Safer Room

We had the honor and opportunity to interview Goodwill Ambassador for UNHCR, @katgraham. She's used her platform as an actress, artist, dancer, and producer to amplify the voices of refugees around the World. --- "I think there's a huge misconception about refugees. I come from refugees, you were a refugee, you know we're not victims. Our parents were not victims. First of all, nobody who is forced to flee chooses to be a refugee. A lot of refugees come from incredibly stable situations – they are shop owners, they are doctors, they are regular people like you and me. They're not expecting or necessarily wanting a handout, they want a hand up. Just give them the tools that they need so that they can rebuild their life and eventually go back home or become resettled. Just give them the tools that they need so that they can live a dignified life." –Kat Graham

In today’s episode we spoke with London-based refugee and gender fluid-fashion stylist, Teem Khan. Teem told us about how he first became interested in fashion, what affected his decision to pursue gender fluid fashion, and how he's personally been affected by the UK's ban on asylum seekers getting jobs, which Teem is actively fighting against right now with the Fight the Ban campaign. Visit Teem's shop at depop.com/teemk/ to buy clothes or purchase a Teem Khan face mask which will donate a face mask to an asylum seeker at anqacollective.org, support the Fight the Ban campaign in the UK to allow asylum seekers to work at https://www.refugee-action.org.uk/lift-the-ban/ and follow Teem's store on Instagram at instagram.com/tee_mkhan to continue to follow Teem's journey. This week’s sponsor is WeHireRefugees.org, and you can check us out at epimonia.com or at epimoniamn on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter. Thank you for listening!

In today’s episode we spoke with fashion stylist, activist, and campaigner at the Iranian and Kurdish Women’s Rights Organisation (IKWRO), Payzee Mahmod. Payzee told us about her own stories with many of the things she's fighting against with IKWRO, how she's navigating combining her career in fashion with a career in activism, and the importance of seeing one another as human beings as opposed to observing dividing lines along cultures, religions, etc. Visit Payzee's website payzeemalika.co.uk to see her fashion portfolio, sign her petition that's gathered over 100,000 signatures to raise the minimum age of consent for marriage in the UK at https://www.freedomunited.org/advocate/safeguard-futures/ and follow her on Instagram at instagram.com/payzeemalika This week’s sponsor is amplioventures.com, and you can check  us out at epimonia.com Thank you for listening!

In today’s episode we spoke with the Director of Communications and Public Relations at a non-profit dedicated to ensuring that travel is not a barrier for refugees and immigrants called Miles4Migrants, Annette Ross. Annette told us about how Miles4Migrants began, why their business model has allowed them to collect 45 million donated miles, and she shares stories of refugee families they've reconnected. If you have airline miles or credit card points that you'd like to donate to immigrants and refugees through Miles4Migrants, you can do so at miles4migrants.org and you can follow their social media at instagram.com/miles4migrants or twitter.com/miles4migrants The best-selling book that sponsored this episode, Refugee Workforce, can be found at refugeeworkforce.com or on Amazon, and you can check us out at epimonia.com Thank you for listening!

In today’s episode we spoke with UNHCR Spokesperson and Communications Officer and the manager of the Instagram page Refugee Diaries with almost 10,000 followers, Bathoul Ahmed. We talk about her path from Sierra Leonean refugee to UNHCR employee, the importance of storytelling in humanitarianism, and some of the biggest misunderstandings that people have about refugees. Follow Bathoul’s personal page on twitter at twitter.com/bathoulahmed or follow her Instagram page refugeediaries at instagram.com/refugeediaries Thank you for listening! Check Epimonía out at epimonia.com

In today’s episode we spoke with Lual Mayen, a South Sudanese refugee who taught himself how to code in a Northern Ugandan refugee camp, eventually creating a game that puts the player in the shoes of a refugee that led to him owning his own gaming company today in Washington DC. We talk about the unseen barriers that refugees face before and after they reach their host country, the importance of community, and the importance of opportunity and education for refugee youth. Check out Lual’s game at junubgames.com and follow Lual’s journey on Instagram at lualmayen Check us out at epimonia.com or at epimoniamn on Instagram and Twitter This episode was sponsored by Amplio Recruiting, a recruitment agency that specializes in getting refugees hired around the US, so thank you to them and check them out at ampliorecruiting.com

In this episode, we spoke with Sara Alavi, US-Pakistani singer, actress, model, and lifelong humanitarian. Sara has been volunteering for UNICEF since high school, and her dad, Dr. Alavi, founded the Peace Worldwide Organization, for which Sara is an ambassador. Sara talks about her experience growing a platform separated from her humanitarianism and then using that to help her inflict positive change, common misconceptions about refugees in the US, and how others can help. Thank you for listening! Check Epimonía out at epimonia.com Learn more about Sara at saraalavi.com

In this episode, we spoke with Anisa Liban, one of the co-founders of the 2015 non-profit Horn of Hope which combatted starvation and illiteracy in Somalia and elsewhere in the horn of Africa, and a senior legislative aide at the Ohio Senate, among many other positions Anisa holds to fight for the rights of various groups. Anisa talks about her journey as a Black Muslim woman in the world of advocacy, non-profits, and politics, and talks about how many ways there are to help people in this new age of advocacy. Thank you for listening! Check Epimonía out at epimonia.com Follow Anisa on twitter at twitter.com/anisastweet

In this episode, we spoke with Ifrah Hashi, a hijabi Somali-American model who walked for Nike at New York Fashion Week, is a member of the Good American Good Squad with Khloe Kardashian, and is currently advocating for justice in Minneapolis with the Black Lives Matter movement. Ifrah talks about her decision to wear her hijab more consistently and how that affected her career, misconceptions that many people have about refugees in the US, and how important it was for her to continuously step out of her comfort zone as well as how important it is for non-minorities to amplify the voices of minorities. Thank you for listening! Check Epimonía out at epimonia.com

In Epimonía's very first Safer Room Podcast episode, we interview the CEO of Epimonía, Mohamed Malim. Mohamed talks about his life before he started Epimonía, moving to the US at the age of four from a refugee camp in Kenya, and then talks about what it's like being a young refugee CEO. Thank you for listening! Check Epimonía out at epimonia.com