The Immigrant You Didn’t Expect | Ft. Yannick Oho Bambe Ep. 066 - My Thick Accent

Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Yannick (00:00):
Prior to me going to France, we had traveled from
Cameroon to the US with my dad,so we spent like a month there.
My first day at school, I'mgoing into the break time, the
recess, and there's this guy whocomes to me and who says hey,
you know, where are you from?
When he said where are you from, my natural answer was where

(00:20):
did you just come from?
Not like where are you from?
Like originally, that's how Iheard it.
And then I said to him justcame from the US.
And then the rumor spread atschool that I was an American.
I also let it go like this.
I was perceived as an Americanboy.

Gurasis (00:51):
So what does it mean to be more than an immigrant, to
carry stories, cultures andexperiences that stretch across
continents, to exist beyondlabels and stereotypes?
Well, this episode of My ThickAccent dives deeper into these
questions with a guest who is afilmmaker, an activist and a
relentless advocate for humanrights.

(01:11):
From Cameroon to France, thento the US, then to UK and now
Canada, his journey has beenshaped by movement, adaptation
and the pursuit of a world thatembraces diversity.
His work, from award-winningdocumentaries to
thought-provoking activism, hasalways centered on amplifying
marginalized voices andchallenging the biases that

(01:34):
divide us.
Through thought-provokingconversations and a powerful
reading of his poem More Than anImmigrant, he reminds us that
home is synonyms with a placewhere joy, laughter, smiles and
happy memories are created.
This episode is a celebrationof resilience, identity and the
journey of carrying multiplehomes within us.

(01:54):
Join us as we go beyond theaccent, beyond the labels and
straight to the heart of what ittruly means to belong.
Please welcome Yannick.
Of what?

Yannick (02:07):
Hello, hello, hello, gur-assish, gur-assish.
I mean, I need to get it right.
You know, I want to get itright.
So, yannick, you have to teachme how to say it right, please

Gurasis (02:18):
It's Gurasis

Yannick (02:20):
Gurasis, okay, Gurasis, okay, yeah, I'm going to try to
remember it.

Gurasis (02:26):
You can ask me as many times as you want, no worries.

Yannick (02:29):
Okay, okay, sounds good , sounds good.

Gurasis (02:31):
But speaking of you now , you know, welcome to the
podcast, Yannick.
Very excited to have you andyou know kind of unfold your
immigrant journey so farthroughout continents.
So welcome once again.

Yannick (02:41):
Yes, thank you.
Thanks for having me.
It's a pleasure to be here andyou know I'm here to answer any
of the questions that you have.
I mean, let's do it.

Gurasis (02:49):
Okay, awesome.
So this episode, Yannick, isactually part of my season two
of the podcast, where I'm tryingto turn up the fun factor a
little bit, and I'm going tostart by asking you some fun
questions.

Yannick (03:01):
So okay Sounds good.

Gurasis (03:01):
So the very first question is what's your go-to
breakfast?

Yannick (03:05):
Oh, go-to breakfast.
Well, it's changed, you know,just recently, but I would
definitely say that the go-tobreakfast would be some
croissant, because I guess, fromhaving lived in France for a
little while and having likethat French culture, like a nice

(03:28):
baguette croissant and you knowhot chocolate as well, yeah,
and sometimes I put a little bit.
I'm a chocolate guy, sosometimes I put a little bit of
Nutella on my croissant and onmy bread.
So yeah, that would be, I guess, a typical breakfast.

Gurasis (03:48):
Wow, sounds tasty.
Have you got used to the TimHortons double-double?
I mean, you are very new toCanada, but how do you feel
about that?

Yannick (03:56):
No, no, absolutely.
I mean I think I've become afan of Tim Hortons.
Yeah, definitely.

Gurasis (04:02):
I'm sure Okay.
So next is should a favoritesong or a dialogue or a movie
tell us why it's significant toyou?

Yannick (04:11):
That's an interesting question.
I guess this question wouldtake me a little while to answer
, because I would describemyself as a deep thinker and I
would love to think a little bitdeeper before answering that
question.
But just for the purpose of theof your, of your game, so to
speak, I'm just, I'm just gonnatell you about the song that I

(04:34):
was actually.
I was actually um, uh, just aquick story.
I was uh talking with mydaughter, my oldest daughter.
She's 15, and she's doing thisstorytelling uh project, uh in
class, and then she asked me tobasically she's asking me some
questions about my story.
So I've been in the same waythat I'm doing what that we're
going to be doing right now onthe podcast.

(04:55):
I mean, I've been doing thatwith her kind of thing and uh
and as I was telling her aboutmy journey, I was telling her
about, uh, the influence of um,of america and the us in my
journey and uh, and how at somepoint america had become or the
us.
When I was 14, 15, he hadbecome so influential through

(05:18):
the, the american, the, the us,the african-american culture.
You know the basketball, thehip-hop and um basically know
the basketball, the hip hop andbasically the way they were
dressing.
I mean, we found them so coolthat I at some point I got
nicknamed the American guy, theAmerican boy, you know, in

(05:39):
cameras.
You know, because we were sointo that culture, right.
And so as we were discussingthat, the song came to mind, as
I was just to illustrate thatconversation, and that was
American Boy, from Estelle andJohn, and I think Estelle and
Kanye West, I think, or Estelleand John Legend.

(06:00):
So, yeah, it's called the songis called American Boy and
Estelle is like a uk artist andit's about the fusion between,
uh, uk and america and the usand just this is like a whole
conversation around what I'vejust described, which is, uh,
that influence, the influence ofthat culture on on the world.

(06:21):
Basically, you knowafrican-american culture on the
world.
Basically, you knowAfrican-American culture on the
world.

Gurasis (06:26):
So yeah, I guess, wow, I'm always fascinated by the
answers I get to this question.
That's why I asked this,because Dal tells, like, the
kind of the music the personlistens to and the impact that
their life throughout.
You know the things that I'vehad.
So, yeah, thank you for sharingthat.
I also wanted to tell us like,or teach us, one phrase in your
mother tongue and what does itmean?

Yannick (06:49):
Okay, I guess one phrase would be nasom.
Nasom means thank you.

Gurasis (06:57):
Nasom.

Yannick (06:58):
Nasom, yeah, that means thank you.
So, yeah, that means thank you,and yeah, I guess that's the
first phrase that comes to mindbecause it reminds me of
something that is very dear toour culture.
It's about I think it's aconcept that is very dear to the

(07:19):
Cameroonian culture.
It's about being grateful,right.

Gurasis (07:22):
Being grateful and being thankful, right.

Yannick (07:24):
So, and since we're here, I guess the first, uh, the
first phrase that I want to sayis thank you.
Thank you for having me.
So I have to say that's some,that's some for for being here
and that's some for having me asa guest today wow, I love that.

Gurasis (07:39):
I've noted that down for myself and for the listeners
as well.
Um, so the next is, and thelast one is if you could
teleport back to a particularplace from your home country for
a day, where would it be andwhat would you do?

Yannick (07:54):
okay, teleport back.
Well, I guess it woulddefinitely be the place where I
spent a little bit of mychildhood and that's my grandpa
and my grandma's house inCameron.
It's a neighborhood calledBonaprizo and that's where the

(08:19):
family home is currently at themoment.
And, yeah, there's so many.
Why?
Because there's so many?
Uh, why, because there's somany joyful memories about that
time, you know, just spendingtime with grandma and grandpa,
just being uh, you know, justbasically all of our needs were
attended and you know the, youknow the grandparents were so

(08:41):
sweet to us and we were kind oflike the favorite grandchildren
and you know just every littlething that we wanted, you know
we got, and so just the memoriesfrom that place are just when.
I think about it.
I mean, I just have goosebumpsBecause yeah it was just such a
joyful time yeah.

Gurasis (08:59):
Yeah, no, I think every time anybody talks about their
grandparents, that nostalgiajust like kind of creeps into
you, you know, you kind of likereminisce those times and then
the amazing, just memories thatyou hold with yourself.
But speaking of that, I thinkthis would be a great segue to
ask you to tell us more aboutyour time in Cameroon, if you
can share a little bit aboutyour affirmative years and how

(09:20):
was it like just growing upthere?

