Reality Check with Élena
Podcast Description
Our new podcast explores the realities that lead to informality: a notion represented by reduction of the middle class, and spread of insecurity, through a series of dynamic on-the-ground interviews in Europe, the US, and the Global south. You will hear what informality is really like, from people who have lived in it all their lives; from those who have escaped it and risen to middle class; and others who have fallen into it. We invite global intellectuals, along with journalists, policy makers, and investors to share their views on what is informality and why we must tackle it now.
Podcast Insights
Content Themes
Explores the complexities of informality, focusing on themes such as the shrinking middle class, economic insecurity, and social dynamics across episodes that include guest insights on topics like the effect of informality on elections and the housing crisis.
Our new podcast explores the realities that lead to informality: a notion represented by reduction of the middle class, and spread of insecurity, through a series of dynamic on-the-ground interviews in Europe, the US, and the Global south. You will hear what informality is really like, from people who have lived in it all their lives; from those who have escaped it and risen to middle class; and others who have fallen into it. We invite global intellectuals, along with journalists, policy makers, and investors to share their views on what is informality and why we must tackle it now.
In this episode, we step into one of the most invisible and painful realities of our time: the journey of refugees, stranded between war, displacement, and an indifferent world. This 18-minute episode reveals the raw, unfiltered truth of young men and women fleeing South Sudan, Ethiopia, and other countries in Africa, only to find themselves trapped again in North Africa waiting to cross to Europe. We filmed inside a public park, in an elite neighborhood, that turned makeshift camp… and we witnessed their reality!
They walk for years across countries and deserts. They escape burned homes, persecution… a bad life, and they end up facing insecurity, mafia networks, discrimination, arrest, violence, and the constant fear of being hunted because they carry no papers. And yet, they hold on to one another: sharing food, and the hope of a simple, normal life. This is an issue that many overlook and consider irrelevant… until the reality reaches them at their doorstep.
This is not a story about statistics. It’s a story about survival.
About the millions who live outside formal systems (without rights, recognition, or security) navigating an informal world where every hour is a battle.
Here, informality is not a choice. It is the only way to live.
Through their voices, we uncover a side of the global migration crisis that very few ever get to witness. The point of this episode is not to judge, but to expose, understand, and connect. Because these journeys are not about borders: they’re about humanity.
Time Stamps:
00:00 – Life in Fear and Constant Movement
00:35 – Introduction to the Episode & Refugee Context
00:59 – Seeking Asylum: Refugees Relocated to a Park
02:31 – Experiences of Racism and Social Exclusion
03:05 – A 22-Year-Old’s Story: From Ethiopia Through Libya & Morocco
05:06 – Surviving the Day: Markets, Money, and Missing Documents
06:39 – “No Future Here”: Hunger, Danger & Hopelessness
08:30 – Cross-Continent Journeys: Sudan, Chad, Libya & the Sahara
10:18 – Overwhelmed Systems: Why Host Countries Struggle
11:24 – War, Poverty & The Roots of Forced Migration
12:05 – Violence on the Road: Mafia, Arrest & Prison
13:37 – Identity Lost: Stolen Documents and No Legal Status
15:26 – Children Displaced Since 2015: Years Without Home or School
17:03 – Lost Trust, Lost Dreams & Living Day-to-Day
18:01 – Closing Message & Call to Support
Produced by Thought4Action.
Edited by Sara Correa.
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