Interview | Growing Up Irooni: Samira Mohyeddin on Navigating Culture, Identity, and the Reverberations of Politics
Learn Persian with Chai and Conversation
Chai & Conversation
4.9 • 548 Ratings
🗓️ 11 September 2023
⏱️ 63 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
In this episode, we dive into an enriching conversation with Samira Mohieddin, discussing her experiences growing up in a Persian family that migrated to Canada. We unpack the challenges and dynamics of navigating multiple cultures, languages, and political climates.
Highlights:
- Samira reflects on her sudden rise in Instagram followers and the oddity of newfound attention.
- A mention of Ari's project, Water Well, and its resonance post-George Floyd protests.
- Samira shares her early life in Tehran and the subsequent move to Canada when she was just four years old. The move was prompted not by choice but by necessity due to political upheavals.
- We learn about the initial struggles of adapting to a new country, including linguistic hurdles. Her family was a blend of French, English, and Persian speakers.
- Samira candidly discusses her experiences in Persian school, a journey filled with mischief, laughter, and some rebellious moments.
- A poignant memory of the aftermath of the Iran hostage crisis is recounted, showcasing the profound impact of geopolitics on immigrant families.
This episode offers a deep dive into the lived experience of an Iranian-Canadian, illustrating the power of personal stories in bridging cultural gaps and dispelling misunderstandings. Join us for an intimate journey of laughter, nostalgia, and reflection.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Learn Persian with Chaiin Conversation? |
| 0:03.2 | Growing up, Idunee interview with Samira Mohiadine. I am your host, |
| 0:33.1 | Leila Shams. So you may know Samida from Instagram. Ever since the protests that erupted in Iran, |
| 0:39.4 | following the death of Masa Amini, she's become a go-to for information about what's going on in |
| 0:43.9 | Iran. Her Instagram popularity may be more recent, but her hard work predates that by decades. |
| 0:50.7 | She's an award-winning multi-platform journalist, producer, broadcaster, and on-air camera talent, |
| 0:57.4 | and co-owns and operates a restaurant called Bonnou in Toronto's Queen West neighborhood with her two |
| 1:03.0 | siblings. I've long been an admirer of hers and had so many questions for her in this interview. |
| 1:08.9 | It really could have been twice as long, |
| 1:15.9 | though we had time constraints. Hopefully she'll be back soon. I thoroughly enjoy talking to her, and hope you enjoy listening as well. So Samira Mohiadine, thank you so much for talking with me today. |
| 1:22.2 | It's a pleasure. We're right across the border from each other right now. So very close by. |
| 1:27.8 | I first want to say I've been a big, big, big fan of your work. |
| 1:32.3 | So I really appreciate everything that you do, your tone, the things that you bring into the conversation. |
| 1:38.7 | I want to thank you this past few months, especially it's been really important to see. |
| 1:47.0 | Sorry, I just want to get it out of the way. It's been wonderful to see. That's why. It's weird for me, because, I mean, |
| 1:53.4 | a lot of people have been saying this to me, but it's just strange for me to hear because, I don't |
| 1:59.6 | know, I just, maybe I'm not good with |
| 2:01.3 | compliments. Well, that and also because you've been doing this consistent, like, good work for |
| 2:07.1 | so long. And I feel like probably for you, it's very strange. All of a sudden, yes. |
| 2:13.8 | Yes, because even if just in terms of sort of, let's just keep it at Instagram, you know, I was a person who had, let's say, I don't know, I think I was like 6,000 followers somewhere around there. And then to all of a sudden get tens of thousands of more followers was very odd, right? Yes. That for me was an anthropological study in and of itself. Yeah, it was very... Exactly. And, you know, I've been in New York and I just told you before the screen. I've been, you know, spending a lot of time with R.N.Y again and hearing about his project, Waterwell, one thing that he said that really stood out to me is he said, you know, he's had this for 20 years now and just been doing the slow work. And all of a sudden, |
| 2:52.8 | you know, with the George Floyd protest, that blew up and he was like, where have you all been? |
| 2:57.5 | And I've seen you say that a lot. Like, where have you all been? Like, now you're with me. |
... |
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