Open Encounters: Recent Episodes
Pamela Kerpius
Hear the voices of the people who have crossed the Mediterranean Sea. After crossing continents, countries, the Sahara desert and the Mediterranean on inflatable boats, now they are on the next journey, of settling their lives in Italy, and beyond.
From humanitarian storytelling publication Migrants of the Mediterranean, this podcast brings light to the migrant flow in Italy and the EU in human terms. Migration continues to dominate the headlines in Europe, the US and around the world, but still so often only in political terms. Here, we change that.
Get to know the individuals themselves in one-on-one conversations with host and founder of Migrants of the Mediterranean, Pamela Kerpius.
Learn more about Migrants of the Mediterranean and read every journey story at the site.
What’s at stake when you enter a state housing system as an asylum seeker? In The Netherlands, there is a roof over your head, food on the table, and in this Middelburg location, a spacious game room and lounge where you can watch TV, play video games or share coffee with a friend. There is safety and even comfort here. So why are so many of the people living inside facing mental health crises?––of depression and even suicide. MotM has reported from the Middelburg, Netherlands COA housing camp over the course of 2021 with great esteem for its operations. We have walked away every time with a sense of warmth, solidarity and total transparency from the people inside working to keep the complex going, in spite of paralyzing limitations. There are missing mental health resources, and that’s what we talk about in this episode today. It was our last report from Middelburg in 2021, recorded in early November 2021.
Hear MotM’s Lead Correspondent, Pamela Kerpius, in conversation with Abraham (Nigeria), Abdul Mohammed Ali (Somalia), Anas (Ghana) and Mohammed (Syria) in this episode, the last of the year and our most urgent to date. Thank you for standing with us this year to keep sharing these hidden stories in the migrant community––for supporting our friends whose voices you hear here today. Donate what you can to our 3rd Annual Holiday Fundraiser to help keep this storytelling alive in 2022. So much is at stake. Thank you for standing with us!
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Please meet more of those from the rescue community. Miguel Duarte worked aboard the Iuventa through the now-defunct German sea rescue operation Jugend Rettet from 2016-2017 on four missions. On his final mission, the Iuventa came to port and was immediately seized by Italian authorities who falsely claimed he and his shipmates had participated in aiding human trafficking, among other unfounded charges. It is part of the narrative to criminalize NGO rescue ships, which are seen as acting against the political interests of Italy and the EU, and leaving thousands of lives in the Central Mediterranean hanging in the balance. Miguel's important testimony will move you.
You've met many people over the years who were rescued at sea. But what about the people who rescued them? Who are they, and what was their role in this arc of migration history? Today we take a departure from our usual interviews with people in the migrant community to meet one of those rescuers, Francesco Tripoli. Francesco worked aboard the Sea Watch 2 and Sea Watch 3 ships from 2017-2018 on five different missions. Hear his testimony about what it was like, and the gratitude he has for the people who were onboard with him. With a special guest appearance from his rooster crowing on his farm in Portugal, where he spoke to Open Encounters in late February 2021 in New York City.
Read Alagie's original Journey Story, recorded in Lampedusa, Sicily, one day after his rescue at sea in November 2016.
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Hear Part I of his conversation with Open Encounters on "Lockdown, Labor & Life."
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"You have to fight for what you like...Try, even if they tell you it's not possible for you, leave them. Don't argue. Keep fighting. Fight in a positive way," said Bapa (Sierra Leone) from his home in Passau, Germany. As lockdowns keep lifting and we continue to make calls to our friends in the migrant community in Italy, Germany, and in Belgium. When Bapa arrived in Italy before crossing to Germany in 2016, he had a dream for his life. And even though the reality is different than what he first imagined, he continues with resiliency and a lot of heart. Tune in to Part II of our conversation, on racism, tomorrow.
Hear Babou's original episode on the Open Encounters podcast from 2019, and his episode from Covid-19 lockdown.
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Hear his first episode with Open Encounters last month from Covid-19 lockdown.
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Hear him speak about Migrant Labor and about his experience in Covid-19 lockdown.
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Hear Richard talk aboutmigrant labor in Italy, about his Covid-19 lockdown experience, and his original episode for Open Encounters in 2019.
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Read Mahamed's original journey story on the site, recorded in November 2018 (e in italiano).
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Hear Richard's earlier episode in the "calls from lockdown" series, plus his original episode recorded in 2019.
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Hear his first episode in the "calls from lockdown" series, plus his original episode on Open Encounters in 2019.
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Lockdowns start to lift! We continue to make calls to our friends in the migrant community in Italy, and in Germany. In this episode, we speak to Yanks (Gambia) for a status check from his home outside Naples, Italy. With migrant labor in the news, we talk about his experience working in agriculture where he has earned as little as 25 Euros for a grueling days' work, and without a contract. Hear all of the details.
Lockdowns start to lift: we're ushering in "Fase Due," Phase Two of COVID-19 lockdown, and continue to connect with the migrant community in Italy, and in Germany. In this episode, we speak to Buba (Gambia) for a status check. Hear how he's managing after two months in quarantine in Bergamo, Italy, one of the areas hardest hit by the virus. And hear some good news too––about his admiration for the Bergamo people, about his respect for migrants everywhere, plus, some big news on his asylum case. We continue our discussion with Buba tomorrow, in Part 2.
Hear Ebrima's original episode recorded in 2019 on Open Encounters.
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Hear Andrew's "From COVID-19 Lockdown" episode from 6 May 2020.