Yannick (09:28):
Yeah, I mean well, I was born in cameron, uh, in the
year 1980 exactly, and I spentthe first, I would say, 13 to 14
years of my life there.
So this is really a place where, um, yeah, as you talked about
formative years, this is reallya place where I got shaped, I
got formed and to me, I believethis was the best years of my

(09:56):
life, because this is where Ireceived the foundations of who
I am today as a human being.
And when I think aboutfoundation, when I talk about
foundation, I really think abouta certain set of values that
are very dear to the Africanculture and that were kind of

(10:23):
passed on to me at that time,you know value of respect, value
of respect for elders, thingslike nature, hospitality,
solidarity.
I mean when I think about mychildhood in Cameroon, I

(10:46):
definitely associate it with acertain set of values that were
passed on to me by my family andby my grandparents and by my
parents, and I also, obviously,when I think about it, I'm
thinking about the food, thevery delicious food, I'm
thinking about the weather and Ialso think about just the
feeling of of uh, you know, whenyou are a kid, and uh, uh, it's

(11:12):
almost like you have no worrieswhatsoever about life.
Right, you know just?
if you want to just go out thereand you are just outside.
Uh, you know, you are friendsand you just decide suddenly to
carefree yeah, very carefree.
Right, you want to play soccer,for example.
And then you decide to playsoccer in, in, in the middle,

(11:34):
because we were living like a inthe residential neighborhood,
right, I mean my grandparents,where it was like a residential
neighborhood, and sometimes myfriends we would just literally
block the streets outside andjust create like a soccer field
just in front of the street, infront of the house, and the cars
weren't passing, because wewere just playing outside and

(11:55):
you just, yeah, so you have this, yeah, carefree and sense of
freedom, and so many, so manywords are coming to my mind when
I think about my childhood.
Um, yeah, so I don't know ifthat answers your question it
does it.

Gurasis (12:12):
Does you know tell me more about the family dynamics,
what the focus was on growing up?

Yannick (12:19):
well again, I think the for me, the family dynamics was
really about those values.
Right, because my late motherwas a teacher and my late father
was a.
I would say more, on my latemother's side, because she was a

(12:40):
teacher and she was, I wouldsay, a disciplarian right, she
was the one who would instilldiscipline in the kids.
Other side, because she was ateacher and she was, I would say
, a discipler, a disciplarianright she was, she was the one
who would instill discipline inthe, in the kids.

Gurasis (12:49):
Uh, being in that profession.
It comes with.

Yannick (12:51):
Yeah yeah, it does come with that, right, and she was
very, you know, she, she, shewanted to make sure that.
You know that.
You know that the kids that herkids would grow up with, uh,
would become decent human beingsright, decent human beingscent
human beings, you know, verypolite, and that that was very,
uh, uh, something that shereally emphasized on.

(13:13):
Uh, my dad on the other side,my late dad on the other, on the
other hand, was more of a laidback person, more, you know,
chilled, and, uh, it would bemore of a person who, um, one
thing that I remember from himis that it would be more of a
person who would, uh, uh, notonly lead by example, but also

(13:37):
the way, for example, in this,in, in the.
In the same way that my latemother was a disciplarian and
she would try and instilldiscipline, my dad would be more
like, okay, you have to learnfrom your mistakes.
So, if you make a mistake, I'mjust going to not say anything,

(13:59):
right or not, try to convinceyou to go another route, to go
the other, to go another route,but, but, but, but, but.
Eventually, what I want you todo is that if you ever, uh, make
a mistake, I would like you tolearn from it and then, so that,
because, because you learn by,you know, uh, by, by, by, kind

(14:21):
of practicing right and and andand, as you learn those things
you know you, or as you makemistakes, you realize that, okay
, this is not something that I,you know, I should have done,
and then maybe you're going totry and next time you're not
going to find yourself, you'regoing to try and avoid being in
those kinds of positions.
So that was kind of likedynamic in the family.
Um, also, what else can I sayabout the dynamics, uh, that

(14:50):
actually shaped me.
My dad also had a very biginfluence on me.
He was a guy who was very, um,uh, he was so attached to his
culture, cameroonian, thecameroonian culture, okay, and
in fact he was actually, youknow, working for the government
.
He was, you know, quite a highrank in the government, but one

(15:17):
of his passions was actually thepromotion of Cameroonian
culture, and so he wouldorganize events, work with
artists, and sometimes evenwhile he was doing those events,
he would take us with him.
You know, eventually, forexample, sometimes I mean he

(15:37):
would, let's say, he would tryto target like big events, for
example, the soccer World Cupsand let's see if the Cameroonian
team would qualify for thoseevents.
For example, we had anopportunity to go to the World
Cup in the US with him and withthe Cameroonian team, and also

(16:01):
in the World Cup in France.
What we would do is that wewould go with the team and then
we would organize some kind ofcultural activities around the
stadium aiming at promoting theCameroonian culture.
All that to say that he wassomeone who was very attached to
the culture and also a promoterof that culture.

(16:24):
That kind of love for culturehas been instilled to me in a
way.
I mean looking back, you know,when I think about my work even
today, which is being a sort oflike bridge between cultures.
Right, I think that you knowthe premises of that work.

Gurasis (16:44):
Uh, you know, definitely were seen at that
time in cameroon, just you know,hanging out with my dad on
these events, you know, so yeahso you're very, very rooted in
the culture and sort of liketook pride in this culture as
well, and I think it's sort oflike passed on you the same
thing um.
Tell me, I think, what was yourdream career growing up?

Yannick (17:07):
well, dream career?
I mean, that's an interestingquestion because, uh, um, to me
I um, you know you would besurprised, but I did not
necessarily have a dream careermaybe somebody who influenced
you the most, maybe a characterin the films, or could it be

(17:28):
around you?
I mean, my biggest influence wasmy dad.
Right, that was my hero, he wasmy hero.
And to me I was just goingthrough the motions.
I mean I think it's verydifficult to picture, but I
would definitely say that myparents made sure that we had no

(17:55):
worries about anything in life,and that sense of being
carefree and that freedom it wasalmost, and that's that's that
sense of being carefree and that, that, that freedom.
It was almost like there was nopressure.
Let's say, let's, let's take ascenario where you have a family

(18:22):
and then the family of doctors,for example.
Because there's a family ofdoctors, the parents are putting
pressure on their kids to bealso doctors, and then the kids
feel that pressure, and then youknow so.
But for us it was like okay, itwas almost like okay, you're
free to to choose any path thatyou like to choose, but all we
want is that you take time, youdon't rush into doing, doing
anything, uh, that you don'twant to do, but just take the
time and and at the appropriatetime, choose your path right.
So you see, it was in thatspirit that I kind of like grew

(18:44):
up, and for me that's when Isaid I was just going through
the motion.
I did not really have anypressure whatsoever to to choose
a certain path, but, but, but Icould.
In contrast, I could.
I could also tell you thatbecause I have, um, two other
siblings right, a younger sisterand an older brother.
I could definitely say that myolder brother is a poet today.

(19:05):
He's a renowned poet in France.
He writes books and things ofthat nature.
If you were to talk to him, hewould tell you that since he was
the age of eight, he alreadyknew what he wanted to do.
He already dreamt about being apoet and writing books and

(19:26):
things like that.
But for me it was.
It was not like that, it wasjust okay.
Just enjoy your every singleperiod of time, enjoy your
teenage years and, uh, you know,just enjoy your childhood.
Enjoy your teenage years, enjoyevery season of your life.
Just, um, take them as theycome and uh yeah and uh yeah.

(19:46):
So that's a surprising answer,I'm pretty sure.

Gurasis (19:49):
But uh, yeah well, your motto was uh, carpeting him.

Yannick (19:54):
You know, just live in the moment, absolutely live in
the moment, absolutely okay um,so last question about one more
thing, about cameron.

Gurasis (20:03):
Tell us something that people might not know about
Cameron, that you would like toeducate us about.

Yannick (20:09):
I'm thinking about asking you the question what do
you know about Cameron?

