Frontlines of Freedom: Recent Episodes
Renew Democracy Initiative
Each week, political dissidents from around the world sit down with Zimbabwean democracy activist Evan Mawarire to share stories about their struggles on the frontlines of freedom.
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Abdelrahman Elgendy’s mother was against him going to the protest but he insisted he just wanted to watch. His father decided to go with him to keep him out of trouble. Then the unthinkable happened - both were arrested. Inside Prison Gendy, his dad and hundreds of other prisoners were subjected to inhumane treatment and living conditions and that is what sparks Gendy’s passion for writing what he sees and experiences daily. “What happens to the untold stories, the ones that no one ever sees or hears?” He asks. Heart rending and awe inspiring, this humble young man’s resilience will move you to want to do more. Spoiler alert - his eventual release is as unbelievable as his arrest - buckle up.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit renewdemocracy.substack.com
As a young talented musician, Tsewang Norbu had everything going for him. He’d performed on the world’s largest stages and his fans loved him. Like many Tibetans, he’d been forced to bottle up the pain and frustration of Chinese brutality towards Tibetans. In this shocking and inspiring interview, Pema Doma of the Students For A Free Tibet movement explains Tsewang Norbu’s story and tells of the horrors experienced by her people and of the inspiring new generation of Tibetans who are uniting globally and rejuvenating the fight for freedom.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit renewdemocracy.substack.com
China is attempting to erase the Uyghur people. They're not just taking over their their home land, they're systematically removing them from existence. In this shocking conversation, Zubyra Shamseden - a Uyghur and an escapee, walks us through what is being done to the Uyghur people to rub out their culture, their religion, their heritage and their genes. This human rights catastrophe must be known and fought by everyone.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit renewdemocracy.substack.com
For participating in anti-government protests, the Syrian government arrested teenage children and tortured them by pulling out their fingernails. They packed oil barrels with shrapnel and explosives and dropped them from planes into streets crowded with innocent civilians. Using his old Nokia phone Aziz captured some of the most verifiable evidence of the mass murders by the Syrian government and the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). They launched what has become known globally as Raqqa Is Being Slaughtered Silently (RBSS). Though Aziz escaped after many arrests and interrogations, many of the young people that told the world of the horrors in Syria did not make it out. Some are dead, others still in prison 10 years on and some live undercover in exile. This is the story of hope for freedom Syria.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit renewdemocracy.substack.com
Growing up in the middle of a bloody civil war was Nicholas Opiyo’s childhood. He remembers skipping over dead bodies on his way to school and his father being hunted by angry political mobs. Opiyo’s inspirational story of becoming a firebrand human rights and democracy lawyer is marked with shocking moments of courage and despair in equal measures. Through it all however, he learns to turn pain into purpose as he takes on injustice and the brute force of a dictatorship that has had enough of him.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit renewdemocracy.substack.com
With her husband arrested for his work in civil society and as opposition leader, Berta Valle the news anchor had to suddenly take on a massive challenge - to free not only her husband but all political prisoners. Berta’s fight for her husband and that of many other political prisoners renewed my sense of hope for the lone fighters of freedom who many times seem destined for defeat. Berta tells a very special story as the episode comes to an end, you want to experience it - truly special.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit renewdemocracy.substack.com
Escaping North Korea is a mission that many thousands of North Koreans have not accomplished. Some were killed on capture and others die in hard labour prisons. Joseph is orphaned at a young age when his father dies of hunger before his eyes. His mother and sister take off to look for work and Joseph never sees of hears from them again. The 12-year old begins a perilous journey that leads him through deep pain and suffering yet he still found his real mission - Silently fighting for those oppressed by tyranny.
