Refugees On Air

Sarah chats to Augustin Kadende, who came to Australia as a 10-year-old refugee from Malawi, now, he is running as a candidate for his local council at Hobsons Bay! Augustin is passionate about representing refugees like himself in his community, as well as advocating for lower mortgage rates, better mental health facilities and sustainable environmental initiatives. TW: Mention of losing family/friends to suicide at 16min. Refugees On Air is recorded and produced on the stolen land of the Wurundjeri People of the Kulin Nations. We acknowledge and pay our respects to the Traditional Custodians and their Ancestors of the Lands and Waters across Australia, where our content reaches and on which SYN's partner organisations stand. Sovereignty was never ceded.   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sarah and Maya chat to Grace Williams, founder of Citizen Tasmania, a filmmaker and a law student. Grace shares her story of growing up in a refugee camp in Ghana, as well as founding Citizen Tasmania, and discussing the big question of how do we engage more people to advocate and learn about refugees in Australia. Refugees On Air is recorded and produced on the stolen land of the Wurundjeri People of the Kulin Nation. We acknowledge and pay our respects to the Traditional Custodians and their Ancestors of the Lands and Waters across Australia, where our content reaches and on which SYN's partner organisations stand. Sovereignty was never ceded.  TW: Mention of a sexual assault case at 7:40.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sarah and Maya interview Ahmad Hakim, founder and co-director of newly established NGO Refugee Voices, created and led by asylum seekers and refugees. Ahmad discusses his experience with tokenism in the Melbourne NGO sectors, as well as Refugee Voice's upcoming inaugral event Moments of Change on 10th of September! Refugees On Air is recorded and produced on the stolen land of the Wurundjeri People of the Kulin Nation. We acknowledge and pay our respects to the Traditional Custodians and their Ancestors of the Lands and Waters across Australia, where our content reaches and on which SYN's partner organisations stand.  See omnystudio.com/policies/listener for privacy information.

Sarah chats to Mohamed Semra, a Sudanese Politics, Economics and Philosophy student as well as an active advocate in amplifying youth voices. Mohamed has a special interest in supporting young people's talents as well as opening the discussion of mental health within his community.  Refugees On Air is recorded and produced on the stolen land of the Wurundjeri People of the Kulin Nation. We acknowledge and pay our respects to the Traditional Custodians and their Ancestors of the Lands and Waters across Australia, where our content reaches and on which SYN's partner organisations stand.    See omnystudio.com/policies/listener for privacy information.

For World Refugee Day 2020, Syrian twins Sarah and Maya have a chat to Roghayeh 'Rocky' Sadeghi, an Afghani-born refugee, who lived the first ten years of her life in Iran. They discuss her life growing up as an outsider in both Iran and Australia, as well as her passions towards improving girls education and opportunities all around the world.  Refugees On Air is recorded and produced on the stolen land of the Wurundjeri People of the Kulin Nation. We acknowledge and pay our respects to the Traditional Custodians and their Ancestors of the Lands and Waters across Australia, where our content reaches and on which SYN's partner organisations stand.  See omnystudio.com/policies/listener for privacy information.

Hosts Sarah and Maya interview Marella Mourad, a Syrian software student studying at Swinburne University in Melbourne. Marella is a talented musician with a passion for singing in both Arabic and English. 

To commence our second season, we invited Syrian refugee and photography student Mark Anton to discuss living in Australia as a young migrant, dealing with the emotional impact of the war and his growing passion for media and photography as he completes his studies at RMIT University.  Trigger Warning - Please note this episode openly discusses self-harm and suicide. If you or someone you know needs assistance, please contact Lifeline on 13 11 14

For our season 1 finale, we sat down with Taj Aldeeb, a digital media student and Syrian refugee, who hopes to break down stereotypes of refugees through her advocacy work and growing passion for music and acting. 

Syrian twins Sarah and Maya Ghassali interview Egyption Artist Tadros Hanna about his migration to Australia, artwork and starting a new life in a new country.

Syrian Twins Sarah and Maya Ghassali interview Migration Lawyer and Refugee Akuol Garang and discuss her journey to Australia, love for sports, and establishing a migration agency to help other refugees. 

Syrian Twins Sarah and Maya Ghassali interview Policy Professional and Refugee Advocate Jeanine Hourani and discuss her journey to Australia, being born stateless and struggling with refugee identity. 

Syrian Twins Sarah and Maya Ghassali conduct their first live interview with Refugee advocate and Lawyer Fadak Alfayadh to launch her campaign with Road to Refuge, Meet Fadak. Meet Fadak aims to put a human face to the untold stories of resilience and strength in Australia’s refugee community, and the networks of supporters around them, with an end goal to raise the number of refugee intake each year. 

Syrian Twins Sarah and Maya Ghassali interview Liberian Refugee and Music Artist Zito Ballo about living in a refugee camp in Ghana for 6 years and continuing on with his passion for music as a 16-year-old foster child in Australia. 

Syrian Twins Sarah and Maya Ghassali interview Afghani Refugee and Author Essan Dileri about his life as an asylum seeker in Australia and his book 'Raised in Conflict: Growing up in Afganistan'. His book is available on Amazon. 

Syrian twins Sarah and Maya Ghassali interview Somali refugee Abdifatah Ibrahim, a student at Latrobe University, graduating with a bachelor of accounting. 

Listen to Syrian Twins Maya and Sarah Ghassali’s first interview with special guest Naba Massad Alfayadh, a refugee from Iraq in her final year of studying Medicine at Monash University. Naba discusses her journey to Australia and her recent work in co-founding programs such as Happy Brains Education

Syrian Twins Sarah and Maya interview Refugee actor Tony Le Nguyen, discussing his journey from Vietnam to Australia as a youth, the Australian film industry and his own work in the Vietnamese Youth Production Company!

Syrian Twins Sarah and Maya Ghassali interview their very first Syrian refugee Karla Medawar, who is an engineer student from Beloved Syria Magazine: Considering Syrian Perspectives. Listen to her inspiring and ambitious story regarding her work, studies and journey to Australia.

Syrian Twins Sarah and Maya Ghassali interview Somali Refugee & Author Abdi Aden, known for his novel ‘Shining: The Story of a Lucky Man’. Abdi is an inspirational youth worker and is very involved with the community, he discusses his journey and his upcoming children’s book.