs in the Washington, DC area. His research and writing has focused on diverse aspects of Armenian politics and society, at the national and regional level, as well as across the global Armenian Diaspora.

The first photo is of guest, Nareg Seferian. The second image is of one of the last structures remaining from the Armenian village of Bardizag, in Turkey, the home of Eric’s great grandmother Mary Abelian prior to its ethnic cleansing in 1915. It was an American Christian school and its lower level has since been desecrated and converted into a stable. Photo credit -Eric Maddox

Episode 41: The Fulani People, Conflict in Mali (2 of 2)

For this second half of our conversation we discuss the ongoing inter-communal violence in Central Mali, the features of Jihadist movements in the region, the prospects and barriers to peace, and the regional and geopolitical implications of these factors and why you should take notice of what's happening in the Sahel. 

Dougoukolo Ba-Konare is a clinical psychologist and teacher of Fula Language and Societies at the National Institute for Oriental Languages and Civilizations in Paris, and a founding member of Kisal (an organization working on the promotion of human rights in the Sahel. 

Episode 40: The Fulani People, A Culture of the Sahel (1 of 2)

The Fulani are an ethnic group of around 40 million people who inhabit Africa’s Sahel region, the transitional biozone that spans the African continent from the Atlantic to the Red Sea and where the sands of the Sahara gradually give way to the savanna of central Africa. Traditionally a pastoral nomadic culture, they have long experienced tensions in some of the communities they call home, and are often treated as outsiders. Some of these conflicts have made international headlines recently, most notably in central Mali, where Jihadist groups and a lack of governmental authority have left communities vulnerable, and where competition for resources and mistrust have brought them into bloody conflict with other tribal groups.

This first of a two-part conversation about the Fulani people offers some compelling insights into how Jihadist groups are able to gain traction in isolated communities, and a more local perspective on global security issues that are traditionally given from a European or American perspective.

Dougoukolo Ba-Konare is a clinical psychologist and teacher of Fula Language and Societies at the National Institute for Oriental Languages and Civilizations in Paris, and a founding member of Kisal (an organization working on the promotion of human rights in the Sahel. 

Episode 39: Afghanistan - Living With the US Occupation

Basir Bita spent his childhood as a refugee in Iran and moved back to Afghanistan in 2003, which means he has spent his entire adult life living under the US occupation. He currently lives in Kabul where he works as a peace activist and as a consultant monitoring and evaluating risk factors for corruption. We discuss the current peace talks between the US and the Taliban, and what he has learned talking to people from across Afghanistan’s ethnically diverse society.

Also be sure to check out our previous conversation with Abdoul Saboor who fled Afghanistan after threats from the Taliban and attacks on his family. His overland odyssey through Iran, Turkey, Eastern Europe and across the Balkans, to finally claim asylum in France, is one of the more remarkable stories I’ve encountered anywhere, and should put the ordeals of many Afghan refugees into a more human perspective.

Episode 38: Hong Kong Protests - Local Perspectives

In June more than 2 million Hong Kong residents took to the streets to protest a proposed law that could see residents of the global financial center subject to extradition and criminal prosecution in China, undercutting the delicate "one country, two systems" policy that was to remain in place for 50 years after the 1997 handover from the British. Today, on the anniversary of the handover, the protestors stormed and occupied the Hong Kong legislature.

For this show we speak with two guests: a professor of cultural studies in Hong Kong whose research focuses on youth activism, and an anonymous guest from Hong Kong who returned to participate in the protests in June.

Photo credit Nextvoyage on Pexels

Episode 37: 95 Years Old & On Hunger Strike

Sally-Alice Thompson is a World War 2 veteran, a peace activist, a New Mexico resident, and at 95 years old she just started her first hunger strike to bring an end to US sanctions and to US support for sieges that are pushing children into starvation and depriving populations of their basic needs.

Learn More About Sally-Alice’s Hunger Strike, Sign the Petition, and Learn How You Can Join Her

Get informed about some of the topics discussed in this week’s show but checking out our previous interviews with local people…

Episode 36: Sudan- Massacre in Khartoum (Part 2 of 2)

This segment of our two-part interview with Dahlia Al Roubi was recorded on Tuesday, June 4th, the day after the current government crackdown began against protestors in Khartoum. As of this episode roughly 100 people have been killed by government forces, with reports that scores of bodies have been dumped into the Nile. As of June 6th, Sudan’s membership in the African Union has been revoked. Sudan’s military council has suspended talks with protestors and unilaterally called for elections to be held within 9 months.

The forces spearheading this apparent massacre appear to be the RSF or “Rapid Support Forces”, led by Mohamed "Hemeti" Hamdan Dagalo. The RSF are a re-branded iteration of the Janjaweed militias that were charged with carrying out the genocide in Sudan’s Darfur region. They’ve since been absorbed into the Sudanese military structure and given the stamp of governmental legitimacy, but they are essentially trained for one purpose and it appears that this purpose has now been turned on the protestors and the people of Khartoum. Incidentally the RSF forces are also being used as mercenaries by the Saudis in their war on Yemen.

Episode 35: Sudan: Women in Revolution (1 of 2)

For this first part of a two-part conversation, we talk to Sudanese activist Dahlia Al Roubi about what it was like growing up under the regime of recently deposed dictator Omar Al Bashir, how the current revolution swept Sudan, starting in December of last year, the challenges of weighing the purity of revolutionary principles against the practical constraints of time and competing interests, and about the role of women who took a leading role in the street protests but who now appear to be left out of the negotiations.

Dahlia and I recorded this first part of our interview on May 21st, before the current wave of violence was unleashed by the transitional military government on protestors and civilians in Khartoum. However we decided to include this conversation to claim some small space in the historical record, a space for what the Sudanese people were aspiring to as recently as Sunday evening. And we’re including it as a reminder that Syria also had this moment, and Egypt as well, and that while violence and a return to despotism might define the moment it’s important to ask ourselves where Western governments positioned themselves during the grassroots efforts to push these countries towards freedom.

Part two of our discussion provides a short update about the violence that has been unleashed by government forces in recent days, in particularly the RSF (Rapid Support Forces) formerly known as the Janjaweed.

Episode 34: Are You Syrious?

Have you ever watched a humanitarian crisis unfolding on the news, witnessed the subsequent failure in leadership, and thought to yourself, "I wish I could get some friends together and just do something to make this better?" 

That's what Milena Zajović and a few Croatian friends did when the largest refugee crisis to hit Europe since World War 2 came to their borders in the Summer of 2015. That initial impulse lead to the creation of Are You Syrious?, a nonprofit that focuses on field work, integration, and advocacy for refugees in the Balkans and Southern Europe. Lately a lot of their work has focussed on reporting on the so-called "push backs" that have seen Croatian authorities playing the role of border enforcers for the European Union. These measures have been accompanied by widespread reports of violence and other human rights abuses and campaigns by various governments to criminalize the work of human rights defenders, a worrying trend that Latitude Adjustment covered in our previous episode about Malta as well. 

Be sure to subscribe to the Are you Syrious Daily Digest, a resource that's become reference material for foreign embassies, aid workers, and journalists, and which provides up to the minute reporting for and about refugees in Europe and across the Middle East. 

photos & logo design credit: Are You Syrious?/ Milena Zajović

Are You Syrious? Daily Digest