Gurasis (20:12):
first, Me, so I know that it's bilingual.

Yannick (20:15):
English and.

Gurasis (20:16):
French is kind of spoken widely.
That's what I know, and Ihaven't spoken to enough people
from Cameroon so far.
So I think I will let you takethe stage and educate us more
about that.

Yannick (20:30):
Okay, okay, all right, so well, okay.
So that's a good start.
It's a bilingual country.
That's a great start.
English and French.
Another fun fact about Cameroonis that they have like a.
It's a soccer country.
They call it football overthere.

Gurasis (20:45):
They have like a very big soccer team actually did.

Yannick (20:49):
Uh, their golden years were in the 90s, where they did
very well.
In the 90s world cup they wentinto.
They were the first Africanteam to qualify to the
quarterfinal of the world cup.
So they have, uh, yeah, a very,yeah, a very good team of
soccer.
And also a fun fact about itit's that Cameroon is called

(21:09):
Africa in miniature.
African miniature because fromeast to west, from north to
south, you have differentlandscapes, different people,
kind of like tribes and cultures.
So really when you travelaround Cameroon, you could be

(21:32):
traveling from one area ofCameroon to another and feel
like you were traveling from onecountry to another country
right, because it's so diverse,right, it's diverse as far as
culture.
It's diverse even as far asreligion.
You know, you have Christians,muslims, you have all types of.
So it's a very, very diversecountry, and I would also

(21:55):
definitely say that my passionfor diversity also has to come
from you know the diversity ofCameroon that I've witnessed as
I was growing up, because, likeI said, there's a country that
has over 320 or 300 differentethnic groups.
Oh, wow so yeah, obviously themain languages are English and

(22:19):
French, but within thosecommunities, I mean, people are
still speaking their ownlanguage.
So you can be going from onearea of Cameroon to another and
then have two differentlanguages that are spoken.
So how do you navigate thosedifferences?
You have to find a way ofnavigating the differences and

(22:42):
accepting the other.
I think also my love fordiversity came from my
Cameroonian navigating thedifferences and accepting the
other.
And so I think also mydiversity, my love for diversity
, came from my Cameroonianheritage.

Gurasis (22:50):
Absolutely so.
That's where the seed for itwas planted.
I would love to explore morewhere that plant has grown to,
but now I want to pivot towardsyour move to France.
I think you were telling me atthe age of 14, you decided to
move.
Tell me what influenced thedecision to do that oh, to do
that.

Yannick (23:08):
Oh yeah, I mean I did not decide, I was too young, I
was 14, so I did not decide toto move, but, um, well,
unfortunately it was anunfortunate event that actually
happened.
I lost my mom at that age, atage 14.
And so that's when, basically,my dad took the decision to send

(23:32):
me and my siblings to France tolive with my aunt, my mom's
sister, because obviously hefound himself on his own on his
own in cameroon.
So he was.
The question was okay, he askedmy aunt to kind of like help
him raise us right.
So that's why we had to kind oflike move and, uh, so we moved

(23:55):
to cameroon following that, uh,that event, you know, yeah, okay
.

Gurasis (24:02):
Do you remember your first day when you moved there,
any initial thoughts or emotions?

Yannick (24:07):
um, not really I mean yes and no.
I would say yes and no, but uh,as I was uh sharing with my
daughter because we had thatconversation a couple of days
ago, and uh, were you preparingfor this podcast?
while talking to her, I guess, Iguess it looks like it.

(24:30):
I mean, I think things happenedso fast that I did not have, I
don't think I had time toprocess what was happening.
It was just okay, this is anevent that just happened, okay,
you guys have to go, and thenthe next thing that we know, we
have already moved from Cameroon, so now we're in France and

(24:52):
then you know, so just have toadjust quickly to the changes
that are going on.
But you don't really, becauseit goes, it happens so fast, you
don't really take the time toprocess Right.
So at the time I did not have Iwouldn't say that I didn't have
any emotion, but I would justsay that I did not have enough
time to process it.

(25:12):
Now, if you tell me looking back, maybe looking back, I can give
you some pointers and someanswers on how you know the
emotions and the, the thing thatI've been able to process.
Now, looking back at that, uh,to that time.
But at that time in particular,to answer your question, it was

(25:32):
, uh, like I said, too fast, tooquick and so no time to process
.
Just, um, move on and you know,keep it moving and you know,
just do what you have to do.

Gurasis (25:43):
Basically, yeah, until what age did you stay in france
then, before moving to us?

Yannick (25:49):
until about the age of 18, so until after my uh, yeah,
I basically finished completingmy high school in france and
then I moved, uh, after my uh, Imean it's called the
baccalaureate there, the Frenchbaccalaureate.
So yeah, it was at 18.

Gurasis (26:09):
You talked about.
You know solidarity, integrityand the value sort of like
instilled in you growing upDuring the time in France at any
point.
Were they like shaken here andthere or sort of like the whole
culture or having thatexperience of being an immigrant
sort of like shook you in anyway in that country?

Yannick (26:31):
it's funny that you're asking me the question because,
again, my daughter asked me thesame questions.
You know, and, uh, and, and I,I told a funny story, a funny
story that, uh, I still, I stillthink about today.
So, prior to going to, prior tomoving to france, uh, so I told

(26:52):
you earlier about my dad andhis, uh, cultural events with
cameron.
So he was 94, 1994 and 1994 was, uh, the world cup, the soccer
world cup in the US.
So prior to me going to France,we had traveled from Cameroon
to the US with my dad to supportthe Cameroonian team.

(27:16):
So we spent like a month therein the.
US right Doing all thosecultural activities.
And so it was on the way backfrom the us uh that uh instead
of going all the way to cameron.
So my dad said, okay, you guysare going to stay with your aunt
, and then I'm just gonna go allthe way to cameron.
And then, so that's how ithappened.

(27:37):
So the funny story is that myfirst day at school I I'm going
into the break time, the recess,and there's this guy who comes
to me and who says, hey, whereare you from?
And all of that, and when he say, where are you from, where do

(27:58):
you come from?
I mean, to me my natural answerwas where are you from when?
Where did you just come from,right?
Where did you just come from,like?
Where are you from, likeoriginally?
Where did you where did so?
That's how I heard it.
And then I say to him, uh, Ijust came from the U?
S, right.
And then he, and then thatturned out to be, oh, this guy's

(28:20):
from the U?
S and so, and then the rumorspread at school that I was an
American right, that I came fromthe US, and since I was, like,
very good in English, and sothat's basically how you know,

(28:49):
before people even had the timeto kind of have a conversation
with me and to find out exactlywhere I was from, it seems like
it was convenient for them tolook at me, at this american boy
who just coming into the schooland you know who was enticing
their curiosity and and I guessI also let it go like this.
And then you know, you know, soit turned out that you know, I

(29:10):
was perceived as an American boy, and so to answer your question
.
So I'm going to answer yourquestion, right?
Okay, and the answer to yourquestion is that I'm going to
answer your question, but I'mgoing to talk to you about that
America, that, that thatexperience of me being perceived
as an American, but also theexperience of some of my friends

(29:34):
, because at a time, alsobecause, uh, because of the
colonial history between Franceand Cameron, uh, it was very uh
cost.
It was like a custom for umparents to send their kids to
France to study.
So some of my friends that Ileft behind in Cameroon ended up

(29:55):
coming also for their studiesin France at some point, and so
when they were sharing theirstories of their first encounter
and their immigration journey,it wasn't as fun as mine because
they were saying that they hadof their first encounter and
their immigration journey.
It wasn't as fun as minebecause they were saying that
you know they had encountered alot of racism.
You know people asking themquestions like you know, do you?

(30:17):
guys live in trees in Cameroon?
Do you guys live in the jungle?
Do you live with animals andthings like that.
So just goes to show you thatin one instance, uh, or I guess
the lack of conversations, uh,can actually lead to either a

(30:37):
positive perception or anegative perception, depending
on your positionality, right,how you position yourself.
So for me, because I said, okay, yeah, I, or you know, they
perceive me to be an americanbecause of that short
conversation that we had andthat was, you know, so that that

(31:00):
kind of like led to a wholedifferent experience than than
my friends who, because theywere coming from Africa, so it
goes to show that, depending onwhere you're from, you can have
a certain color, but from onearea of the world you can be

(31:22):
perceived negatively and theother area of the world you can
be perceived positively.