This is our last episode as we go into the Christmas break. Thank you for listening to the Frontlines of Freedom podcast in 2022. We hope that the coming year will be one of finding true meaningfulness in the things you do for yourself and for others. We will be back with the first episode 0f 2023 on Monday January 9th.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit renewdemocracy.substack.com
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit renewdemocracy.substack.com
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit renewdemocracy.substack.com
She is fueling the people’s revolution! Masih Alinejad is fulfilling the promise she made to the mothers of murdered and jailed protestors who have stood up to the brutal Iranian regime. As hundreds of thousands take to the streets to demand the dictatorship’s end, Masih (despite an attempt to assassinate her in Brooklyn, New York) and the millions of women she has inspired have become the backbone of this revolution. Listen to an inspiring revisit of the story of Masih Alinejad’s bravery as an exiled journalist and women’s rights activist.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit renewdemocracy.substack.com
Alejandro Gonzalez-Davidson was based in Cambodia as a foreign English teacher. Every time he rode out on his bike through the lush forests of Cambodia he noticed the disaster that was slowly but surely unfolding. He decided to speak out and his actions sparked the birth of Mother Nature Cambodia, an organization that today mobilizes citizens to stop environmental degradation and human rights abuses. His narration of both the price they have paid for this work and the success they have had is awe inspiring.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit renewdemocracy.substack.com
Evan Mawarire fled Zimbabwe in July 2016 after leading mass protests against the mis-governance of the Mugabe dictatorship. Thousands had spontaneously turned up at his court hearing demanding his release. Now after six months in exile Evan returned and was met with an immediate arrest at the airport. In this episode of Frontlines of Freedom Evan narrates how an encounter he could never have predicted changed everything. Listen as he draws us into taking on challenges that are imbedded with unexpected moments of strength and encouragement.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit renewdemocracy.substack.com
“In a dictatorship everyone has a number, the only difference is when that number will come up.” This is how David Smolansky describes the life of people who live under authoritarian regimes. When David became the mayor of El Hatillo in Caracas Venezuela, he didn’t expect that he’d have to bury hundreds of young people in the city cemetery who’d been shot by his country’s own military. What he did understand however, is that when your number comes up and it’s your turn to face persecution, you engage in the most important activity - you gather people and give them vision. David’s story is both stirring and endearing.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit renewdemocracy.substack.com
Rios de Pie (Standing Rivers) is a citizen action movement that was started by four young friends in the nation of Bolivia. Torn by the environmental degradation of the Amazon forest by their own government, they come together to figure out what to do about it. The strategies they decided upon were unusual but they resonated and even ended up protesting (sometimes in funny and creative ways) the destruction of democracy too. Jhanisse and her friends show us that there comes a time when we just gotta step up and do what needs to be done. Definitely a David and Goliath story.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit renewdemocracy.substack.com
In the last nine episodes we heard incredible accounts and experiences of struggles for freedom and democracy from across the world. We had the unique opportunity to be told things that these amazing people do not normally speak about. Through their narratives we re-lived their most fond moments of big and small victories and enjoyed the warmth of their undying hope. We go back into the rich tapestry of the experiences that our friends encountered and the things we learned for our own lives. Watch out for season two were we meet more inspiring humans whose stories invite us to defend humanity on our own frontlines of freedom.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit renewdemocracy.substack.com
Whilst In the second trimester of her pregnancy, a woman is detained and kept in a soviet style gulag. Her husband is sent to a brutal labor camp. She gives birth to a son in captivity whose first encounter with life is imprisonment for the ‘crime’ of being born a Uyghur - like his father. Nury Turkel grows up with a deep sense of seeking freedom and justice for his people and that becomes a compass whose direction he could not ignore. Listening to Nury one can't help but be drawn by his resolve and determination to stop running and fight for himself, his family and millions of people whom he will never meet. You’ll be pleasantly surprised how Nury offers his horrific story as a solid framework for you and i to keep standing when it’s all but easier to just give up.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit renewdemocracy.substack.com
In 2001 a large group of refugee teenagers is rescued from the horrendous war between Sudan and the freedom seeking South Sudan. Many of them now orphaned, had started life as six year old child soldiers who had normalized burying their age mates - dead from starvation, disease and sometimes combat. Peter was keen as a young man to see a free Sudan, but besides knowing how to shoot a gun and communist political ideology indoctrination he possesses little else. The rescue brings the children to the United States where they each begin new lives. Peter Biar Ajak’s remarkable journey of transformation is enthralling.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit renewdemocracy.substack.com
