36. My journey from Syria to Filmmaker to NHS Hospital Cleaner and Activist, with Hassan Akkad

Asylum Speakers Podcast with Jaz O'Hara: Stories of Migration and Displacement

I’m so excited to introduce you to our guest for this episode... Syrian filmmaker, activist and most recently, author, Hassan Akkad!

Hassan is the very first person I ever heard speak about their experience leaving Syria first hand, and it’s safe to say that it had a huge impact on me. Not only has Hassan shared his incredible story through talks and at events, he actually first became known for filming his journey from Syria to the UK - and his iconic footage was shown on the BBC documentary, Exodus back in 2016 for which he won a BAFTA. Since then, Hassan’s passion and dedication to telling his and other important stories has taken him all over the world, including to his local hospital where he worked as a cleaner during the pandemic.

In September last year, Hassan published his incredible memoir, Hope not Fear. I read it in a couple of days and even though I thought I knew his story, it absolutely blew me away.

In today’s episode we talk about his journey, his book, how candid he was in it, who he didn’t want to read it and why, and at the end he tells the story of the beautiful reunion he recently had with his family after many years of not being together.

You can find Hassan's book here

This episode is sponsored by the incredible Love Welcomes (Remember to use the code WWT at checkout for 10% off.)

To support this show and keep us sharing these stories, you can donate here: https://www.patreon.com/theworldwidetribe

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