Gurasis (31:26):
Right, it proves to show the the preconceived
notions that people haveassociated to certain names of
the countries.
It's insane, you know.
This example is the testimonyof to that.
You know how quickly we are tojudge somebody based on where is
actually the person from.

Yannick (31:46):
Wow, absolutely, absolutely.

Gurasis (31:49):
Talk to me about your transition to US.
Then why US and what was thatdecision?

Yannick (31:54):
Yeah, I mean US, as I already kind of like alluded to
in my introduction.
When I was 14, you know thatinfluence with the American
culture it was like almost likeit had always been a dream for
me to have an experience in theUS Right.
And so, in fact, when I wentfirst in 1994 with my dad, I

(32:20):
actually tried to convince himto leave me behind in the US
Right, but he said to me I meanyou're just too young to stay
here on your own, and we didn'thave anybody in the US at the
time.
So when I was 18, I managed toconvince my dad that he could
let me go on a quote-unquotesabbatical and take like a year,

(32:46):
because I just completed mydegree in between, or my high
school degree.
In between my high school anduniversity.
I just leave me like maybe likea little gap and then just to
go and explore and you know, sothat's.
And so we, uh, I mean, he gotconvinced and uh, and, and so
the destination was, uh, was theus.

(33:06):
And why the us?
Because, uh, we had like a goodfamily friend, uh, so a family
friend of my dad was living uhin atlanta in the us and then,
uh, so we talked to him and thenwe, we kind of like made it
happen so when you were askedthere where are you from, when
it is, what did you say then?
france yeah, I mean, mean, whenI was asked where I was from, I

(33:28):
said France, cameroon.
But I said Cameroon, I saidFrance also.
But I guess one thing that Inoticed from being in the US I
guess it's not everywhere thesame in the US, but in some
parts of the US, especially theSouth is that people are not

(33:51):
really exposed to world culture,they don't have an expanded
general knowledge, right ingeneral right.
So people kind of like reducedeven sometimes some people you
know even georgia, they don't,they don't even know because,
for example, when I was, when Iwould say you know, I spent some

(34:14):
time in paris, people would askme paris, where?
Paris, georgia, or paris, uh,you know paris because because
in the us you have to say thecity and then the state, right,
so I would say I'm coming, Imean I spent some time in this
city or that city, and they say,oh, which city is it, which
state is that?
So just goes to show you thatthere's a certain level of, I

(34:38):
would say, ignorance in someparts of the US, that I mean the
conversation cuts short reallyquickly because people are not
exposed to a lot, if that makessense, right.

Gurasis (34:51):
So you were saying that you were seen through a certain
lens of nationality, race oraccent in any way?

Yannick (35:00):
I would definitely say that I would not even go as far
as saying race accent.
I would definitely say thatthere is still in Georgia, a lot
of segregation.
I mean, the legacy ofsegregation is still there and

(35:23):
it's almost like a black andwhite thing.
So it's like community aredivided, black and white thing,
you know.
So it's like you know whitepeople are with.
So it's like a community,community are divided.
As far as race is concerned,it's very difficult to to to
explain.
You know the, the, the dynamicsthere, because even within the,
so you have the first division,which is like the race division
, right so, black and white.

(35:44):
And then you have subdivisionsbecause even within the blacks,
uh, right so black and white.
And then you have subdivisionsbecause even within the blacks,
you wouldn't necessarily seeblack americans interact with
black africans, for example, orblack camerunians.
So you'll have camerunians aregoing to be staying with
camerunians, nigerians are goingto be staying with nigerians,
and so people don't, because ofthat legacy of segregation,

(36:05):
people organically don't reallymix with one another, so they
rather stay within their ownsilos and their own communities.
So that's something that, whenyou're talking about cultural
shock, that shocked me.
France, for example, has had alot of criticism recently as far

(36:27):
as the multiculturalism andthings like that.
But to me, when I look at France, I think there are different
levels to integration and tomaking people who are not seen
as part of the the normal feelintegrated.
The societal level I thinkthere's like a mix, a very good
mix.
People are very good at mixingwith one another in france, but

(36:50):
the problem becomes when youstart working and that's when
you find ceilings.
You know you cannot go and youhave to.
You stop and see, you stop at acertain level.
If you are of a certain colorcolor, or if you are uh, or if
you have a certain accent, youwill always find the ceiling
when you, when, when you, whenyou start professional life, but

(37:11):
at the very low level, you know, like at university or at
school, I think you know groupsare mixing, at least Right.
But in America, uh or what, Ifound that at least in Atlanta
I'm not going to generalize andsay America in general, but I
would say Atlanta in particularit wasn't there.
People were not just differentcommunities were not just mixing

(37:32):
with one another, and this wassomething that really shocked me
and later on that was one ofthe reasons why I actually at
some point decided to move outof there because of that
cultural shock.

Gurasis (37:46):
So you touched on a couple of points here, but tell
me for you, yannick, you knowyour transition from cameron to
france and studying there andcoming to us as well, how the
soul transition and having this,experiencing firsthand the
segregation within the communityand living in that ecosystem,
how does it shape your identityand understanding of belonging?

Yannick (38:10):
Today, to this day, I have a very different.
I mean, I have a very cleardefinition of what belonging
means to me.

Gurasis (38:21):
Absolutely.
It's been like decades of workand experience.
That kind of counts here.
But at that moment, you know,at the age of 21, 22, you don't
know, like what's exactlyhappening.

Yannick (38:26):
So what happened then movement.
You know, at the age of 21, 22,you don't know, like, what's
exactly happening.
So what happened then?
My reaction is always okay, ifI don't feel like I belong
somewhere, I'm gonna have tochange my environment.
So that's, that's my, that's myreaction.
So that's why, for example,after this thing, you know, a
few years in the us, I'm likeokay, this does not feel right,

(38:50):
so I'm just gonna have to tomake a move.
So at that time and it was thesame in in in france as well I
guess the reason why I leftfrance is because I felt like
I'd reached I I I'd reached thatceiling that I was talking to
you about, you know, although Idid not work, but I felt like
I'd reached that ceiling that Iwas talking to you about.
Although I did not work, but Ifelt like I'd reached that

(39:12):
ceiling and that I needed tolook at other horizons.
So for me at that time, it'sreally okay.
So if you don't feelcomfortable in the environment,
the natural answer would be okay, just try to find another
environment that you feelcomfortable into so now I want

(39:35):
to move towards.

Gurasis (39:36):
You know your time, that you moved to london, and I
think that was your one of thestops before you even came to
canada, and you spent almost twodecades there, more than 20
years.
And honestly, when I wasresearching Yannick, I think
there were times that I found itpretty fascinating, you know,
considering the work also youdid and trajectory that you

(39:57):
followed towards filmmaking aswell.
I want to go deeper into that,but tell me first of all, what
made you make this big stop of20 years in London?
What made you stop there, makethis big stop of 20?

Yannick (40:07):
years in London.
What made you stop there?
Well, it started as it wasn'tmeant to be such a long stop.
I don't think it was Well to meat the time, you know, looking
back, but obviously if I spent20 years there, that means that
it was meant to be right.
But no, but I would saydefinitely that it's my wife, my

(40:29):
wife, I mean my, my, my, mywife to be, my, the one is my
then to be.
I mean, then she wasn't my wifeyet.
I mean we were still, like youknow, kind of dating and and
because we were best friendsbefore and then we kind of like
uh, fell in love and decided to,to, to, to be together as

(40:50):
husband and wife.
So but she actually, when Iexpressed to her, um, my desire
to kind of like changeenvironment because, because the
us, I've gotten, I've got tiredof the us, just in short, she
suggested that I came to visitthe UK because all the brothers

(41:12):
were living in the UK.
So she said, just come for avisit and then you see how it
goes.
And then that's how I ended upin the uk.
I came, I came it was supposedto be a very short visit and uh,

(41:32):
and then 20 years later, I wasstill there, you know so.
So, uh, yeah, so that's, that'show it happens.
Basically, it was, it was, itwas my, uh, my wife who actually
recommended and who convincedme, who who persuaded me to come
and follow her in the UK.