As the Chinese military opened fire on the peaceful protestors in Tiananmen Square on June 4th 1989, thousands died and many were arrested. On the government’s published list of twenty one identified organizers, Zhou Fengsuo was named as the fifth most wanted person. Following his arrest, he was kept in a prison and handcuffed day and night for three months before being locked away for one year under extremely harsh conditions. For Zhou Fengsuo this was not the end. Despite the horrible encounters he has pursued his dream with hope and one might even say a dose of cunningness.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit renewdemocracy.substack.com
When the Khmer Rouge (Communist Party of Kampuchea led regime) decreed a complete reset of the nation of Cambodia, everyone who was deemed educated was killed in a brutal genocide. Mu Sochua survived because her parents sent her out of the country - that was the last time she saw them. After 20 years in exile and with her own daughters in tow, Mu Sochua went back to face the killers of her parents, to find justice and bring closure. What she finds and embarks on however, is a whole new mission with highs and lows that deplete and fulfill one's strength in equal measures. We talk about her regrets, her legacy and her hope that defiantly remains - even after recently being sentenced to 36 years in prison in absentia.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit renewdemocracy.substack.com
After serving as one of the most celebrated mayors in the city of Caracas in Venezuela, Leopoldo Lopez begins to demand a better form of national governance from the presidency of Nicolas Maduro. Inevitably Leopoldo finds himself arrested and due to his popularity, he is held in solitary confinement in a military prison for four and half years. What do you do when faced with a debilitating loneliness? For Leopoldo the story has tough moments, extreme, measures and surprising turns. Spoiler alert - a heart warming plot twist awaits…
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit renewdemocracy.substack.com
What does it take to defy Chinese autocracy? It takes a 14-year old who refuses to accept the subjugation of his people. Sunny Cheung was an ordinary Hong Kong high schooler when he first stepped up to defy the Chinese Communist Party. That decision led him on a journey that has become his life mission. We talk about devoting one’s life to a cause and what led him to step up. Listen in as we hear what he experienced and what his hopes for Hong Kong and freedom is.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit renewdemocracy.substack.com
Next to the word ‘Relentless’ in the dictionary should be Masih Alinejad’s picture – the Iranian woman who has championed daring campaigns and protests against oppression of women by the Islamic republic of Iran. As a young girl, Masih refused to accept that it is illegal for women to ride bikes, sing in public or swim in the river. One day her mother taught her something that changed not just her life but that of women in Iran and around the world. Masih and i share the moments that have broken her heart and the ones that have given her the passion to keep going. You wont regret listening to her.
A quick note that our regular Winter Is Here podcast with Gary Kasparov and Uriel Epshtein will resume next week.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit renewdemocracy.substack.com
If you remember the Rwandan genocide of 1994, you will want to listen to this awe inspiring conversation. I talk with Carine Kanimba, the daughter of Paul Rusesabagina, the Hotel Rwanda hero who saved thousands of people by hiding them in the hotel where he worked. Bizarrely, Rusesabagina is today tortured and unjustly imprisoned in Rwanda. Carine and her family have launched a spirited campaign to free their father.
A QUICK NOTE FOR OUR LISTENERS - We will be releasing this podcast every Monday beginning on Monday 20th June. Thank you for subscribing.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit renewdemocracy.substack.com
We’re excited to launch Frontlines of Freedom, RDI’s newest podcast, hosted by Pastor Evan Mawarire, our Director of Education.
Pastor Evan Mawarire is a Zimbabwean democracy activist who led the This Flagprotest movement, mobilizing millions and ultimately contributing to the fall of Robert Mugabe’s regime. Mawarire survived imprisonment and torture at the hands of the dictatorship, and was forced to flee Zimbabwe. Now located in the US, Mawarire will bring on a new guest each week to talk about their experiences leading a struggle for freedom against an autocratic government.
Through guests’ real-life encounters, the conversations accentuate themes of hope, courage, resilience, strength, and the resolve of everyday people who believe that they have the power to overcome oppression. It is a first-of-its-kind show hosted by a political dissident and welcoming on other political dissidents as guests.
For this first episode, Mawarire speaks with Nigerian musician and activist Catherine Udeh, also known as DJ Switch. DJ Switch was involved in the End SARS protest movement, a campaign to have the Nigerian government dissolve the Special Anti-Robbery Squad which is notorious for its brutality and disregard for the law. During a protest in October of 2020, Nigerian soldiers opened fire on protesters by the Lekki toll gate in Lagos, killing more than a dozen people. Rather than flee, DJ Switch live streamed the aftermath of the shooting, providing critical evidence of the government’s involvement as it denied culpability. Afterward, she was targeted by the government and threatened for whistleblowing.
In their conversation, Mawarire and DJ Switch discuss the value of building and living in a free society and the responsibility we each have to protect it.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit renewdemocracy.substack.com