Making magic from the movement of people
Who gets to travel freely, and who is forced to leave home? Tourism and migration are two sides of the same story, yet the travel industry rarely talks about refugees, asylum seekers and displacement.
In this special edition of Funny Old World, Juliet Kinsman and Jaz O'Hara, founder of Asylum Speakers, share voices from a roundtable they hosted at PURE Life Experiences in Marrakech. Hoteliers, tour operators, guides and people with lived experience of displacement – from Syria, Rwanda, Colombia, Jordan, Mongolia, Morocco, Turkey, Cyprus and beyond – on how travel can break down prejudice, create jobs and change who gets to tell the story of a place.
Supported by Intrepid Travel.
WHAT YOU'LL HEAR
– Why most prejudice comes from ignorance, and how travel tackles it
– The women-led London tours built around Ethiopian and Albanian heritage
– How Jordan's story has been shaped by Palestinian, Iraqi, Syrian and Armenian communities
– Why Rwanda understands what it means to be displaced
– A Colombian eco-lodge creating opportunities after 17 years of conflict
– A Cyprus hotel where refugees have become part of the story guests come back for
– The hotel groups pledging to train and hire refugees
IN THIS EPISODE
00:00 Welcome – Juliet Kinsman and Jaz O'Hara
01:00 Why this conversation belongs at a travel event
02:16 Thomas Reilly (UK) – tourism is all about migration
04:09 Lubna Kayyali (Syria) – the media narrative around refugees
06:25 Undraa Buyannemekh (Mongolia) – history is the story of migration
07:03 The power of human stories
08:16 Zina Bencheikh, Intrepid Travel (Morocco) – travel as a route into work
16:45 Muna Haddad, Baraka Destinations (Jordan) – who gets to tell the story of a place?
19:38 Bosco Munga (Rwanda) – recovery after displacement
23:07 Santiago Giraldo Diaz, Cannua (Colombia) – returning home to rebuild
25:47 Figen Ayan (Turkey) – home is where your belly is filled
27:18 Patrick Dessy (Cyprus) – refugees at the heart of a hotel
29:21 Natalie (Ireland) – hotel groups hiring refugees
30:47 Thomas Reilly and Mike McHugo, Education For All – the courage to speak up
32:59 Closing words and thank yous
LINKS
Bouteco's podcasts: https://www.bouteco.co/podcasts
Asylum Speakers: https://www.asylumspeakers.com/
PURE Life Experiences: https://purelifeexperiences.com/
Intrepid's women-led Ethiopian flavours tour, Shepherd's Bush: https://www.urbanadventures.com/en/london/london-private-women-led-ethiopian-flavours-in-shepherd-s-bush-with-coffee-ceremony
Baraka Destinations' Amman walking tour: https://barakadestinations.com/tour/amman-city-tour/
Cannua Lodge, Colombia: https://cannua.com/
Tent Partnership for Refugees: https://www.tent.org/
Greater Action, supporting Afghan refugees in Kuala Lumpur to upskill and make a living: https://greateraction.org/about-us/
THANK YOU TO
Lubna Kayyali (Syria)
Zina Bencheikh, Intrepid Travel (Morocco)
Undraa Buyannemekh (Mongolia)
Thomas Reilly, geopolitical consultant (UK)
Muna Haddad, Baraka Destinations (Jordan)
Bosco Munga (Rwanda)
Santiago Giraldo Diaz, Cannua (Colombia)
Charukesi Ramadurai (Malaysia)
Figan Ayan (Turkey)
Patrick Dessy (Cyprus): https://www.linkedin.com/in/patrickdessy
Natalie (Ireland)
Mike McHugo, Education For All
Ariella and Isabella at PURE Life Experiences
And to the many others who took part, born in and living in countries all over the world. We couldn't cover every aspect of these two incredible conversations on this enormous topic.
Read more about the roundtable in our article on adventure.com.
If this episode moved you, please share it with someone in travel who needs to hear it. Follow Funny Old World wherever you listen.
Follow Juliet Kinsman @JulietKinsman with Jaz O'Hara of @AsylumSpeakers