Gurasis (41:51):
Okay, very interesting.
So you know, also, when I wasresearching about you, like I
said, you know, I went deep intoyour history and your time that
you spend there, you know, andit also when I talk to people
like you on the podcast Irealized that how less I am
aware of global history becauseI live in like a complete
different part of the world andsuch some incidents that have

(42:13):
happened, like you know, timeswhen I was like five or six and
the world wasn't as connected aswe are today, in 2025, and I
wasn't that aware.
And then I, when I researchedand I realized, okay, I wasn't
aware of these incidents andthat's where I stumbled upon you
know your documentary.
That was called, you know, whenTottenham Exploded.
It kind of focuses on thesocial tensions and systematic

(42:36):
issues in the UK in 2011.

Yannick (42:40):
Right.

Gurasis (42:40):
And tell me more about that.
You know what made you sort oflike make the documentary and
what also what led you todocumentary filmmaking well, you
will be surprised.

Yannick (42:52):
Uh, maybe maybe not, but uh, it was actually a dream.
It was actually a dream thatled me to uh, to filmmaking and
documentary and all that.
And the dream was, uh, just asthe those events of uh Tottenham
unfolded.
So those were like you said.

(43:12):
It was like there were bigriots that actually occurred not
only in Tottenham Tottenham,which is a neighborhood in
London right but also all acrossthe UK, and the riots actually
occurred right after there wasan incident of police brutality

(43:33):
in that neighborhood calledTottenham, which is
predominantly black and ethnic,I mean, which has predominantly
black and ethnic minorities init.
So, or in the mainstream mediaat least, the assumption was
that the people who actuallydriving the riots were people of
ethnic minority backgrounds.

(43:55):
That was the assumptions,whereas the truth it wasn't the
truth at all.
The truth is that people fromall the truth of the matter is
that people from all walks oflife were involved in it,
although the event was sparkedin that city because of that
incident.
You know that was like the bigspark.

Gurasis (44:17):
I believe it was following the death of Mark
Duggins right.

Yannick (44:21):
Mark Duggins, that's correct At the hand of the
police.

Gurasis (44:23):
That happened.

Yannick (44:24):
That's what the listeners I was- mentioning yeah
, that's correct, that's whatthe listeners I was mentioning.
Yeah, that's correct, that'scorrect.
So a young man called MarkDuggan who fell in the hands of
the police, and so the communitycame to ask for explanations,
and the police did not want togive any kind of explanations to
them as to what happened tothem, as to what happened.

(44:45):
And then the frustration, theanger led to you know, people
just being, you know, justlashing out, and I wouldn't even
say rioting in Tottenham,because it was like a peaceful
protest, right, but for somereason, I don't know how or what

(45:06):
, led this event, thisparticular event in that city,
to kind of turn into riots,where you know people just kind
of like decided to try and takeadvantage of the situation and
you would see in the news, youknow people, like I said, from
all walks of life coming out ofshop with TVs.

(45:27):
I think it ended up being itstarted with that event, but but
for me it ended up being, uh,something that was deeply
revealing of the consumeristsociety in which we live in,
whereby, you know, people wouldjust find any opportunity, or
some people would just find anyopportunity to their post.

(45:50):
Yeah, yeah To get somethingright To get something, because
you, you see, you know, when youanalyze it, you had, like I
said, even middle-class peoplewho were just they saw a shop
that was open and they just wentinto there and then grab
whatever they could grab andthen came out with it, right.
So.
But in the mainstream media,the way it was portrayed, it was

(46:15):
okay.
It's just those young black oryoung brown people who have
nothing to do who are rioting.
That's how it was pushed in themedia, in the mainstream media.
And so to me, because thatwasn't my experience, I was
young at the time, I knew otheryoung people who were not.

(46:36):
We did not, I did not write.
I knew other people, youngpeople, black, brown and from
all colors and shapes we did notwrite and that really kind of
like bothered me, you know, tosee the kind of mainstream
coverage that we were gettingabout this event.
And I guess that's how I dreamtabout it one day.

(46:57):
And then, when I wake up, whatI remember is that, as I was
waking up, I remember that youknow the dream.
In the dream I felt like I wasled to use my voice, so to speak
, and say something about it orgive my perspective, and that's
how it all started.
So when I woke up that night,it started with me just getting

(47:20):
my computer and just recordingsomething, you know, which was
like a message, and I was justtrying to give my perspective.
And that's how that desire towant to give my perspective
about this situation led toeventually making a short film
about it.

Gurasis (47:38):
And uh, yeah, and then that's, that's how it happened
yeah, you know, wow, no, hatsoff to you for doing that.
And I think we need more suchpeople to kind of bring out the
truth, because it's the truththat mainstream media does not
cover the actual truth and thepeople who are literally the
real culprits are completely, uh, not even shown.

(47:59):
And then we need people likeyou kind of like bring out the
truth and encourage people tokind of follow that you know,
rather than really being that,having that bullet theory where
everything is like just thrownat you and we accept it, you
know, whatever it's thrown tomedia.
But we do need the otherperspective, the real
perspectives.
You know kind of to.
And also hats off to you fordocumenting it Right and I think

(48:20):
, for the generations to come,just like me, who wasn't even
aware of it, you know, I got toknow about it and today we are
discussing it.
So, thank, thank you fordocumenting that.
I appreciate that.

Yannick (48:41):
Thank you, thank you Also.
I mean we also need people,people like you, I mean, because
your work is the same.
It's pretty much, pretty muchthe same work, you know, just
giving another perspective on onon immigration and on on going
beyond the accent.
So, the same way that I'm, I'm,I'm receiving your compliment.
I'm thanking you for that.
I also want to thank you foryour work, the work that you're
doing, yeah, no, thank you Iappreciate that.

Gurasis (48:54):
I also want to tell our listeners that if I'm not wrong
, correct me it was.
You were also, like, one of thebest filmmakers in the short
documentary category issued bythe london independent film
school in 2013, right yes, filmfestival yeah yeah, yeah, so
that was uh first documentary,first festival and, yeah, we, we
got the award for it.

(49:15):
Yeah, yes, yes yes, yeah, okay,but you did not stop there.
You also made anotherdocumentary called when Humanity
Knocked on Our Doors, andthat's where you covered about
the refugee crisis andespecially focusing on the lives
of individuals in the Calaisjungle pardon my pronunciation,
a refugee camp in the France.
Right, tell us a little bitabout that as well.
And any of these documentariesare available for listeners to

(49:39):
watch.

Yannick (49:41):
When Humanity Not that Outdoor is available on YouTube,
I'll give you the links andthen your viewers can access it,
definitely when Tottenham isnot available yet, but it will
soon be available.
Because this one was kind oflike made through City Hall and
we it was like, yeah, there wassome kind of regulations and

(50:04):
things like that, you know.
So it was commissioned by them,right.
So we were just, I was justsort of like screening it in
very.
It was like almost like private, you know, screenings of the
movie.
So.
But the other one, whenhumanity is definitely available
on YouTube, it's there and, andas soon as the winter time will

(50:27):
be clear to be made public, Iwill definitely put it on my
YouTube page as well.
So, yeah, so, just to answeryour question similar
circumstances on my YouTube pageas well.
So, yeah, so, just to answeryour question, um, similar
circumstances, uh, that, uh,when humanity knocked at our
door.
Similar circumstances, uh, thetime there was, uh, so much talk

(50:48):
to talk about, uh, refugees andmigrants in France.
And again, the mainstream mediagiving a very stereotypical and
preconceived notions about theimmigrant and refugees.
And they're just here to stealour jobs.
They're here, you know, youknow, so all those kind of very
negative talks about people thatI knew were not Because, again,

(51:13):
I was, I'm an immigrant, I'mnot a refugee, but I'm an
immigrant and I knew were not,because, again, I was, I'm an
immigrant, I'm not a refugee,but I'm an immigrant and I knew
people around me were not whatwas described in the news.
That kind of like the same,pretty much same scenario like
led me to say, okay, I'm justgoing to give my perspective
about this event and I'm goingto go to that so-called jungle

(51:36):
and then show a differentperspective, show a more human
aspect to it, change a narrativeabout it.
So that's kind of like how ithappened, yeah.

