Not Your Token Minority - Leo: Finding his place in the global migration story

Leo: Finding his place in the global migration story

11/14/21 • 49 min

"Nikkei" is a term that you'll hear a few times in this episode. It's a Japanese word that means "of Japanese descent" and is used to refer to the huge communities of Japanese diaspora living overseas.
Leo Fuchigami is second generation Japanese-Canadian and is considered "Nikkei". But what does that really mean? In this episode, Leo shares his journey of how he has unpacked his "Nikkei" story through a series of experiences travelling and living overseas. Through the people he's met along the way, the things he's learnt from their stories and discovering more about his own family's migrational movements, Leo has come to understand his own cultural identity in the context of the much larger migration of people all over the world and across generations.
As always, please rate and share to support this podcast, as well as follow on Instagram and Facebook. This is the second-to-last episode of the year before I take a bit of a break over December and January. This is the perfect time to get in touch if you, or someone you know, would like to be a guest on the show. Just send me a message via IG or FB, or email [email protected].

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Previous Episode

Gigi: Why being invited to the party isn’t enough

You've probably heard the terms "diversity and inclusion" (D&I) or "diversity, equity and inclusion" (DEI) thrown around a fair bit in more recent years. They have become indispensable parts of employee engagement and retention initiatives in workplaces - but not all DEI strategies are built the same.
I'm joined in this episode by Gigi Hui, an HR professional who is passionate about DEI and working with others to help them become their best selves. In our conversation, we look at the different layers of “leaning in”, especially when you’re not a straight white male; society’s obsession with extroverts and the implications of that in the workplace; and what true DEI looks like and how to avoid turning it into a “tick box” exercise.
Gigi mentions a TED Talk on "The myth of bringing your full authentic self to work" by Jodi-Ann Burey. You can watch it here.
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Next Episode

Lisa: challenging the "fairytale" narrative of transnational adoption

The "better life" adoption narrative is one that many of us know well - a child, who is usually from the global south, is adopted by a loving couple from the west and given a “better life”, one that they never would have had, had they never been adopted.
But what if, in reality, many adoptions don't follow this familiar narrative? In this episode, my guest shares with me her own adoption story and how her journey to learning more about her own background has led her towards a decade of fighting for adoptee rights.
Lisa Wool-Rim Sjöblom is a Korean adoptee, who was adopted by a Swedish couple when she was 2 years old. During the course of her journey looking for her first parents, she uncovered some unsettling things that challenged everything she was ever told about her adoption.

Her graphic novel "Palimpsest" is about this journey and you can order online. You can also check with your local library to see if they have it in their catalogue.
In our conversation, we also talk about finding belonging as an adoptee of Asian descent and the unique challenges she's faced in figuring out her own identity.

You can also follow Lisa on her Instagram and support her Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/woolrim

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.