A Thousand Strangers
Stories from the heart by young refugees in New Zealand - Produced by Kerryn Palmer
Developed by Radio New Zealand Drama in association with Voice Arts Trust
Voice Arts Trust is a non-profit organisation working with communities that are isolated, at risk or without a voice, delivering projects that focus on creative self-expression and honour the importance of story.
Voice Arts Trust: art to engage, empower and unite.
Find out more www.voice-arts.org.nz
Stories
Click on a title to listen or right-click on download links.
- Close By by Margaret Pompeo. Read by Charlotte Bradley
- 10-year-old Achiro is separated from her family during the Sudanese civil war. For 14 years she has no word from her family, then one day she receives a phone call from a refugee camp on the other side of the world. (duration: 12′54″)
- Download: Ogg Vorbis MP3
- I Walk Behind by Thary Trann. Read by Sarita So
- After surviving the Khmer Rouge and Hun Sang’s corrupt Cambodian government, Vana escapes to Thailand and eventfully resettles in New Zealand . The culture shock of a new country and a foreign language keeps her imprisoned in her own home. (duration: 11′58″)
- Download: Ogg Vorbis MP3
- Letter To My Family, written and read by Farah Omar
- A Young Somalian man struggles with coming of age in a new country. He strives to become an individual and explain to the traditional family he loves, why he has different dreams and aspirations. (duration: 8′28″)
- Download: Ogg Vorbis MP3
- Paradise by Maureen Zaya. Read by Heather O’Carroll
- Paradise explores the differences between Iraq and New Zealand and the challenges of being a refugee in such a different culture. (duration: 12′51″)
- Download: Ogg Vorbis MP3
- True Love by Pa Uk. Read by Paul Harrop
- Lily and Pa Lian live in the Chin State of Burma. One is rich, one is poor. True Love tells their story. (duration: 11′46″)
- Download: Ogg Vorbis MP3
Biographies
Farah Omar (above) was born in Mogadishu, Somalia, but grew up in Mombasa, Kenya. He came to New Zealand in 2004 and even though he likes his new home, he still misses his friends back in Kenya. Farah is a freelance photographer, filmmaker and actor. He has just moved to Auckland where he is going to University to study his passion. Farah comes from a family of 13 kids, 2 wives and 12 nephews and nieces. “You seriously don’t want to get us together, it’s a disaster in the making!!! ”
Thary Trann (above right) was born in Cambodia but fled with her mother to Thailand when she was 12. She came to New Zealand in 2002 with her mother and five brothers and sisters. She is a student at Victoria University studying early childhood education.
Maureen Zaya (above right) was born and grew up in Bagdad, Iraq. After finishing school she studied Agriculture before she was forced to flee with her family to Jordon. She arrived in New Zealand in 2001. She has completed studies in childcare, travel and tourism. She now works for the Nationwide Health and Disability Advocacy Service and is Vice Chair of ChangeMakers Refugee Forum.
Margaret Pompeo (above right) was born in rural Southern Sudan. She came to New Zealand in 2005 after many years in a Kenyan refugee camp. She arrived with her cousin. The rest of her family remains in Kenya in another refugee camp. Margaret works as a caregiver for the Dawn Trust. She is studying creative writing part time and one day hopes to study nursing full time.
Mang Za Uk Hram Kung (above centre) was born in the village of Than Thang in Burma. He fled with his family to Malaysia and finally arrived in New Zealand in 2007. He lives with his family in Nelson where he is studying ESOL, he also works part time at a fish-processing factory and has hopes of training to be a carpenter.
Information
This project offered a rare and unique opportunity for five young people with refugee backgrounds to be guided through the process of creating, developing and producing their own radio dramas for broadcast on Radio New Zealand National in celebration of World Refugee Day 2010.
The foundation of this project was individual workshops with a skilled arts-facilitator; the aim was to nurture new forms of self-expression and to support the creative exploration and development of each participant’s story of choice. The result is five unique and very different stories exploring themes of loss, separation, re-birth, true love, and misunderstanding.
Three of the five participants come from the Wellington Region, one from Auckland and one from Nelson. They are aged 19-30 years.
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About us
The drama department commissions new writing from New Zealand's best writers and from emerging writers. Each year, we produce up to 30 hours of new drama and comedy, more than 300 book reading or short story episodes, and over 50 new children's stories.
email: DramaInfo@radionz.co.nz
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A number of dramas and book readings are available for purchase through Replay Radio.
(Please note that not all audio is available due to copyright restrictions.)