Gurasis (51:50):
Okay, I think.
If any of our listeners areinterested to learn more about
it, definitely.
I'll put the links to both ofthe information about both of
these in the show notes.
You can check that.
And a half ago, tell me aboutyour decision to move.

(52:17):
I remember you were telling methat you were destined to come
here, since the process wasaccelerated somehow for you and
within a few months you decidedto move here.
So tell me, how do you feel sofar and how is canada treating
you?

Yannick (52:26):
no, I mean, uh, I often joke, uh with with my friend
and say that I'm living the uh,the American or the Canadian
dream right now.
So I can clarify that and go asfar as saying that for me, the

(52:49):
American, the Canadian or eventhe French dream, or whatever
dream, that for me, the dream orthe dream place that I see, or
a place, can become a dreamplace, a dream country, a dream
area, a dream continent and Italk about it a little bit in my
poem is when I can connect withcertain people, right, so when

(53:13):
I'm able to connect with certainpeople who speak the same
language that I speak, and whenI, when I talk about language
I'm not talking aboutnecessarily whether it's english
or french or, you know, native,I'm talking about, uh, uh, it's
almost like a love language,right, it's almost like a love
language.
And, and so when, and and toanswer your question I, just a

(53:39):
few months, almost a year and ahalf, into canada, I definitely
think that I've connected withmy tribe, with with those people
, right, and so that's why I'mtalking about dream.
So it's for me, to me, thedream has always been to connect
with these kind of people, youknow, like-minded people and we
feel we can, you know, not onlybuild the connections, build on

(54:03):
those connections, createconnections, connect, create I
mean create connection and buildon those connections right,
build something based on thoseconnections.
So that's a very short answer toyour, to your question okay,
and when you're talking aboutthe language, I would also add
to, that is also the language ofhumanity that one has to speak

(54:25):
absolutely, absolutely,absolutely, yeah, and uh, as uh
you mentioned already, you know,based on my kind of like track
record, uh, you know, thatnotion of humanity and you know,
being humane and and and andconnecting with people on a very
deep and human level is, uh,yeah, it's, it's, it's, it's

(54:49):
everything for me, right, it'severything, it's everything you
know.

Gurasis (54:54):
Uh, when I was reading about your journey, uh, I
stumbled upon this one quotefrom mr beast's interview.
The quote, and I feel like Isee you also sort of saying a
similar quote.
I'll tell you what the quotewas.
The quote is the cost of beingdifferent is highest when you
are young, when the systemforces you to fit in.

(55:15):
But as you grow, the worldstarts clapping for the unique
ones, learning from them,stealing from them and aspiring
to be them.
And I see you saying this quote.
Am I right?

Yannick (55:29):
and I'm absolutely no, absolutely.
You're absolutely right.

Gurasis (55:31):
100, 100, yes, yeah I'll share that with you.
You can definitely use itsomewhere.
Yes, yes, please yes, please do, please do yeah um, speaking of
you, you know talking to peopleand creating that humane
connections.
You also do have a podcast thatyou host that our listeners
more about that and where theycan find it yes, I do have a

(55:53):
couple of podcasts.

Yannick (55:55):
One podcast that's out already, which is called the
Diary of a Diversity Champion,is on Spotify.
Again, you can put the link onyour page to direct listeners to
it.
And there's also anotherpodcast which is going to be out
or launched next week actuallynext week, on the 6th of march.

(56:17):
This one has been incollaboration with the
intercultural association ofgreater victoria and this one is
called I am more than theimmigrant you had in mind.
Yeah and uh.
Yeah, it's a storytelling,storytelling project on
immigration into canada, about14 guests that we have on the

(56:40):
show just telling us about theirstory, their immigration
journeys.
And again, as soon as thepodcast will be out, I'll share
the link with you and so thatyou can share with your
listeners as well.

Gurasis (56:52):
Yeah, awesome, absolutely.
I'll put the links to that inthe show notes.
So, before we get into thefinal segment, I have added this
new segment in this season ofthe podcast I call it know your
host, where I give my guests anopportunity to ask me any
question they might have okay,so no tough questions please how

(57:18):
was your immigration journeyfrom india?

Yannick (57:22):
is that right to canada , did you?
Did you come first?
Did you come straight fromindia to canada or did you have
any stops in between?
And how was the cultural shock,if there was any?
I mean, can you tell us alittle bit of my experience
moving from india to canada?

Gurasis (57:38):
yeah, great question.
It might have a long answer,but I'll try to sum it up
quickly.
Like you were telling me, it'sgoing to take a long time, but
I'll sum it up.
Uh, so I came directly fromindia.
I finished my bachelor's inindia.
Uh, I was 21 I just turned 22,I believe when I came to canada.
Uh, very pampered, very naiveinitially, and uh hadn't lived

(57:59):
anywhere around the world apartfrom my own city.
In fact, I haven't even movedanother city altogether, never
did that uh, so moved directlyhere and, uh, initial days,
obviously a little bit of timeto get accustomed to each
other's accents, because thatwas my very first culture shock,
because all my life I thought Ihad a very good command over
the English language until Icame to Canada and I'm talking

(58:22):
and people are not evenunderstanding me.
I'm not even heard in theclassroom, not with the intent
of people ignoring me, but theywere just not able to understand
my accent somehow or the other.
So I think that took a littlebit of time.
That kind of.
Definitely it hit my confidence.
I got very quiet and shy, eventhough I'm not.
I refused to kind of put mythoughts out or kind of

(58:45):
participate in certainactivities in the class because
I had this, uh again, I had thisnotion that, okay, they're not
even understanding me, what'sthe fun of even saying anything?
So that's where it got hit.
But I think eventually, uh,then we got a bit accustomed to
each other's accents and weunderstood each other's uh sort
of like personalities also.
Right, because they because alot of people hadn't ever seen a

(59:09):
turban wearing person in theirlife, they didn't even know
about my religion.
You know, I wouldn't be shockedif you might also not know like
at the age of 19 or 20, right.
So most of my classmates werearound the same age of mine and
they weren't even aware of myreligion and they were always
sort of questioning not directly, but I could see in their eyes
or in their sort of non-verbal,a little bit of reluctance to

(59:32):
kind of integrate, uh and knowmore about me.
But I think eventually Irealized that I think I had to
build that comfort level withthe people.
So I did that, and by askingthem the questions about their
culture, about themselves, abouttheir immigration if somebody
has moved as an immigrant oreven their upbringing if they
are natives, right.
So that allowed me to have thatdialogue with them and tell

(59:53):
them more about me and thecolors of my turban, and then
eventually I think things wentpretty good.
It took me a little bit of time,like I said, it could get
assimilated within the cultureand understand that how the kind
of things I need to unlearnwhich are not serving me any
more in this part of the world,and what are new things I have
to learn to survive in this newworld, because I'm trying to

(01:00:21):
live a life in a world wherelife has never existed before,
right?
Um, so, long story short.
I think I graduated and that'swhere the actual life started
and got exposed to peopleoutside of the classroom,
because the challenges withinclassrooms are very linear, so
to say, but then when you'reoutside, things kind of go
haywire, and then the wholepressure of immigration,
collecting the right points,collecting the points for pr,
finding the right job and etc.
Etc.
Kind of kicks in and buteverything eventually works out

(01:00:45):
and it all made me moreresilient, for sure, very, very
grateful for the people I havemet throughout my journey.
And, um, yeah, and I think I'mtrying to pay it forward, so to
say, through my podcast,bringing forth these stories of
immigrants and selling that hopeand will and people that, hey,
if he or she can do it, you cando it as well yeah, right, right

(01:01:07):
.

Yannick (01:01:07):
So and when you talk about home then and uh, feeling
at home.
So would you say that you feelat home and also I guess the
notion of belonging also isincluded in that.
So do you feel like now youbelong more and do you feel like
home is here in Canada, inMontreal?
What are your thoughts?

