About:

Summary:

In this evocative episode, we explore the layered realities of displacement and rehabilitation with Roshan Melwani, a policy officer, fierce human rights advocate and refugee lawyer. Roshan takes us through the ‘in-between’ spaces that define the refugee experience. These ‘half-spaces’, as he calls them, are filled with uncertainty, instability, and quiet endurance. As we follow Roshan’s journey of navigating the ‘spectrum of grey’ we unpack what it means to belong when your sense of home is continually in flux. His story weaves through themes of loss, identity, mistrust, and the emotional toll of navigating unfamiliar terrains — all while carrying the weight of systemic exclusion.

Listen Here:

https://youtu.be/BXEm0xGK3UE?si=1Cnrg00A1z1hvYdJ

https://open.spotify.com/episode/6JjF91kFzA3k2mRAZ5OocO?si=7f7bd32415df4e8b

Transcript:

Show Notes:

Our Notes:

  1. Alternative quote: “Refugees are mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, children, with the same hopes and ambitions as us—except that a twist of fate has bound their lives to a global refugee crisis on an unprecedented scale.” -Khaled Hosseini
  2. https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/dec/30/uk-migrant-crisis-bears-no-comparison-to-eus-2015-influx
  3. Roshan Melwani’s Policy Brief on Non-Refoulement in Hong Kong-

David versus Goliath: Addressing Institutional Challenges in the Implementation of Non-Refoulement Policy in Hong Kong

  1. Crawley, H., & Jones, K. (2021). Beyond Here and There: (Re)conceptualizing Migrant Journeys and the ‘In-Between’. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 47(14), 3226-3242.
  2. Bunn, M., Samuels, G., & Higson-Smith, C. (2023). Ambiguous Loss of Home: Syrian Refugees and the Process of Losing and Remaking Home. Wellbeing, Space and Society, 4, 100136.