podcast by #MeWeINTL

About

One missed plane or revoked visa and Mohsin Mohi-Ud-Din’s life would look completely different. His father immigrated to the U.S. from the embattled region of Kashmir. Throughout his childhood, Mohsin returned to Kashmir during the height of war in the 1990’s surviving bullets and bomb blasts. Years later, Mohsin discovered storytelling practices to heal and reclaim agency of his health and human rights. In surviving his story, he also bears witness to the stories untold of his community, stories of resilience and resistance.

For over 15 years, he has traveled to Syrian refugee camps in the Middle East, migrant shelters in Central America and juvenile detention centers in the United States, to architect spaces of creative expression and narrative change. In doing so, Mohsin witnesses something extraordinary. In each seemingly forgotten place there are artists, medicine men, activists, and storytellers who refuse to be invisible. These voices are fighting for the light.

Follow Mohsin to these sacred spaces of the compassionate unseen, and discover how stories and words can be medicine for healing, perspective taking, and positive change. Hear first-hand how forgotten people and places are placing curiosity above fear, and upholding perspectives above conclusions to remodel the world.

On location in El Progreso Honduras recording ‘The Understory’ with Honduran youth leaders Astrid and Carol.

EPISODES

This narrative podcast explores “the understory” of underrepresented communities from around the world. In each episode, we follow the award winning artist and activist Mohsin Mohi Ud Din, and meet extraordinary people using storytelling and narratives to reclaim their health and human rights despite the inequality and injustice surrounding them. Some episodes will be sound rich with field audio and scenic events, while other episodes will be edited interviews with Mohsin exploring an individual’s understory compared to the dominant overstory society tells about them and their community. Mohsin has access to these dynamic storytellers through the community storytelling work he does around the world with #MeWe International. Follow him as we explore stories of resilience, changemaking and joy from people who refuse to be invisible.

While the podcast is still in the early stages, the following episodes are already in production in locations from the Middle East, Latin America, and the United States.

Za’atari Refugee Camp, Jordan | Fatimah

For most of her childhood, Fatimah has grown up in the largest Syrian refugee camp in the world surrounded by nothing but rocks, sand, and barbed wire. To resist the walls and harsh desert sun, she’s invented a daily storytelling practice to internally talk to her dreams, and keep her hopes alive. In that space, she breathes in the smell of trees and touches the ocean. On a recent visit to Za’atari, Mohsin brings her to these places, but there’s one problem, with her dream right in front of her, Fatimah is frozen. Will this young woman stand with the trees and touch the sea? What does it mean to realize your dream? How will this change her when she goes back to the monotone colors and cement barriers of the refugee camp in the desert?

Episodes from Za’atari refugee camp will also include interviews from mothers, artists, and elders who are excavating hope, and demonstrating the best of humanity in their resilience and creativity. These Syrian survivors are refusing to let the failures of the world and the restrictions of space define their stories. Listeners will walk away inspired and equipped with ideas and tools for their own self care, wellbeing, and resilience. 

Honduras x México

At one point in time, Honduras was known as the murder capital of the world, and San Pedro Sula was among the most dangerous cities. The overstories of Honduras and Mexico are dominated by cartel violence and migrant caravans seeking safety and opportunity in the United States. Faced with a lack of economic opportunities and political corruption, young people and parents are making the tough decision to traverse jungles and hop trains for the chance at a safer life in America. But what about those who are choosing to stay? Follow Mohsin as we meet activists standing-up for their future despite the state of the world trying to break them down. 

We also hear from those who do decide to leave. Mohsin will take us further north, to Mexico, to meet a car mechanic who has turned his garage into a makeshift shelter for families migrating from El Salvador and Honduras to the United States. We will hear from fathers and mothers who are in the middle of their migration journey, and who are risking it all for security, opportunity, and health. The episodes from Latin America will challenge the conclusion-hungry stories on migration, and will instead invite the listener to take in expanded perspectives from the stories untold, as expressed directly from the youth resisting migration, and those mothers and fathers risking everything to migrate. 

Mandan, Hidatsa, Arikara Nation | Jasper

For Jasper Youngbear, storytelling is more than a form of entertainment, it’s among the oldest  forms of indigneous medicine. When he was in high school, Jasper was told the stories he grew-up hearing on the reservation were wrong. As an Arikara Indian, he was taught another form of “American history,” one that centered white men and erased his people. He continued to listen to his elders and learned the ancient practices of a medicine man. How can stories heal a community? How does telling stories shift the power dynamic? Mohsin and Jasper talk about the healing power of storytelling, from the perspective of ancient indigneous healing practices which are used to this day.

This is an example of our interview based episodes, where Mohsin guides the conversation and adds additional context through narration.