Gurasis (01:01:28):
Yeah, that's a great question and that has been
ongoing discussion throughout myconversations with my friends
and family as well.
Because, as an immigrant, youare kind of somewhere you're
like in the limbo, right, you'renot fully either way like I'm
like I've said this likemultiple times on the podcast
that I'm like too canadian forindians and I'm like too indian
for canadians.

(01:01:48):
You know, I'm kind of like inthe middle somewhere, but uh,
but deep inside, you know I haveactually understood this,
yannick that home is where thepeople are.
Actually, that's how I woulddefine it.
It doesn't matter where you are, as long as you have the people
with you who are loving you,who genuinely care for you and

(01:02:09):
who are there in your ups anddowns.
You know, and I think that'swhere the home is.
I would say the home is throughthe people you live with and,
although I still feel like I'myet to find my true family here,
but I still I'm extremelygrateful for the people, uh,
like you also, so to say, right,because you're also sharing
your story and kind of bringingme into the understanding of

(01:02:32):
that.
We all are here for each other,right?
So this is also the family Ihave built.
So, yeah, I think my shortanswer is you know, home is
where the people you love are.

Yannick (01:02:44):
No, absolutely, yeah, I love it, I love it, I love it.

Gurasis (01:02:46):
Yes, no, thank you.
Thank you for the questions.
It's always fascinated how mybrain works and people kind of
shoot these questions at me.
So thank you for that.

Yannick (01:02:55):
Thank you for answering .

Gurasis (01:03:00):
Now, in the final segment of the podcast I call it
beneath the accent I'm going toask a couple of questions.
You can answer them in one wordor a sentence, or how.
So you feel like the idea isjust to know a little bit more
about you.
So ready, sure.

Yannick (01:03:12):
Yes, let's go.

Gurasis (01:03:18):
So the first is, what advice?

Yannick (01:03:19):
would you give to your younger self, and at what age?
Advice I would give my youngerself?

Gurasis (01:03:22):
I would say stay the same, don't change anything,
okay what would you like to sayto your 60 year old self?

Yannick (01:03:31):
I would say I hope you're happy with the choice
that your younger self has made.

Gurasis (01:03:38):
Describe a moment when you experienced a significant
cultural difference thatsurprised you.

Yannick (01:03:43):
Definitely, I would say .
In Atlanta, georgia, I had awhite girlfriend at the time and
she came to visit me in where Iwas living because it was a
predominantly black neighborhood.
It made me uncomfortable.
You know the way they justlooked at her and and and really

(01:04:04):
, you know, despised her.
I mean, it's like they've neverseen, I guess, an interracial
couple before in their lives.
It was, it was almost likesurreal to them, right, and that
kind of reflected in theirlooks.

Gurasis (01:04:18):
Coming from france again, which was, like I said,
much more multicultural thanthat okay, what's the one dish
from your home country thatalways brings you comfort and
nostalgia?

Yannick (01:04:28):
plantains.
Yeah, I mean, it doesn't bringyou nostalgia because I get, I
can access them here, so okaybut it kind of reminds you of
your heritage oh, definitely,definitely that, that is
definitely that yeah, yes I wasalso reading that it's like a,

(01:04:50):
like a side dish for foranything yes, yes, yes,
literally it's like fries here.
You know, you can eat themeverything that you like.

Gurasis (01:04:59):
You know fish, chicken, anything, yeah so you know,
since any you lived like allaround continents, what's your
favorite cultural festival orcelebration that you have come
across, and do you actuallycelebrate it then?

Yannick (01:05:11):
one festival, the Cameroonian festival.
Actually never experienced itphysically, but my dad was kind
of like one of the organizers ofit at some point and I've
always heard about it.
It's called.
It happens every year inDecember in Cameroon the tribe,

(01:05:32):
from which my parents are likethe water, the water tribe right
, they close the water, sothere's all those celebrations
around the water and then soit's called like it's almost
like a water festival and thereare a lot of activities around
that you know, like races,fighting a lot of and food

(01:05:53):
degust a lot of good things thatare happening in that time of
the year.

Gurasis (01:05:58):
What's it called?

Yannick (01:05:59):
It's called the Ngondo N-G-O-N-D-O, the Ngondo Festival
, and so this is one of thefestivals that I've been exposed
to, not physically, but I'vealways wanted to be part of it,

(01:06:20):
and also that's another fun factalso about Cameroon.
There are plenty of festivalslike this, depending on the
tribe and the different cultures, and I mean all year round
there are different activitieslike that that are actually
celebrating the culture.
So that's one.
You asked me for one, right?

Gurasis (01:06:40):
Yeah, okay.
Share a quick tip for fellowimmigrants who are trying to
adjust in a new country.

Yannick (01:06:47):
Remember that you have something to bring to the
country?
I'm asked this question.
I always try to get people toremember the so-called soft
skills right, that we thosethose soft skills and and that I
believe, as immigrant andpeople from the the global south

(01:07:08):
, we almost inherit them in ourculture, because I've I've been
around a lot of people fromdifferent culture in the South
and and you, you see a lot ofcommon commonalities as far as
some of those values that I wastalking to you about.
You know hospitality andsolidarity and you know just

(01:07:29):
respect for the elders and youknow just behaving in a certain
way when you're in public andtreating the other so because
those societies are collectivistcollectivist societies as
opposed to here in canada or inthe west that are
individualistic societyabsolutely yeah, those skills
that you have to bring um, treatthem as a gift that you are

(01:07:51):
going to share with your hostcommunity and use every
opportunity to share those giftswith them.
If you have that mindset ofalways trying to create this
sort of like exchange, culturalexchange, then I think you'll be
good.
The journey will become easierand easier.

Gurasis (01:08:11):
I love that.
Thanks for that.
And since you spend most ofyour time in London, tell me
about a friend that you madethere and are you still in
connect?

Yannick (01:08:20):
one of the leaders at the church that we attended my
family and I, my wife and mysister and I and over the years

(01:08:45):
she became also, she almostbecame like a mother, to me,
like a second mother.

Gurasis (01:08:53):
I love that.

Yannick (01:08:54):
And we're still in touch today.
You know she's uh, she's asenior citizen, obviously, but,
yeah, but, but but there's, likethis, uh, very deep affection
and and love for her.
You know, so, yeah, so when, so, when you talk to me, when you
ask me about a friend,immediately my mind went to her.
I mean, I don't know how that's.

(01:09:14):
That's the first picture that Isaw him because, yeah, she,
she's more, but she's more,she's much more than a friend.

Gurasis (01:09:20):
She's almost like a yeah, like a mother to me okay,
what's something you ate for thefirst time in canada, and did
you like it?

Yannick (01:09:29):
again, when I mean we talked about tim bits, tim tim
hortons earlier.
Yeah, I would definitely saythat uh, you know he's.
I mean, that's where my mindgoes about Tim Hortons.
Earlier I would definitely saythat, you know, I mean that's
where my mind goes to TimHortons.
Either Tim Hortons or the otherrestaurant is Hi-Hop.
They do pancakes and thingslike that you know.

(01:09:50):
So yeah, Okay.

Gurasis (01:09:53):
If you could describe yourself as any creature, what
would it be and why?

Yannick (01:09:59):
a creature.
It's funny that you say that.
It's funny that you say thatjust like now, because, I mean,
I'm I'm actually talking to, uh,one of our common friends,
andrea.

Gurasis (01:10:18):
Oh, okay.

Yannick (01:10:18):
Yeah, about the project that I don't want to say so
much about it now, but it's likea project that we are working
on right now.
The symbol of that project isthe hummingbird, and that's how
I see myself, because there's alegend, it's a native's legend.
One day there was a big fire inthe forest.

(01:10:40):
All the animals were justtrying to run away as fast as
possible from that forest, fromthat forest fire, all the
animals but one, and it was thehummingbird.
And the hummingbird started tocollect some water and started
dipping the water on the fire.
And then, when the other animalsaid to him, why are you doing

(01:11:01):
that?
This is such a big fire?
And then the hummingbird saidI'm just doing my part, I'm just
doing my part.
I love that so there could be afire of hate, a fire of fear of
the other.
But you know we all have to.

