My Thick Accent

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

• Gurasis Singh • Season 2 • Episode 66

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Yannick and Gurasis takes us on a captivating journey across continents as we explore what it truly means to carry multiple homes within oneself. From his childhood in Cameroon where he absorbed foundational values of respect and solidarity, to an unexpected twist in France where he was perceived as "the American boy," his story reveals how perception shapes the immigrant experience.

Through vivid storytelling, Yannick shares how a seemingly minor misunderstanding—telling a classmate he had "just come from the US" rather than explaining his Cameroonian roots—dramatically altered how he was received compared to other African immigrants. This powerful example illuminates how preconceived notions about different countries and cultures can profoundly impact how newcomers are welcomed.

His path continued through cultural segregation in Atlanta, to two transformative decades in London where he found his voice as a documentary filmmaker. After witnessing how mainstream media misrepresented the 2011 Tottenham riots, Yannick created award-winning films that challenge narratives about marginalized communities. Now in Canada, he hosts podcasts including "Diary of a Diversity Champion" and "I Am More Than the Immigrant You Had in Mind," continuing his mission to amplify authentic stories.

Yannick likens himself to the hummingbird from Indigenous legend—while forest fires rage and other animals flee, the tiny bird carries drops of water to help extinguish the flames. "I'm just doing my part," he explains, embodying how small actions against hatred and fear create meaningful change.

Ready for a conversation that will expand your understanding of identity, belonging, and the true meaning of home? 

Listen to this episode and discover why Yannick believes your cultural uniqueness is your superpower, and how authentic self-expression leads to genuine connection.

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Yannick:

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'm going into the break time, the recess, and there's this guy who comes to me and who says hey, you know, where are you from? When he said where are you from, my natural answer was where did you just come from? Not like where are you from? Like originally, that's how I heard it. And then I said to him just came from the US. And then the rumor spread at school that I was an American. I also let it go like this. I was perceived as an American boy.

Gurasis:

So what does it mean to be more than an immigrant, to carry stories, cultures and experiences that stretch across continents, to exist beyond labels and stereotypes? Well, this episode of My Thick Accent dives deeper into these questions with a guest who is a filmmaker, an activist and a relentless advocate for human rights. From Cameroon to France, then to the US, then to UK and now Canada, his journey has been shaped by movement, adaptation and the pursuit of a world that embraces diversity. His work, from award-winning documentaries to thought-provoking activism, has always centered on amplifying marginalized voices and challenging the biases that divide us. Through thought-provoking conversations and a powerful reading of his poem More Than an Immigrant, he reminds us that home is synonyms with a place where joy, laughter, smiles and happy memories are created. This episode is a celebration of resilience, identity and the journey of carrying multiple homes within us. Join us as we go beyond the accent, beyond the labels and straight to the heart of what it truly means to belong. Please welcome Yannick. Of what?

Yannick:

Hello, hello, hello, gur-assish, gur-assish. I mean, I need to get it right. You know, I want to get it right. So, yannick, you have to teach me how to say it right, please

Gurasis:

It's Gurasis

Yannick:

Gurasis, okay, Gurasis, okay, yeah, I'm going to try to remember it.

Gurasis:

You can ask me as many times as you want, no worries.

Yannick:

Okay, okay, sounds good, sounds good.

Gurasis:

But speaking of you now, you know, welcome to the podcast, Yannick. Very excited to have you and you know kind of unfold your immigrant journey so far throughout continents. So welcome once again.

Yannick:

Yes, thank you. Thanks for having me. It's a pleasure to be here and you know I'm here to answer any of the questions that you have. I mean, let's do it.

Gurasis:

Okay, awesome. So this episode, Yannick, is actually part of my season two of the podcast, where I'm trying to turn up the fun factor a little bit, and I'm going to start by asking you some fun questions.

Yannick:

So okay Sounds good.

Gurasis:

So the very first question is what's your go-to breakfast?

Yannick:

Oh, go-to breakfast. Well, it's changed, you know, just recently, but I would definitely say that the go-to breakfast would be some croissant, because I guess, from having lived in France for a little while and having like that French culture, like a nice baguette croissant and you know hot chocolate as well, yeah, and sometimes I put a little bit. I'm a chocolate guy, so sometimes I put a little bit of Nutella on my croissant and on my bread. So yeah, that would be, I guess, a typical breakfast.

Gurasis:

Wow, sounds tasty. Have you got used to the Tim Hortons double-double? I mean, you are very new to Canada, but how do you feel about that?

