44. THE JOURNEY Episode 4: Pushbacks

In his memoir about leaving Syria to life in the UK, my friend Hassan (also a previous podcast guest), shared the terrifying experience he had when attempting to reach Greece by boat. His rubber dinghy was approached by three masked men on a bigger boat, who stole their petrol tank and violently pushed them away from the shore. What Hassan experienced was a pushback.What are pushbacks you might ask, well…in short, a pushback is when refugees and migrants are forced back over a border, generally immediately after they have crossed it. It is not just illegal to send someone back without consideration or assessment of their individual circumstances, but the violence with which these pushbacks are often carried out is costing lives. Welcome back to Episode FOUR of The Journey - a 6-part podcast series following migration routes from Africa, The Middle East and Ukraine, to northern Europe.So far this season we’ve explored the reasons why people are leaving their countries, we’ve taken a look at what life looks like in the first countries they arrive to and we’ve delved into the risks they face along their journey’s.Today’s episode is a very important one. Before we went on this trip we had a rough idea of what the themes of these episodes might be…. But this one was unexpected. Pretty much every person we spoke to, and definitely in every country along the way we heard stories about pushbacks.In this episode we hear from academics, aid workers and also the testimony of someone who has actually lived the experience of being pushed back.This is a shocking topic and episode, but one I truly believe we all need to know about, as the first step to stopping these pushbacks from happening at our borders. To support this podcast:https://patreon.com/theworldwidetribeTo buy our merch:https://theworldwidetribeshop.com/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Om Podcasten

The leading podcast on asylum, migration and displacement. Asylum Speakers will take you on a journey across the world, without you having to go anywhere. We're here to amplify voices, educate, inspire and debunk some of the common myths and misconceptions around migration today. Join us as we transcend borders, nationalities, religions and languages to hear from the people with which we share this world. Celebrating our differences and recognising what unites us. Listen out for yourself in the words of each guest because at the end of the day we're all human, and always able to find common ground should we choose to. Music by Alexander WellsArtwork by Milla Adler Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.