Speaking Refugee. The VULNER Podcast

A six parts podcast series that explores how refugees experience their „vulnerabilities“ when seeking asylum.
In this podcast we want to focus on the individual experiences and feelings, that constitute the „vulnerability“ of refugees and that are often overlooked. - We bring together scientific field work AND the stories of refugees. We wanted to know: How does vulnerability show at the different stages of the migration process?
To answer this question we talked to three people from three different countries: You will meet Jameela, who is a refugee from Afghanistan and currently in an accommodation centre in Belgium. Gabriel, who has a refugee history himself and is now working with refugees in Uganda. And we talked to Fatima, a humanitarian worker in the MENA region with Basmeh and Zeitooneh – one of the areas of concentration is Lebanon.
This podcast is a part of the VULNER project, a research project that aims to understand the vulnerabilities faced by migrants, to enable decision-makers to better identify positions of vulnerabilities and address them.
Because: vulnerability is increasingly used as a tool that allows decision-makers to identify migrants in need of special assistance and protection - and many international laws as well as national policy reflect this focus.
The VULNER project has received funding from the European Union‘s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme, under the grant agreement No 870845.

Speaking Refugee. The VULNER Podcast

Latest episodes

Episode 6: Capital

Episode 6: Capital

34m 3s

Thinking with the quite famous French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu, there are more kinds of capital than just money. Besides the economic capital, which is indeed the money you own or inherit, Bourdieu also defines cultural and social capital. In general, capital can be described as anything a person or entity is able to „spend“ or use when competing with others on any market. How does this impact the vulnerability of refugees?

Episode 5: Health

Episode 5: Health

31m 56s

Having to worry about health is a constant source of stress and a source of vulnerability in the truest sense of the word. According to the World Health Organization, health is not merely „the absence of disease and infirmity" but "a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being“. In this Episode, we want to explore how health - physical and mental health - has an impact on the lives of asylum seekers.

Episode 4: Gender

Episode 4: Gender

37m 43s

Gender - next to other factors, such as health or age - plays a central role at different levels, when vulnerabilities are being assessed in reception centers and by social workers. We talked about it with Fatima, Gabriel and Jameela.

Episode 3: Food

Episode 3: Food

32m 8s

Food is the fuel of every living creature on this planet. We need it to have energy for our daily duties and to maintain life itself. Children need it to grow and be healthy. But food can also be a part of our daily struggles and sorrows. Climate change, financial crisis and wars, such as Russia's war in Ukraine, endanger the food supply of millions of people - especially in the Global South. The food crisis is hitting those who are already the most vulnerable particularly hard.