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Lockdowns start to lift! We're ushering "Fase Due," Phase Two of COVID-19 lockdown, and continue to connect with the migrant community in Italy, and in Germany. In this episode, we speak to Mustapha (Gambia) for a status check. Hear how he's managing after two months in quarantine in Latina, Italy, about his drive to begin work, "any work," he urgently says, and how he stays away from too much news to keep stress levels down.
During the worldwide lockdown of COVID-19 MotM connects with the migrant community in Italy and in Germany. In this episode, we speak to Foday (Gambia) for a status check. Hear how he's managing after two months in quarantine in Latina, Italy, and about his first day out on May 4th, Italy's start of "fase due" (phase two) and the end of fase uno (phase one) lockdown across the country.
During the worldwide lockdown of COVID-19 MotM connects with the migrant community in Italy and in Germany. In this episode, we speak to Ousmane (Gambia) for a status check. Hear how he's managing after two months in quarantine in Bayern (Bavaria state), Germany, about wearing masks at the club, and his words of precaution to keep distance and keep wearing our masks as lockdowns starts to lift.
During the worldwide lockdown of COVID-19 MotM connects with the migrant community in Italy and in Germany. In this episode, we speak to Andrew (Nigeria) for a status check. Hear how he's managing after two months in quarantine in Limatola, Italy, and his hope that the Italian government and people can begin to view the frequently-isolated migrant population with greater sympathy as lockdown begins to lift.
Hear Richard's original episode on the Open Encounters podcast from 2019.
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Hear Babou's original episode on the Open Encounters podcast from 2019.
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During the worldwide lockdown during COVID-19 MotM connects with the migrant community in Germany and Italy. In this episode, we speak to Moussa (Senegal) for a status check. Hear how he's managing after about two months in quarantine in Günzburg, Germany, and about his Ramadan during lockdown, and finally his positive words that no matter black or white we are all the same.
During the worldwide lockdown during COVID-19 MotM connects with the migrant community in Germany and Italy. In this episode, we speak to Landing (Gambia) for a status check. Hear how he's managing after about two months in quarantine in a city outside Stuttgart, Germany, and stay posted on the MotM Facebook page where we'll share his next live music performance.
During the worldwide lockdown during COVID-19 MotM connects with the migrant community in Italy. In this episode, we speak to Bakary (Gambia) for a status check. Hear how he's managing after six weeks in quarantine in Naples, Italy, and his wish to turn the mic on me when we can finally meet in person again.
Hear his original episode recorded in 2019 on Open Encounters.
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Read Richard’s original journey story on the site––anche disponibile in italiano. His followup story and photo essay is forthcoming.
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Read Babou’s original journey story on the site––anche disponibile in italiano. His followup story and photo essay is forthcoming.
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Gran Ghetto, the worst of the migrant ghettos in the agricultural south, is now where Peter lives after going homeless days after recording Part I of our conversation. "This is against humanity," he said about staying in its squalid conditions. Read MotM's full story and see our video coverage, ground rarely seen by outsiders, on the site. Recorded 8 October 2019, in Foggia, Italy.
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I met "Peter" (name changed) in his home city, Isernia, a place in the Molise region east and south of Rome in May 2019. He sat alone in the piazza taking a break from a day that was otherwise uneventful. That moment, part of a regular circuit of places to visit across his day was his way of creating structure and purpose where there was none. We met again in September 2019, when this episode was recorded, just days before he would be asked to leave his state housing on account of the negative verdict of his asylum hearing. He now resides in a notorious ghetto in Foggia, his homelessness, a direct result of his denied asylum case. Part II of our conversation will be recorded there and released soon.
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Read Pazi’s original journey story on the site––anche disponibile in italiano. Plus, his follow-up story from November 2017 and our documentation of his asylum hearing in Rome, April 2018.
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Sami (24, Eritrea) pleads to be heard from the Khoms, Libya migrant detention center today, 15 August 2019, after finding the dead from a July shipwreck. Bodies are washing ashore and his life is in danger. "Don't forget about me, or us," he said.
Read Moses's original journey story on the site––anche disponibile in Italiano!
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Ebrima was 14-years-old when he fled The Gambia for Europe. He was kidnapped twice in Algeria before he was sixteen, and was tortured and starved in Libya before he successfully made the Mediterranean crossing for Italy. He landed in Lampedusa where I met him in the days after his rescue, but was transferred from the island hotspot before our scheduled interview the next day. Two years later, I met him in Agrigento, Sicily, where he emerged onto the piazza bearing no resemblance to the 16-year-old I met on the island, then so tired and traumatized. Here, he speaks about housing and food quality, integration and racism, and cracks up at the idea of a border wall. Recorded in Agrigento, Sicily in February 2019.
Plus,read Ebrima's original journey story + see photosof our first meeting in Lampedusa,live on the site with more to come!
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Fabulous lives in a small village outside of Naples, Italy. He was transferred there after his first reception in Catania just after his sea rescue on 24 Nov 2016. Here, with his usual positive flair, he talks about work prospects and adjusting to Italian culture, gratitude for where he is now, and about having patience. Our conversation took place in Naples, Italy in April 2019.
Plus, read his story on the site for accompanying words and photos!
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Amadou arrived in Lampedusa in Nov 2016 after rescue on the Mediterranean. A year-and-a-half later we reunited in his transfer city in the south of Italy to continue his story. We discuss what it’s like to be rescued on the sea, his missing family members who he fears drowned in Dec 2017 and his prospects for work in Italy.
Plus, read his story on the site for accompanying words and photos:www.migrantsofthemed.com/motm-reunion-meet-amadou-two-years-later
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