Interview with Daphne Morgen and Hannah Brumbaum of Youth UnMuted
As I reflected upon in my last post, it’s been one year since I began volunteering in Ritsona refugee camp with Lighthouse Relief. As I struggle to reconcile my desire to still be in Greece doing the work on the ground, with my reality of needing to stay in the U.S. right now, I am finding new ways to stay involved and further the amazing work of my peers, even from afar. This is the first in a series of interviews with such peers, catching up with them a year after we met to discuss how they are continuing to work with and on behalf of refugees around the world. For this first installment, I chatted with my supervisors in Lighthouse’s Youth Engagement Space (YES), Daphne Morgen and Hannah Brumbaum, about their path from YES to their newest initiative, Youth UnMuted.
Megan Heise: I want to start with where we all were a year ago and bring things up to the present. Could you talk a little about what this time last year looked like for you, particularly in terms of the work you were doing in Ritsona?
Hannah Brumbaum: Almost one year ago to date, Megan you had just joined us in the YES and we were preparing to launch the 3rd edition of the Ritsona Kingdom Journal.
Daphne Morgen: We had also been in our new space for a couple of months, so we were settling in and decorating and creating the space.
MH: I think I knew at the time how relatively new everything was, but as a (nervous) outsider coming in, it felt so warm and established already to me.
DM: That was definitely our goal -- we had just had a landscape architect volunteer assist us in designing the garden which we felt really helped to make the space feel more welcoming. Even the small act of caring for the plants and bringing them in and out every day was a part of our programming.
MH: I know you've talked in other outlets before about this, but I’m wondering if you can give a brief review of what inspired you to start YES in Ritsona?
HB: Truly, it was the lack of programming in Ritsona for young people. and as we began to engage with small numbers of that population, we realized how much the youth needed and wanted a space that was just for them.
The YES began with Daphne, and the tree of hope project, but quickly evolved into a drop-in space that was open daily, and we began to increase the programming in response to whatever the youth expressed an interest in.
Especially in the beginning days, our constant question is "How are you, do you want to chai, what do you feel like doing today?"
MH: I'm thinking of a conversation we all had at one of our meetings, about how people in our lives would sort of be like, "Oh, wow I could never do what you're doing," as a way to appreciate the work but also as a way to sort of absolve themselves from responsibility of doing the same.
HB: Yes, I remember that meeting. we were talking about power dynamics, and our power and ability to leave and go back home, and the response that our families and friends had to our experiences here.
MH: Yeah. And when you talk about YES, and the simplicity of “How are you, do you want tea, what do you want to do,” it makes me think about that. Because obviously you two especially put a lot of really special work and energy into making YES a reality, and also I think there are people out there who might want to get involved but think they, I don't know, can't for some reason. So I'm wondering what thoughts you have, or what you would say, to someone who might want to get involved some way but has that initial attitude of “Wow, I couldn't do that.”
HB: In all of our time working in Greece, a common theme is that youth engagement really is so simple when you break it down.
DM: We approach it in what we feel is a very "common sense" type of approach -- it's basic humanity to ask ppl how they're doing and what they need. And asking them what they need (knowing that this might continually evolve), is how we approached every aspect of creating the programme.
HB: While yes, this is a very vulnerable population, and everyone needs to take care about protection issues and appropriate interactions, I think that many people are just intimidated by the labels attached to the youth that we work with.
This is also really what inspired the youth magazines we have created
MH: Yes! Tell me more about those!
HB: This idea that if everyone could see what we see on a daily basis, they would have their perspectives on these youth completely change.
DM: We know that "refugee" is a highly stigmatized label...as are young Arab men. Many people make an assumption that they are A. Muslim, B. Religious, C. Radicalized. When we know that the truth is -- they're just youth who need to be nurtured and engaged with.
HB: So the Ritsona Kingdom Journal came from this place of youth wanting to share their voices, and have a place to express themselves and show their work with more people than just us and their peers. And also as a way of reframing the conversation and perceptions around these young people.
And this is really an aspect that we chose to dive deeper into with Youth UnMuted
MH: I'd love to know when the idea for Youth UnMuted began, and the journey to manifesting that idea, making it a reality.
DM: Well we began to roll out Storytelling without Borders (StWB) in January 2018, where we used stop motion film making to engage with young people all over Greece.
We were given the overall goal, but left to design the actual workshops and mode of engagement.
So Youth UnMuted really stemmed from wanting to delve deeper into this style of pop-up workshopping, and storytelling by melding our experience in creating a physical space in the YES and all the best practices we learned there, with continuing to engage with young people in a variety of settings, and aid in giving them a place to create their own narratives.
MH: One thing I'd like to talk more about is something you and I know, but maybe others who aren't steeped in this work perhaps don't, which is how vastly under-resourced (and that feels like a gross understatement) the majority of refugee camps are. You two created the YES space in Ritsona from the ground up, and that lives on and exists still, but maybe other refugee camps do not have an NGO there or someone there to make a YES space, so my understanding is that Youth UnMuted is this, as you describe it, “pop-up” workshop model, and I'm wondering if you can contextualize a little bit the need for that in Greece and globally.
DM: Yes -- when I first was finally given a physical space to begin programming, it was an empty isobox. So we upcycled and built everything from recycled materials, my family and friends made personal donation of art supplies and basic necessities.
The framework of Youth UnMuted, while pop-up, can definitely be replicated and expanded upon by existing programmes and we are happy to aid in this in any way we can.
We've developed a document of best practices that we believe can be utilized by people who want to set up a similar space, or are doing similar pop up workshops.
Because again -- we think that it's very common sense, and you do not need a lot of money or resources to create a simple space for young people to feel safe and engaged.
MH: It's hard to wrap up, because I feel there are so many other things I want to talk with y'all about! But I guess where to end for today would be: if someone is reading this and is really interested and wants to learn more and get involved with Youth UnMuted or this work in general, what are some avenues they could take?
Haha. Ok but seriously...Promoting and helping us to get a larger readership for the magazine. To further get the voices of these youth shared. Ultimately, that is how people can help -- to think of networks and people within their own lives who may be interested (ie, universities, school curriculum, libraries, etc.)
HB: I will absolutely just second Daphne in what people can do specifically for us. Share the magazine. Read the magazine. Send it to your family and friends. There are thousands of people still arriving in Greece every year and mainstream media has stopped covering the crisis that is still occurring there. People can do so much by simply not forgetting that these youth are even there.
MH: So, for the record, where can people go to donate, and to read and share the magazine?
HB: We currently are able to accept donations in the form of checks made out to St John’s Episcopal in Oakland, and cite Youth UnMuted in the memo line.
Checks can be mailed to
St John’s Episcopal in Oakland
1707 Gouldin Rd
Oakland, CA 94611
DM: And we see youth unmuted expanding beyond Greece, perhaps to those who are resettled in Europe and beyond...and then beyond just displaced populations...but for now...
HB: We want to put together a Youth UnMuted advocates group, if people are interested in joining, that encourages people to hold fundraisers, raise awareness, and stay involved in their communities. This is what we see as so beautiful about Youth UnMuted - we work with the youth on the ground, but our mission of 'elevating youth voices' is only accomplished when people are hearing them. So we see Youth UnMuted and the magazine as a bridge, connecting communities of our peers and larger audiences with the youth.
MH: Y’all are such rockstars! I respect and appreciate so much your relentless commitment to the work and always evolving and nurturing youth (and volunteers like me!) and connecting folks through these pathways.
To learn more about Youth UnMuted, read the magazine, and/or donate, visit https://www.youthunmuted.org/
