[music]
Brian Lehrer: Brian Lehrer on WNYC. We got a few minutes left in the show. Let's do another round of immigrants from anywhere, tell us a news story from your country of origin that you think everyone should know about. 212-433-WNYC, 212-433-9692. We did one of these last week and we got so many more callers than we could actually take. We're going to do another one right now. It's going to be pretty short again today, but we do these from time to time. It's another edition of immigrants from anywhere, tell us a news story from your country of origin that you think everyone should know about. What's important and what's interesting? Call 212-433-WNYC, 212-433-9692.
Just looking at the BBC News website for some ideas, they've got a story now on the Hajj, the pilgrimage to Mecca that Muslims are supposed to make at least once in their lifetimes. Tuesday, as they remind us, was the most important day of the Hajj, yesterday. Then their article is about global price rises making the religious pilgrimage increasingly unaffordable. That's one story. Who's been on the Hajj and wants to talk about that? They've got another story about South Koreans suddenly becoming younger under a new law because there are apparently two ways of measuring how old you are in South Korea.
They've just gone more officially to one of them that makes you a little bit younger than the other one does. Any South Koreans want to talk about that, people originally from there? Here's another example just to set the template. Immigrants from anywhere, tell us any news story that's interesting or important from your country of origin. 212-433-WNYC.
Last week, as an example, we heard from Namina in Brooklyn, who called in about the then upcoming elections happening in Sierra Leone this week. Here's what she had to say about the current President, Julius Maada Bio of the Sierra Leone People's Party.
Namina: Well, in Freetown, Sierra Leone, West Africa, the election is going to happen on Saturday, the 24th. Right now, Brian, it's so bad in that country now. The President is arresting retired military officers. Children are being killed that are protesting. You have the SLPP, the Sierra Leone People's Party, and then you have APC, All People's Congress. The SLPP is in power and is just killing. You can't buy rice. When I was growing up in Sierra Leone, we have everything that you grow. Everything grow on the soil. Now, you can't even buy anything. The guy is just bad. Bad, bad, bad news.
Brian Lehrer: Namina in Brooklyn on the Sierra Leone elections. The election was held Saturday. Namina, feel free to call back and tell us how it's turning out, or anyone else originally from Sierra Leone. We talked about Russia earlier in the show in a dedicated segment. Russians are also welcome to call in. How about people from Central America who want to expand on the origins of the current migrant surge from the perspective of if you come from Venezuela, or Cuba, or Haiti, or Nicaragua, or Guatemala, or El Salvador, anywhere around there, Honduras. 212-433-WNYC.
Your choice, few minutes for a few phone calls from immigrants from anywhere, tell us a news story from your country of origin that you think everybody in this country should know more about. What's important? What's interesting? It's one of the things we do on the show from time to time. 212-433-WNYC, 433-9692, and we'll take your calls right after this.
[music]
Brian Lehrer on WNYC with a few minutes for phone calls from immigrants from anywhere to tell us a news story from your country of origin. What's interesting, what's important right now that other people should know? 212-433-WNYC, 433-9692. We played the clip before the break of Namina, originally from Sierra Leone talking about the election there. I said, "Namina, if you want to give us an update on how it turned out, feel free." Sure enough, Namina is calling back. Hi, Namina.
Namina: Oh, Brian, my darling. I feel so smart. [laughter] He won. Maada Bio won. I knew when the British were sitting there, I knew he was going to win. He won. My auntie lives in a village called Yonibana. Yonibana in my mother's dialect means the big ant. 90-something, and that woman voted. They called me first thing yesterday. I was listening to NPR and BBC in the morning right away when they said, "Oh, he's in front of his opponents." I said, "Oh, he won." I knew he won. He won, Brian.
Brian Lehrer: If he's so bad economically and in terms of democracy, why do you think he won, if you think it was even a fair election?
