In this episode, Khaddija and Lola discuss two recent instances of African women being lured into questionable and dangerous situations under pretenses. Some of which have turned deadly. Unfortunately, these situations are not new, and are not unknown to us or many living on the continent. The increased use of social media to attract young and vulnerable populations has now exacerbated the dangers of a long-standing and often ignored issue.

•  South African women warned about viral Russian job videos - August 25, 2025, Mayeni Jones, BBC News in Johannesburg

•  South African influencer Cyan Boujee apologises over viral Russian job videos - August 27, 2025, Khanyisile Ngcobo, BBC News in Johannesburg 

  Boss of degrading sex-trade ring in Dubai's glamour districts unmasked by BBC - September 14, 2025, Runako Celina, BBC Eye Investigations

• Death in Dubai: #DubaiPortaPotty - BBC Africa Eye Documentary - September 14, 2025, BBC News Africa

Knock knock…is anyone there? We’re back, and today we’re discussing food through the lens of multiculturalism. We discuss access to food and how it can serve as a gateway to learning about different cultures, and how migration can shape our exposure to different cuisines depending on where we live! 

To get in touch, feel free to email us at reflectionsonmigration@gmail.com! Follow us on @reflections_onmigraion!

(We apologise for the audio in the beginning; it gets better as you listen.)

Love and light,

Khaddija and Lola

1. The intersection of culture and cuisine: How food shapes our identity

2. Multicultural Citizenship: A Liberal Theory of Minority Rights by Will Kymlicka

3. Branding, Diplomacy, and Inclusion: The Role of Migrant Cuisines in Cities’ Local and International Action by Lorenzo Kihlgren Grandi
   

Today’s episode features our first guest co-host and we are so excited for you to listen to an incredible discussion with Samuel Sarr, the Founder of Kailend Farms.

We discuss the work Kailend Farms undertakes in Togo, Samuel’s journey in creating a sustainable agribusiness, food insecurity, migration, and much more!

For more on Kailend Farms!

To get in touch, feel free to email us at reflectionsonmigration@gmail.com and don’t forget to follow us on Instagram for updates @reflectionson_migration! 

Love and light,

Khaddija and Lola

Sources 

1. Kailend Farms - https://www.kailend.org

2. FAO definition of Food Insecurity - https://www.fao.org/hunger/en

3. Wave of increased food insecurity hits West and Central Africa: https://news.un.org/en/story/2024/04/1148516

4. WFP Food Insecurity in West Africa - https://www.wfp.org/news/west-and-central-africa-faces-deepening-food-crisis-un-agencies-call-enhanced-humanitarian
   

In this episode, we focus on unaccompanied children and youth migrants. We know that the challenges faced by migrants are numerous. Those challenges and vulnerability are heightened for children and youth on the move due to their age. 

Young migrants have reported severe challenges, such as lack of food, poor shelter, health issues, theft, lost or stolen documents, and deprivation of liberty. 

Tune in as we bring further attention to the plight of these young people and the continued complexities of global migration. 

To all the unaccompanied, separated, missing, and unaccounted-for children and young migrants out there, you are not forgotten.

To get in touch, feel free to email us at reflectionsonmigration@gmail.com! 

Follow us on Instagram/Threads @reflections_onmigration! 

Love and light,

Khaddija and Lola

Take Action Today (NGOs supporting unaccompanied minors)

• SB Espoir
• Kids in Need of Defense
• The Young Center
• Church World Service

Sources /Further Readings 

1. Unaccompanied Children - UNHCR
2. Europe — Migrant and Refugee Children in Europe - Accompanied, Unaccompanied and Separated (January — December 2023) - IOM 
3. Child and young migrants - Migration Data Portal
4. Data and Children on the Move: Unpacking relevant terminology, concepts and data sources - UNICEF DATA 
5. From Promises to Action: Towards Better Data for Migrant and Displaced Children - UNICEF 
6. International Data Alliance for Children on the Move (IDAC)
7. Youth on the Move, Travelling by Sea and by Land to Europe in 2023. Focus on IOM's latest report - IOM
8. Child migration through the Darien Gap up 40 per cent so far this year - UNICEF 
9. One Unaccompanied Minor's Journey to the US Sparks Hope in California's Pilot Program | KQED 
10. Migrant and refugee children via mixed migration routes in Europe - UNHCR, UNICEF, IOM 
11. Toolkit on Unaccompanied and Separated Children - IOM (Interagency Working Group on Unaccompanied and Separated Children) 

We’re finally talking about passport power! What does it mean to have a powerful passport? Do you freely travel without ever worrying about entry or visa restrictions? Tune in to hear about what passport power is and how our personal travel experiences have been shaped by the passports we hold.  

