Voices in Exile

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Voices in Exile

Voices in Exile: Amplifying the resilience and insights of activists displaced due to their advocacy.

10/02/2026

🎬 Don’t miss the special screening of Voice Out of Shadows in Copenhagen!

Join us on 8 October 2026 for a documentary featuring human rights defenders from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Myanmar and Türkiye.

Following the screening, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Ales Bialiatski will share his reflections and join Wahida Faizi of International Media Support (IMS) for a conversation moderated by Professor John Packer, Co-Director of the Voices in Exile (ViE) project at the University of Ottawa.

📅 Thursday, 8 October 2026
🕝 14:30–16:30 CET
📍 Danish Institute for Human Rights
Nordskov Room, Wilders Plads 8K, 1403 Copenhagen K

Hosted by: European Endowment for Democracy (EED), Humanity in Action Denmark, and the Danish Institute for Human Rights.

🔗 Register here: https://menneskeret.dk/arrangementer/filmvisning-talk-voices-out-of-shadows

09/26/2026

🎙️ NEW PODCAST | VOICES IN EXILE

What does it mean to keep telling stories when telling the truth comes with personal risk?

Hosted by James Cullingham, this episode features Pakistani journalist Abdul Razaque.

In Pakistan, Razaque worked as an investigative journalist and crime reporter, giving marginalized communities a voice and reporting on corruption and issues affecting women and children.

Facing serious threats connected to his religious identity, he left Pakistan and sought safety in Canada in 2019 — while his family remained behind.

After more than three years apart, they were finally reunited in Canada.

Today, Razaque continues his journalism while navigating a new challenge: rebuilding his professional life in a new country without giving up the work that matters to him.

🎧 Hear his story of journalism, persecution, exile, family separation, reunion and starting again in Canada.

▶️ Listen to the full episode: https://voicesinexile.ca/podcast-1

09/25/2026

🎙️ NEW PODCAST | VOICES IN EXILE

What does it mean to keep speaking out when the struggle follows you across borders?

Hosted by James Cullingham, this episode features Rwandan human rights activist David Himbara.

From fleeing Rwanda as a baby to building a life and career in Canada, returning to Rwanda, and eventually becoming a full-time human rights activist, Himbara shares a deeply personal journey shaped by exile, activism and the pursuit of human rights.

🎧 Hear his story and reflections on transnational repression and Canada's role in global human rights.

▶️ Listen to the full episode: https://voicesinexile.ca/podcast-1

09/16/2026

🚨 NEW BLOG POST ALERT

Imagine spending years waiting to go home — only to realize that the home you remember may no longer exist in the same way.

Your neighbourhood has changed.
Friends have left.
Children have grown up somewhere else.
Your career and family have begun taking root in another country.

Then comes the question:

Do you return — or stay and continue building the life you have started?

In "A Ukrainian's Dilemma: Go Back, or Stay and Build a New Life in Canada?", Nina Potarska, a gender expert specializing in peacebuilding and conflict resolution, shares a deeply personal reflection on living between Ukraine and Canada.

She describes how years of war have transformed cities, communities, families and everyday life. Her own former neighbourhood was hit, damaging a music school, schools and a kindergarten.

At the same time, rebuilding life in Canada brings different uncertainties about work, education, immigration status and the future.

After years of displacement, perhaps the question is no longer simply:

"When will you go home?"

But instead:

💭 What does "going home" mean when both the place you left and the life you have built have changed?

👉 Read the full story: https://voicesinexile.ca/blog/a-ukrainians-dilemma-go-back-or-stay-and-build-a-new-life-in-canada

09/03/2026

🚨 NEW BLOG POST ALERT

Seven Reasons Exile Stories Matter

In this thought-provoking article, Diary Marif, a Vancouver-based Kurdish writer, explores why the personal stories of newcomers and people in exile matter.

Many people in exile carry stories of resistance, survival, identity, and rebuilding that rarely reach the public. Sharing these experiences can challenge stereotypes, create empathy, strengthen individual voices, and help build more inclusive communities.

