“Nobody can tell my story better than me”🌱
Helping folks make audio about their own lives (part 1)
The more stories I produce, the more I find myself grappling with questions that don’t have an easy answer. Whose stories do we have the right — or honour — to tell? How do we take care of the people we ‘use’ as ‘sources’? Are we othering communities through our reporting?
It can be deeply uncomfortable to feel we’re gathering a person’s experiences, filtering them through our own lens, then slotting them into a narrative arc… however well-intentioned we are.
But, encouragingly, there are alternatives to this method of storytelling. For this special two-parter of The Audio Storyteller, I spoke to a team that worked collaboratively to enable those with lived experiences to tell their own stories.
We are VOICES is a podcast from the British Red Cross and the VOICES Network about seeking asylum — which was produced by refugees and asylum-seekers themselves. The six-part series introduces us to 12 refugees who became podcast producers, shaping every element of the show, from script to sound design.
Through remote group workshops led by senior producers Jude Shapiro and Bridey Addison-Child, the refugees (referred to as ambassadors or producers) learned creative storytelling, interviewing, recording and more. All this while juggling government appointments, unreliable wifi, parenting and more. The result is a unique, striking and intensely moving podcast.
I first spoke with Alvina Chibhamu, a mother from Zimbabwe who produced an episode of the podcast about her experiences raising her daughter while applying for asylum. In part two, Jude and Bridey share how they supported the new producers to make work about their own experiences.
Before you start reading, I highly recommend listening to this short intro episode which gives context on the project; then listen to Alvina’s stunning episode here.
What was it like to produce the podcast?
Wow. Well, it took a while for us to do the training and the recording. It was such an amazing journey, because we were part of it all the way through. I was involved in every single way.
I’m a single mother; my daughter is nearly two. I was working around her — she was present the whole time. So the worry was, “oh my goodness, how am I going to do this?” Sometimes in the podcast you can hear me say, “I’m so sorry, this child will not let me do anything!” The beauty of it was that every single bit was incorporated into the podcast. It was very… atmospheric in that sense. So if my daughter cried or my internet was down, or I was having a very, very bad week, everything was reflected in the podcast.
In the group, the question of who are the asylum seekers or refugees — it never came up. We could share whatever we wanted.
My episode was about family life and parenting. [Alvina’s episode was produced at the same time that thousands of asylum seekers in the UK were cut off from financial support]. I was one of the people affected by that. It was genuinely a very difficult time. Because the money we get is... not a lot. We struggle to get by with that stipend. To have that little money taken away all together, it’s just a shock. So we worked through ways of incorporating that into the podcast.
I feel like nobody can tell my story better than me. I was given this platform to do it. I don’t know if I’ll get another opportunity to speak. When I felt overwhelmed, Bridey was so good at breaking things down for me — almost like homework. In the end it felt seamless, enjoyable.
Why is it so important that this story is told by you?
Even if I told my best friend or a doctor what I’m going through, they would relay the story from a hearsay point of view. When we were recording, it was like you’re going through the stuff. This is why I felt that this project was so important, because it gave us a platform to share what we come across, share things that are problematic in the asylum system that we don’t get an opportunity to talk about and that most people know nothing about.
Number one was to create awareness in people. 'This is what we go through, this is what happens to us. So having it spoken from my mouth, going out there to people... it was really powerful.
What was it like to learn how to produce audio during the workshops?
We were allocated topics, with regards to whatever our circumstances were. But it wasn’t like, “here is your topic, you’re going to do this.” It was: “here’s the topic, are you happy with it?” I was totally happy with my topic [families].
We did brainstorming sessions and we received training on how to tell your story through sound. I never felt uncomfortable with anything. From the start it was clear what each individual’s limits were. If I wasn’t happy to talk about a specific thing, then that’s it. If there was anything triggering or upsetting, we wouldn’t even go there.
How did you build trust in the group?
Some of the workshops [involved] team building exercises, where we got to know each other. Jude and Bridey were approachable. You could text them or call them anytime, if you had any concerns. We were made to feel that [you can say anything you like]. There was a feeling that I couldn’t say anything wrong. If you’re operating from that level, you say things as raw as they come to you.
How did you feel listening to the episode when it came out?
Oh gosh. The sense of achievement is unimaginable. It really did a lot for my confidence. I learned so much — people skills, teamworking, how to manage my time, multitasking.
As I said to you before, I have given birth; I have a daughter. Throughout the recording process, I just thought, ‘yes we’re producing an episode’. But then when the episode comes… it felt like I had another baby! It was tangible, it was real.
It’s a labour of love, you cultivated this thing. You worked, you pruned. It was such a sense of pride, that it’s out there. Even though you can’t physically hold it — it’s out there. And nobody is going to take that away from me, from us. It will be there for people to listen to in the future.
💌 Read next: Part two, featuring senior producers Jude and Bridey, on collaboration, confidence…and chaos.
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What I’m listening to
🎧 Maintenance Phase: it’s been a long time since a podcast made me laugh out loud so many times in one episode.
🎧 Out to Lunch: the perfect meal-time pod. Also I’ll follow Marian Keyes anywhere.
🎧 Audiocraft Podcast: it’s an oldie but there are so many gems in this interview with the creators of Nancy.