Namina: I think he won because it's wickedness. I was talking to the gentleman who took the phone in ChuChu and I was asking him, "Why is evil being paid?" Why is wickedness being in the forefront, in the limelight, Brian? I'm 65. Why? I have this question, and I love somebody to answer this question for me. Why is wickedness being paid all over the world? The leaders that are old and wicked, they're just winning. I don't know what's going on.
Brian Lehrer: Namina, and maybe it relates back to our earlier guest, Anne Applebaum, who wrote a book on the lure of authoritarianism in the world today. Thank you for checking in with us again. Please do call us yet again, even on other things. Sheila in Detroit, you're on WNYC. Hi, Sheila.
Sheila: Hi, Brian. Thank you for taking my call. You're a legend. I'm an Iranian-American citizen. I'm calling to talk about the People's Revolution in Iran. Speaking of wickedness and authoritarianism, I feel like it doesn't get any coverage in the mainstream media, or even in really independent media unless it's in the context of their involvement in the Ukraine War, but people seem to forget that the way they're treating their own citizens is really horrific. Just today, CNN reported that the Biden administration is back in conversation with the Islamic regime.
They've agreed to release $2.7 billion to them. This is a terrible time to be doing that as the people of Iran are fighting with their lives so courageously to overthrow them. It's the biggest threat this regime has had to their power since its inception. With all of the strict sanctions that America has imposed on Iran all these years, and my understanding is these sanctions are-- The people have finally gotten fed up enough to rise up, and now we're doing nothing to assist them, and help them to achieve this goal of having basic human rights. I'm not sure if you're listening.
Brian Lehrer: What do you think the US should do? Because you certainly don't want a situation where it looks like a US fomented coup in Iran, which we tried once upon a time back in the '50s, and that didn't turn out well for us in the long run.
Sheila: Exactly. I'm glad you bring that up. The US definitely has played a part in the situation that exists in Iran right now, but I think negotiating, releasing money in a time when the government there is so desperate is definitely something they should not be engaged in. I think enforcing sanctions on the IRGC, the European Union, particularly and the United Nations have been terrible in listing the IRGC, that's the Islamic Republic's Guard Corps. They haven't listed them as terrorists, but also there's a concept called gender apartheid.
It's one of the most important things that Iranian and Afghani activists are trying to get gender included in the legal definition of apartheid in international law because right now it only includes race. That's something that if it does work, and if the West can support this concept of gender apartheid, it'll have a massive ripple effect around the Middle East.
Brian Lehrer: Sheila, thank you.
Sheila: Thank you.
Brian Lehrer: It's so important, and the global implications of that for gender equality everywhere. I hear you. We have time for one more. Carlos, originally from El Salvador in Cortland, New York. Carlos, you're on WNYC. Hi there.
Carlos: Hello, Brian. WNYC is always on the card when I'm at work, at my desk. I'm really excited my call got taken. [laughs]
Brian Lehrer: Thank you.
Carlos: I just wanted to share a little bit about what is happening in El Salvador right now because a lot of what I hear from Democrats for the most part, it's all these people that have no rights that are being incarcerated, and that you're violating human rights, and whatnot. I grew up there, in the middle of that. I come from the city where it basically originated [unintelligible 00:09:52]
Brian Lehrer: We've got 30 seconds left in the show. What's the main point you want to make about it?
Carlos: Last year I was there. It was the first time that I was able to walk around the street, go for a walk without fear for my literal life. Salvadorans nowadays support this president. Now, I don't support him blindly, but Salvadorans do support him because they feel safe.
Brian Lehrer: I've been reading that that's not where the big surge of immigrants is coming from anymore as was a few years ago. That's interesting evidence to that point. Carlos, thank you very much. Immigrants from anywhere, thank you for calling with your news stories. We'll keep doing these kinds of call-ins.
Copyright © 2023 New York Public Radio. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use at www.wnyc.org for further information.
New York Public Radio transcripts are created on a rush deadline, often by contractors. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of New York Public Radio’s programming is the audio record.