Inside the article:
📌 The power of personal storytelling
📌 Creating empathy and human connection
📌 Giving people in exile a voice
📌 Recognizing skills and leadership
📌 Searching for identity and belonging
📌 Reducing stereotypes and prejudice
📌 Building stronger, more inclusive communities

🕯️ Behind every label is a human story. When those stories are heard, they can create connection, understanding, and belonging.

👉 Read the full blog: https://voicesinexile.ca/blog/seven-reasons-exile-stories-matter

07/20/2026

🚨 NEW ARTICLE ALERT

Democracy from the Front Lines: How Taiwan and the Taiwanese Diaspora Combat Global Isolation

Published in The Conversation Canada

In this insightful article, Hokbi Tiunn, PhD Candidate, Faculty of Law, University of Ottawa, examines Taiwan's remarkable democratic transformation and the important role the Taiwanese diaspora plays in promoting democratic values and international engagement.

This article explores:
📌 Taiwan's transition from authoritarian rule to democracy
📌 The impact of diplomatic isolation on Taiwan's international participation
📌 How the Taiwanese diaspora helps strengthen democracy around the world
📌 Why civic participation remains central to democratic resilience
📌 What Taiwan's experience teaches us about protecting democracy in an increasingly complex world

❓Can democracy flourish even when it is excluded from many international institutions?

👉 Read more: https://linktr.ee/voicesinexile2

04/14/2026

🚨 NEW Article Alert: Strike on Afghan hospital shows the laws of war may document atrocities — but don’t prevent them

Published in The Conversation Canada
By Shabnam Salehi, Human Rights activist and PhD candidate, Law, Carleton University; L’Université d’Ottawa/University of Ottawa

A hospital in Kabul — a place meant for healing — was turned into a site of tragedy.

More than 400 lives were lost.

These were not soldiers.
They were patients. People seeking recovery and hope.

This article goes beyond the tragedy to ask a difficult question:

👉 If international law clearly protects hospitals, why do these attacks keep happening?

Inside the article:
📌 The story behind the Omid Hospital strike
📌 The growing pattern of civilian harm in modern conflicts
📌 Why the laws of war exist — but often fail in practice
📌 A call for real accountability, not just condemnation

💔 When hospitals are no longer safe, what does that say about our world?

👉 Read more: https://linktr.ee/voicesinexile2

01/08/2026

Who supports diaspora media when the voices matter most?

Gezahegn Demissie is an Ethiopian journalist, writer, and filmmaker working in exile in Canada. Through his media work, he connects the Ethiopian diaspora with Canadian society while amplifying voices from Ethiopia that are often silenced.

His journey shows why diaspora media matters for human rights, inclusion, and democratic dialogue, even when resources and recognition are limited.

01/01/2026

✨🥳 Voices in Exile | Reflecting on 2025, Welcoming 2026 🥳✨

From January to December, we listened to voices that crossed borders and amplified the work of activists and experts in exile shaping struggles for human rights, peace, and justice worldwide.

As we welcome 2026, we recommit to listening, learning, and standing in solidarity.

12/31/2025

🚨👉🚨 From Judge to Global Peacebuilder: Vesna Markovic’s Journey

Vesna Markovic, a former judge from the former Yugoslavia, shares how exile became a turning point rather than an end. After relocating to Canada in 1997, she dedicated her career to conflict prevention and peacebuilding across the Balkans, Africa, and Latin America.

For 13 years with UNDP, Vesna worked as a conflict prevention specialist, focusing on insider mediation and the importance of local engagement, national capacity-building, and sustainable peace.

Her story reminds us that lasting peace is built with communities, not imposed on them, and that expertise in exile continues to shape global justice efforts.

▶️ Watch and listen as Vesna reflects on mediation and peacebuilding.

Address

Ottawa, ON

Telephone

+16135625775

Website

https://www.voicesinexile.me/

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Humanics Institute
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