Here’s the thing about leaving. Sometimes you plan it for years — a better job, an education, a shot at something bigger. Other times it happens overnight. Governments fall. Food disappears. You run.

This episode of Dispatch from the Heartland is about human migration and displacement — one of the oldest patterns of our species. Moving for survival. Moving for hope. Moving because staying is no longer possible. It’s trauma. It’s hope. It’s a blank page.

In this episode, Tate Chamberlin sits down with Zohra Zori, Lucy Petroucheva, and Angela Eifert to talk about displacement, belonging, and the slow learning curve of new cultures. We’ll look at the mistakes, the forgiveness, and the “othering” that happens when you’re new. We’ll talk about refugee camps that stretch on for years, the difference between sustainability and dependence, and the unspoken emotions you carry when you leave everything behind.

This is a space for vulnerability. For beginning again. For understanding sovereignty even when choice has been stripped away. Because right now, families are uprooted. Cultures are colliding. Dreams are being carried across borders. And even in movement — even in loss — we hold on to the hope of a better life.

This is Dispatch from the Heartland. Join us, won’t you?

Human Migration and Displacement - Part Two

I Am Interchange is fostering curiosity, education, and empathy by exploring the controversial and the provocative.

THIS SEASON:  It seems, now more than ever, that we have found ourselves on the cusp of monumental worldwide change. Whether we consider the environment, politics, infrastructure, health, economics, or equities across a broad swath of social constructs, the consensus is clear and urgent: all is not as it should be. The United Nations (UN), a consortium of 193 Member States from around the globe, agrees. In 2015, the UN unanimously adopted 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) calling for urgent action in global partnership to secure “peace and prosperity for people and the planet, now and into the future.” In alignment with the goals, HATCH — a curated network of innovators, artists, activists, and entrepreneurs working together to accelerate positive global change — focused its fall summit impact labs on topics related to their four impact pillars: EQUITY, EDUCATION, ENVIRONMENT, and EMPOWERMENT This series will explore those on the frontlines of transformational systems change, accelerating solutions for these human challenges.