To get in touch, feel free to email us at reflectionsonmigration@gmail.com! 

Love and light,

Khaddija and Lola

1. Henley Passport Index: https://www.henleyglobal.com/passport-index/ranking
2. Thing-power-politics: the passport as an object of global circulation by Mark B. Salter:https://millenniumjournal.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/salter-passport-things-power-politics-lse.pdf
3. Passports, Mobility, and Security: How smart can the border be? Mark B. Salter https://www.jstor.org/stable/44218867
4. The Global Visa Regime and the Political Technologies of the International Self: Borders, Bodies, Biopolitics Mark B. Salter: https://www.jstor.org/stable/40645180

Almost 10 years ago, Alan Kurdi, a 3-year-old Syrian child drowned and washed ashore in the Turkish resort town of Bodrum. The initial reaction to the photo of his lifeless body ignited worldwide sympathy for the plight of Syrian refugees in what was dubbed “Europe’s migration crisis.” Ten years later, has the rhetoric and aid surrounding refugees changed? Is Europe still experiencing a ‘migration crisis’, especially in light of the Russia-Ukraine war? Are we more sympathetic to refugees or only to ones who look a certain way? 

Tune in to hear about Alan’s story and our thoughts surrounding the aftermath of his death. 

To get in touch, feel free to email us at reflectionsongration@gmail.com! 

Love and light,

Khaddija and Lola

1. The changing political impact of compassion-evoking
2. pictures: the case of the drowned toddler Alan Kurdi - https://www.researchgate.net/publication/328521095_The_changing_political_impact_of_compassion-evoking_pictures_the_case_of_the_drowned_toddler_Alan_Kurdi
3. The Aunt Of The Drowned Syrian Boy Tells What Happened After The Tragedy - https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2018/08/31/642952840/an-aunts-memoir-remembering-the-drowned-syrian-boy-on-the-beach
4. Al Jazeera documentary on Alan Kurdi - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZjVq0oX4DPQ
5. Too dead? Image analyses of humanitarian photos of the Kurdi brothers - https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/1472586X.2020.1731325
6. Understanding the Images of Alan Kurdi With “Small Data”:
7. A Qualitative, Comparative Analysis of Tweets About
8. Refugees in Turkey and Flanders (Belgium) - https://ijoc.org/index.php/ijoc/article/viewFile/7252/2155
   

This episode highlights the story of Faustina Tay, a young Ghanaian woman who tragically ended her life in 2020 due to the abuse and violence she faced at the hands of her employers while working under a government-sponsored program in Lebanon. 

To contact us, email us at reflectionsongration@gmail.com or on Instagram @reflections_onmigration!

(We apologise for the audio in some sections.)

Love and light,

Khaddija and Lola

Sources

1. ‘The desperate final days of a domestic worker in Lebanon’ - https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2020/4/7/the-desperate-final-days-of-a-domestic-worker-in-lebanon
2. “ Faustina Tay Mentions the Sexual abuse by Hussein and Ali Dia” https://youtu.be/x65PnurOY8Q?si=gmFsk391YNWAF9gx
3. This is Lebanon, the organization Faustina Tay contacted numerous times to help her before her tragic passing. https://thisislebanon.site/
4. Mannon, S. A., Petrzelka, P., Glass, C. M., & Radel, C. (2011). Keeping Them in Their Place: Migrant Women Workers in Spain's Strawberry Industry. International Journal of Sociology of Agriculture and Food , 83-101.
5. Moreno Fontes Chammartin, G. (2004). The feminization of international migration . International Migration Programme, ILO, 39-47.
6. International Labour Organization . (2019). Migrant domestic workers. Retrieved from ILO: https://www.ilo.org/global/topics/labour-migration/policy-areas/migrant-domestic-workers/lang--en/index.htm
7. DW ‘Behind the Produce’ Documentary: https://youtu.be/Z5sA0ioZcNE?si=d821bqXoPAE6L-u6

On this episode, we discuss one of the most dangerous migrant routes in the world, the Darien Gap.

Crossing the Darien can take days or weeks depending on the time of year. There are no roads, bridges, cellphone service, or other viable infrastructure to facilitate easy crossing. 

Tune in, as Lola walks us through this thick jungle of danger and uncertainty. 

Find us at @reflections_onmigration / reflectionsonmigration@gmail.com! 