Yannick:

No, no, absolutely. I mean I think I've become a fan of Tim Hortons. Yeah, definitely.

Gurasis:

I'm sure Okay. So next is should a favorite song or a dialogue or a movie tell us why it's significant to you?

Yannick:

That's an interesting question. I guess this question would take me a little while to answer, because I would describe myself as a deep thinker and I would love to think a little bit deeper before answering that question. But just for the purpose of the of your, of your game, so to speak, I'm just, I'm just gonna tell you about the song that I was actually. I was actually um, uh, just a quick story. I was uh talking with my daughter, my oldest daughter. She's 15, and she's doing this storytelling uh project, uh in class, and then she asked me to basically she's asking me some questions about my story. So I've been in the same way that I'm doing what that we're going to be doing right now on the podcast.

Yannick:

I mean, I've been doing that with her kind of thing and uh and as I was telling her about my journey, I was telling her about, uh, the influence of um, of america and the us in my journey and uh, and how at some point america had become or the us. When I was 14, 15, he had become so influential through the, the american, the, the us, the african-american culture. You know the basketball, the hip-hop and um basically know the basketball, the hip hop and basically the way they were dressing. I mean, we found them so cool that I at some point I got nicknamed the American guy, the American boy, you know, in cameras. You know, because we were so into that culture, right.

Yannick:

And so as we were discussing that, the song came to mind, as I was just to illustrate that conversation, and that was American Boy, from Estelle and John, and I think Estelle and Kanye West, I think, or Estelle and John Legend. So, yeah, it's called the song is called American Boy and Estelle is like a uk artist and it's about the fusion between, uh, uk and america and the us and just this is like a whole conversation around what I've just described, which is, uh, that influence, the influence of that culture on on the world. Basically, you know african-american culture on the world. Basically, you know African-American culture on the world.

Gurasis:

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 person listens to and the impact that their life throughout. You know the things that I've had. So, yeah, thank you for sharing that. I also wanted to tell us like, or teach us, one phrase in your mother tongue and what does it mean?

Yannick:

Okay, I guess one phrase would be nasom. Nasom means thank you.

Gurasis:

Nasom.

Yannick:

Nasom, yeah, that means thank you. So, yeah, that means thank you, and yeah, I guess that's the first phrase that comes to mind because it reminds me of something that is very dear to our culture. It's about I think it's a concept that is very dear to the Cameroonian culture. It's about being grateful, right.

Gurasis:

Being grateful and being thankful, right.

Yannick:

So, and since we're here, I guess the first, uh, the first phrase that I want to say is 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 as a guest today wow, I love that.

Gurasis:

I've noted that down for myself and for the listeners as well. Um, so the next is, and the last one is if you could teleport back to a particular place from your home country for a day, where would it be and what would you do?

Yannick:

okay, teleport back. Well, I guess it would definitely be the place where I spent a little bit of my childhood and that's my grandpa and my grandma's house in Cameron. It's a neighborhood called Bonaprizo and that's where the family home is currently at the moment. And, yeah, there's so many. Why? Because there's so many? Uh, why, because there's so many joyful memories about that time, you know, just spending time with grandma and grandpa, just being uh, you know, just basically all of our needs were attended and you know the, you know the grandparents were so sweet to us and we were kind of like the favorite grandchildren and you know just every little thing that we wanted, you know we got, and so just the memories from that place are just when.

Yannick:

I think about it. I mean, I just have goosebumps Because yeah it was just such a joyful time yeah.

Gurasis:

Yeah, no, I think every time anybody talks about their grandparents, that nostalgia just like kind of creeps into you, you know, you kind of like reminisce those times and then the amazing, just memories that you hold with yourself. But speaking of that, I think this would be a great segue to ask you to tell us more about your time in Cameroon, if you can share a little bit about your affirmative years and how was it like just growing up there?

Yannick:

Yeah, I mean well, I was born in cameron, uh, in the year 1980 exactly, and I spent the 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 really a place where I got shaped, I got formed and to me, I believe this was the best years of my life, because this is where I received the foundations of who I am today as a human being. And when I think about foundation, when I talk about foundation, I really think about a certain set of values that are very dear to the African culture and that were kind of passed on to me at that time, you know value of respect, value of respect for elders, things like nature, hospitality, solidarity.

Yannick:

I mean when I think about my childhood in Cameroon, I definitely associate it with a certain set of values that were passed on to me by my family and by my grandparents and by my parents, and I also, obviously, when I think about it, I'm thinking about the food, the very delicious food, I'm thinking about the weather and I also think about just the feeling of of uh, you know, when you are a kid, and uh, uh, it's almost like you have no worries whatsoever about life. Right, you know just?

