Episode Description
In this episode, the last of our four-part series with Immigrant Services Society of BC (ISSofBC), I'm speaking with Hamoudi Saleh Baratta, who filmed the first footage of the Syrian revolution, was imprisoned and tortured for it, and now tells that story on his own terms.
And by doing so, Hamoudi has been able to turn the horrible things done to him into something he owns.
Hamoudi and I chat about healing himself through the telling of his story and:
Why he changed his legal name from Mohammed to Hamoudi
Why he calls hope a practice
The doctor he was going to be before everything
How it felt to see the fall of the Assad regime's 54-year totalitarian rule in December 2024
Dozie's Notes
A few things that stuck with me as I listened through this week's conversation:
Whenever a friend struggling comes to me, I often tell them that the moment is never you, it is just a moment you are passing through. But while I say it, I don't always live by that mantra ( I mean I am human). Hamoudi is the closest I have seen to someone who embodies that mantra. He's someone who's gone through a really horrible experience and has come out of the other side without letting the moment define who he is or what it means to his life and future.
I asked Hamoudi if the medical student he left in Syria would think he abandoned his dreams. His response was that guy would be proud that he went on to graduate, because that guy never got the chance to do so. Loads to think about here, especially because we often look back at the detours we made and treat them as evidence of what we lost. And here's a fella who's experienced things some of us only read about in the papers who sees his detours as evidence that he kept going.
Official Links
✅ Connect with Hamoudi Saleh Baratta on LinkedIn
✅ Support refugees as they build their lives in Canada
✅ Read UNHCR Canada's report, Refugees are Good for Canada
One Ask
If you found this story helpful, please consider sharing it with one Canadian immigrant you know.
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This episode is the last of the four-part series with the Immigrant Services Society of BC (ISSofBC), telling the stories of Vancouverites who were forced from their home countries by circumstances beyond their control, and who refuse to be defined by that one day.