Love and light,

Lola and Khaddija 

Sources /Further Readings 

• https://www.ifrc.org/article/echoes-jungle-unseen-human-stories-darien-gap-0 
• https://www.ifrc.org/article/sierra-leone-darien-migrants-cross-continents-better-future 
• https://www.ifrc.org/article/echoes-jungle-unseen-human-stories-darien-gap-0 
• https://www.hrw.org/news/2023/10/10/how-treacherous-darien-gap-became-migration-crossroads-americas 
• https://www.cfr.org/article/crossing-darien-gap-migrants-risk-death-journey-us 
• https://www.csis.org/analysis/mind-darien-gap-migration-bottleneck-americas 
• https://globalinitiative.net/analysis/colombia-frontera-clan-migracion/ 
• https://www.refugeesinternational.org/reports-briefs/filling-the-gap-humanitarian-support-and-alternative-pathways-for-migrants-on-colombias-edge/ 
• https://www.thenewhumanitarian.org/maps-and-graphics/2024/01/15/darien-gap-migration-crisis-six-graphs-and-one-map 
• https://ticotimes.net/2024/08/07/panama-dismantles-vip-route-for-chinese-migrants-in-the-darien-jungle 
• https://www.americasquarterly.org/article/are-latin-americas-migration-policies-about-to-change/ 
• https://www.migrationpolicy.org/news/los-angeles-declaration-migration-cooperation 
• https://www.hrw.org/report/2024/04/03/neglected-jungle/inadequate-protection-and-assistance-migrants-and-asylum-seekers 
• https://www.hrw.org/report/2024/04/03/neglected-jungle/inadequate-protection-and-assistance-migrants-and-asylum-seekers 
• https://losangelesdeclaration.com/los-angeles-declaration 

Lola is back! In today's episode, we discuss the externalization of borders, bringing in both concrete and personal experiences. Discussions include the 2015 EU-Turkey deal, CBP One app, and the Rwanda-UK asylum deal.

Don't forget to follow us on Instagram @reflections_onmigration!

Love and light,

Khaddija & Lola

Sources

1. Human Rights Watch on Border Externalization: https://www.hrw.org/news/2016/12/06/impact-externalization-migration-controls-rights-asylum-seekers-and-other-migrants
2. Chatham House on the Dangers of Border Externalization: ​​https://www.chathamhouse.org/2020/10/what-externalization-and-why-it-threat-refugees
3. Externalization at work: https://comparativemigrationstudies.springeropen.com/articles/10.1186/s40878-019-0157-z
4. Forced Migration Review - https://www.fmreview.org/digital-disruption/  (page 18) 
5. Amnesty International article on EU-Turkey deal - https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2017/03/the-eu-turkey-deal-europes-year-of-shame/

Today, I talk about two returnees from Sierra Leone and the horrors they faced in Algeria while trying to reach Europe via the Mediterranean Sea. 

The story is from a BBC titled ‘We failed to Reach Europe – Now Our Families Disown Us’ by Tim Whewell (2019). 

Follow us on Instagram @reflections_onmigration!

Love and light,

Khaddija & Lola 

1. BBC Article: https://www.bbc.com/news/stories-50391297

2. Al Jazeera about Gambian Returnees: https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2024/9/13/i-will-die-trying-gambian-migrant-deportees-dream-of-return-to-europe

3. IOM: https://www.iom.int/who-we-are

4. Universal Declaration of Human Rights: https://www.europarl.europa.eu/about-parliament/en/democracy-and-human-rights/fundamental-rights-in-the-eu/guaranteeing-the-right-to-asylum

5. AU Youth Population: https://au.int/en/youth-development#:~:text=Africa%20has%20the%20youngest%20population,development%20index%20of%20African%20nations.
   

In this solo episode, Khaddija discusses where she's been and the current state of migration today.

Follow us on Instagram @reflections_onmigration!

Love and light,

Khaddija & Lola

Welcome to Reflections on Migration! Get to know your hosts Lola and Khaddija! Our first episode gives an overview of who we are, how we met and why Reflections on Migration exists. Follow us on Instagram @reflections_onmigration for episode updates, cheeky laughs and insightful conversations on migration/human mobility! 

Lastly, a huge thank you to Kayla from @blacktruecrimepodcast for literally hooking the girlies up with getting information on setting this podcast up! 

Love and light always, 

Lola and KJ 

P.S. Reflection of the day: what is your understanding of migration/human mobility? When you think of a migrant, who do you picture? How do they look?