Conversations with My Immigrant Parents

Adel escaped religious persecution in Iran as a teenager. He talks with his wife Maxine and daughter Carmel about language, whakapapa, plane rides, and the privilege of putting art first. Read more Video, Audio

Palestine is where the heart is for father Sameer and his daughters Wajd and Shahd. The family discuss the difficulties returning home, sisterhood, and what they learnt from Shortland Street. Read more Video, Audio

In Tūranganui-a-Kiwa, Mara and Beto learn how their son Jamil found out about the birds and the bees in Brazil, while their kids talk about growing up black in Gisborne and having DJs for parents. Read more Video, Audio

Tooba and her husband Habib chat with their teens about community and strength in Ōtautahi, a place that has been both a source of immense grief and love since they arrived in 2007 from Pakistan. Read more Video, Audio

[English Dub] Hương fell pregnant at 20, but she didn’t know it was twins until it was time to push. In this episode, she talks with daughters Hà and Ly about dependence, marriage, and homecomings. Read more Video, Audio

[Vietnamese] Hương fell pregnant at 20, but she didn’t know it was twins until it was time to push. In this episode, she talks with daughters Hà and Ly about dependence, marriage, and homecomings. Read more Video, Audio

Both Mahe and his dad Tui were raised by their Tongan grandmothers. In the last episode of the series, father and son discuss namesakes, queerness, and parenting through fear and uncertainty. Read more Video, Audio

NEW SERIES 3rd APRIL, 2023. Immigrant whānau across Aotearoa have frank conversations covering love, ancestry, home, food, expectation, and acceptance. Read more Video, Audio

From Botswana to Nelson to Pōneke, Judah and his sons Tafara and Pako have experienced multiple communities. They talk about fruit picking, single dad life, and dreams in different languages. Read more Video, Audio

When 11-year-old Anique left Sri Lanka, she thought it'd be temporary. Almost two decades later, she talks with brother Navin and mum Sushani about guilt, obligation, and what freedom really means. Read more Video, Audio

After four years studying in Dunedin, Alby has just moved back in with his mum Lina in Naenae. The two of them discuss Lina’s career, Alby’s grief, and whom our lives are lived for. Read more Video, Audio

It took Juliana eight long years to gain residency after moving here from Brazil. She and her mum Nadmea discuss New Zealand’s immigration system, second chances, and Tinder-ing in your 50s. Read more Video, Audio

Sisters Avi and Eva sit down with their daughters and talk about white men who travel to Indonesia, the fetishisation of Asian women, and leading parallel lives in Whangārei. Read more Video, Audio

In Kirikiriroa, Donally and her father Alfredo discuss parenting that contradicts society’s expectations, how Filipino men are expected to ‘get on with it,’ and life after tremendous grief. Read more Video, Audio

Arriving from Fiji, Halima Stewart headed straight to Tapu Te Ranga Marae, where she raised three kids with husband Bruce. She talks with her two youngest about navigating different cultures. Read more Video, Audio

How do we search for something we’ve never seen? The last episode of the series sees the Arif whānau reflect on their years in Aotearoa and dream of a better future. Read more Video, Audio

Meet Saraid and Julie. Read more

In Tūranganui-a-Kiwa, Tongan grandmother Liliani and her daughter Kesaia find that even though they talk every day on the phone (and have for 17 years), they have more in common than they thought. Read more Video, Audio

Joseph and Grace Trinidad talk about making their “own little Philippines” in the Hawke’s Bay, why Filipinos love competition, and what it means to be both queer and Catholic in 2019. Read more Video, Audio

Francisco & Vibeke are parents to teenagers who regularly switch between Argentinian and Dutch cultures. They talk about why coming from different countries means navigating more than just language. Read more Video, Audio

Aliyaan (13) and his mum Masooma are Pakistani Muslims living in East Tāmaki. They discuss being a migrant kid, the March 15 terrorist attack, and how their lives have and haven’t changed. Read more Video, Audio

Sue left Korea with one life in mind, but ended up with something very different. Mum and daughter Bokyong talk divorce, starting over, and why rural towns can be kinder to immigrants than the city. Read more Video, Audio

The Solomons thought leaving South Africa meant leaving entrenched white supremacy. They discuss how much of this they still found in NZ, and what they are learning about gender and queerness. Read more Video, Audio

Ty Meng’s parents escaped the Cambodian genocide and went on to raise five children in Lower Hutt. Three generations of the Meng family consider how their family’s history lingers in the present. Read more Video, Audio

The Muzondiwa family left Zimbabwe at a time when it was difficult to buy even bread. They talk colonisation in Africa and Aotearoa, and whether finding a “true” cultural identity is possible. Read more Video, Audio

In this “bonus” episode of the podcast no one asked for, co-producers and hosts Saraid and Julie talk to their own mums, who hail from Sri Lanka and China, respectively. Read more Audio

Immigrant whānau across Aotearoa have frank conversations covering love, ancestry, home, food, expectation, and acceptance. Read more Audio