(01:11:22):
Just as long as we all do ourpart, then you know we never
know what our part, how much ofa long way the fact of doing our
part will just take us in in ingetting in getting rid of the
fire.
So so for that I would saydefinitely I'm a hummingbird.
And like I said, yeah, thank you, thank you and, like I said,

(01:11:45):
there's a, there's a projectcoming around the corner.

Gurasis (01:11:49):
I'm looking forward to that, and if you could have one
superpower what would it be?

Yannick (01:11:59):
oh, one superpower?
No, I mean, I think I alreadyhave my superpower, and my
superpower is my uniqueness.
It's a superpower, my culturaluniqueness is a superpower, the
superpower.
And then, like it's like youtold me in your, in your quotes,
uh, that you just shared withme, yeah, it is something to be
shared and to be, uh, you know,shared with others as a gift,

(01:12:19):
and that I think that, as we goalong, I mean uh, you know, we
realize that there's more morepeople who are anything that
give than uh, than rejecting.
So, yeah, so I already have it.

Gurasis (01:12:32):
I already have it, my superpower so you know, since
you do like making documentaries, is there any topic at this
moment that you would like tomake a documentary on?

Yannick (01:12:43):
I guess just continuing to continue the conversation on
what we just discussed today,which is, you know who is the
immigrant and what is someonewho has an accident, and you
know all those, everything thatwe just talked about today.

(01:13:03):
I mean if I had a chance in theproject to take it further as a
documentary, then yeah, I woulddefinitely love it.
In fact, it's also anotherproject that is kind of like in
the pipeline right now with theGreater Association of, I mean,

(01:13:24):
the Victoria-based associationthat I'm working with, the
Intercultural Association ofGreater Victoria.
I mean we are just indiscussion also about that,
about, you know, making maybe apossible documentary which is
going to be on immigration andyou know just all those topics,
but just continuing thediscussion because obviously the

(01:13:48):
podcasting is.
I like the podcasting becauseobviously you take the time to
discuss with the guest and godeeper, but the documentary also
has another, another layer tothe conversation, you know
absolutely yeah, and also thelong form, right you?
can do a lot.

Gurasis (01:14:06):
Yes, yes, yes, yes, absolutely so finally, any
describe canada in one word or asentence now two words are
coming to me go ahead share twowelcoming and embracing.

Yannick (01:14:16):
Welcoming and embracing , yeah, welcoming and embracing.
That's my experience, at leastthe circles that I've navigated
so far, they have been verywelcoming to me, as in this
unique and complex person, rightand but that, but, but.
The thing is, I don't want tomislead people.

(01:14:37):
I guess what I want to say isthat, in order for it to be
welcoming, one has to be themost authentic that it can be,
because people will uh, respondto your authenticity and to your
uniqueness.

Gurasis (01:14:54):
Yeah, I guess that's that would be the best, the best
way to describe it, you knowhow I'm interpreting is like
it's welcoming towards all kindsof people and cultures and also
allows you to embrace who youare yes, yes, but I think I
would take.

Yannick (01:15:12):
I would take it a little bit deeper, because you
might have people who would say,okay, that's not my experience,
right, because I'm different.

Gurasis (01:15:23):
Absolutely Right.

Yannick (01:15:25):
I am of a different culture, but I haven't
experienced that To me.
I believe the reason why it'sbeen so welcoming to me is
because I've been able to show aversion of myself that is the
most authentic and unique,absolutely.
But then the problem is whathappens to your unique self and

(01:15:47):
your authentic self if the firstencounter that you have, kind
of like, make you lose yourvoice right because of your
accent, because of the way youlook.
So if after your firstencounter you you're afraid to
show your uniqueness and your,your most authentic self, then

(01:16:08):
the welcoming is not going tohappen.
The gap between the welcomingpart, our first arrival, or our
rejection to become authenticagain and to be unique again and
to express it again, Becausepeople will respond to that.
People will respond to who youare the truest version of
yourself, right?

Gurasis (01:16:28):
That's what people will respond to and they will
welcome that.
It's definitely a journey frombeing misunderstood and not
being welcomed, beingmisunderstood and not being well
welcomed, but to the point ofreally understanding that, okay,
I need to be my true self andnot change myself to try to
become somebody else you know,that's the journey that one has
to go through, and all itdoesn't happen like overnight.
It's a.

(01:16:48):
It takes time and a lot ofintrospection, for sure.
Um, but, yannick, if you couldleave me with one piece of
advice, what would it be?

Yannick (01:16:57):
oh man, I mean, it's difficult because, uh, you're
already doing like, uh, I mean Iadmire, I really do admire, uh,
you know what you do, uh, yourwork and uh, so I don't know if
there's much that I can say toyou.
There's not this much that Ican say I think you're doing

(01:17:20):
well.
I guess the only thing that Ican say to you is just, yeah,
keep being you.
You know, keep'm pretty surethat there have been times when,
you know, you doubted yourself,you felt like maybe you know

(01:17:41):
what's the reason of doing thisand are people even listening to
me and you know, but yeah, butI mean, if there was just one
advice, I would just say I mean,no, you have an audience and uh
and uh, yeah, and you just haveto keep, keep, keep, keep it
moving and keep going and uh,and we need you, we need your

(01:18:02):
voice, we need your voice.
So, uh, yeah, so, so, so, so,keep it up and uh, and you have
us here and uh and uh, we'llalso do our best to uh, to share
it around among, among ournetworks, and support you in any
way that we can.
And yeah, and yes, like, I mean, I feel like you know, you know

(01:18:25):
, I feel like I've known you forforever because we have, we
have like a very deep connectionand you and you already feel
like a brother to me.
You know, when I was taking,when I was, when I was telling
you about my tribe, you know, soyou definitely, um, a member of
the tribe, a member of thetribe and uh, yeah, and so we,

(01:18:45):
we we're there to support you.
So keep, keep being you andkeep sharing your gift with the
world, brother, yeah keepsharing.

Gurasis (01:18:53):
I'm humble.
I'm humbled by your kind ofworld.
Thank you so much and if peopleare listening.
Please reach out to me.
I would love to hear from youand how you would describe your
experience being on the podcastit was awesome.

Yannick (01:19:06):
It was awesome, it was awesome.
It was a free-flowing uh youknow conversation and uh, yeah,
I loved it, I loved it, I lovedit.
Just uh, going back and forthlike that typically, um, I'm the
person, I mean, we, we kind ofswitch, switch roles today, you
know yeah, and to be honest, I,I'd rather interview people than

(01:19:28):
being put on the spotlight.
This is just, this is just mynatural kind of instinct, right?
So yeah, I always, uh, yeah, Ialways find it.
Uh, you know, I prefer, Iprefer being the one who
interviews, but, uh, yeah, butbut but it was a joy to just
have that conversation with youtoday and uh, yeah, thank you,
thank you again for having meand uh it was really a pleasure

(01:19:51):
to be here oh, thank you,pleasure is all mine.

Gurasis (01:19:54):
Thank you for being on the podcast and adding value to
me and to my listeners.
Thank you, pleasure is all mine.
Thank you for being on thepodcast and adding value to me
and to my listeners.
Thank you so much thank you.
Thank you, guru asish yes, Iknow how you taught me in the
beginning, nasim nasoom right,yeah, nasoom, yes I remember
that all right thank you so muchthank you, thank, thank you.

Yannick (01:20:15):
Thank you, brother, thank you.

All Episodes

The Immigrant You Didn’t Expect | Ft. Yannick Oho Bambe Ep. 066

Episode Transcript

Popular Podcasts

24/7 News: The Latest

Therapy Gecko

The Joe Rogan Experience

.css-15opob5{left:0;position:absolute;top:0.8rem;} All Episodes

.css-14f5ked{margin:0;word-break:break-word;display:-webkit-box;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;box-orient:vertical;-webkit-line-clamp:2;overflow:hidden;}The Immigrant You Didn’t Expect | Ft. Yannick Oho Bambe Ep. 066