Yannick:

if you want to just go out there and you are just outside. Uh, you know, you are friends and you just decide suddenly to carefree yeah, very carefree. Right, you want to play soccer, for example. And then you decide to play soccer in, in, in the middle, because we were living like a in the residential neighborhood, right, I mean my grandparents, where it was like a residential neighborhood, and sometimes my friends we would just literally block the streets outside and just create like a soccer field just in front of the street, in front of the house, and the cars weren't passing, because we were just playing outside and you just, yeah, so you have this, yeah, carefree and sense of freedom, and so many, so many words are coming to my mind when I think about my childhood. Um, yeah, so I don't know if that answers your question it does it.

Gurasis:

Does you know tell me more about the family dynamics, what the focus was on growing up?

Yannick:

well again, I think the for me, the family dynamics was really about those values. Right, because my late mother was a teacher and my late father was a. I would say more, on my late mother's side, because she was a teacher and she was, I would say, a disciplarian right, she was the one who would instill discipline in the kids. Other side, because she was a teacher and she was, I would say, a discipler, a disciplarian right she was, she was the one who would instill discipline in the, in the kids.

Gurasis:

Uh, being in that profession. It comes with.

Yannick:

Yeah yeah, it does come with that, right, and she was very, you know, she, she, she wanted to make sure that. You know that. You know that the kids that her kids would grow up with, uh, would become decent human beings right, decent human beingscent human beings, you know, very polite, and that that was very, uh, uh, something that she really emphasized on. Uh, my dad on the other side, my late dad on the other, on the other hand, was more of a laid back person, more, you know, chilled, and, uh, it would be more of a person who, um, one thing that I remember from him is that it would be more of a person who would, uh, uh, not only lead by example, but also the way, for example, in this, in, in the. In the same way that my late mother was a disciplarian and she would try and instill discipline, my dad would be more like, okay, you have to learn from your mistakes. So, if you make a mistake, I'm just going to not say anything, right or not, try to convince you to go another route, to go the other, to go another route, but, but, but, but, but. Eventually, what I want you to do is that if you ever, uh, make a mistake, I would like you to learn from it and then, so that, because, because you learn by, you know, uh, by, by, by, kind of practicing right and and and and, as you learn those things you know you, or as you make mistakes, you realize that, okay, this is not something that I, you know, I should have done, and then maybe you're going to try and next time you're not going to find yourself, you're going to try and avoid being in those kinds of positions. So that was kind of like dynamic in the family. Um, also, what else can I say about the dynamics, uh, that actually shaped me.

Yannick:

My dad also had a very big influence on me. He was a guy who was very, um, uh, he was so attached to his culture, cameroonian, the cameroonian culture, okay, and in fact he was actually, you know, working for the government. He was, you know, quite a high rank in the government, but one of his passions was actually the promotion of Cameroonian culture, and so he would organize events, work with artists, and sometimes even while he was doing those events, he would take us with him. You know, eventually, for example, sometimes I mean he would, let's say, he would try to target like big events, for example, the soccer World Cups and let's see if the Cameroonian team would qualify for those events.

Yannick:

For example, we had an opportunity to go to the World Cup in the US with him and with the Cameroonian team, and also in the World Cup in France. What we would do is that we would go with the team and then we would organize some kind of cultural activities around the stadium aiming at promoting the Cameroonian culture. All that to say that he was someone who was very attached to the culture and also a promoter of that culture. That kind of love for culture has 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 of like bridge between cultures. Right, I think that you know the premises of that work.

Gurasis:

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 yeah so you're very, very rooted in the culture and sort of like took pride in this culture as well, and I think it's sort of like passed on you the same thing um. Tell me, I think, what was your dream career growing up?

Yannick:

well, dream career? I mean, that's an interesting question because, uh, um, to me I um, you know you would be surprised, but I did not necessarily have a dream career maybe somebody who influenced you the most, maybe a character in the films, or could it be around you?

Yannick:

I mean, my biggest influence was my dad. Right, that was my hero, he was my hero. And to me I was just going through the motions. I mean I think it's very difficult to picture, but I would definitely say that my parents made sure that we had no worries about anything in life, and that sense of being carefree and that freedom it was almost, and that's that's that sense of being carefree and that, that, that freedom. It was almost like there was no pressure. Let's say, let's, let's take a scenario where you have a family and then the family of doctors, for example. Because there's a family of doctors, the parents are putting pressure on their kids to be also doctors, and then the kids feel that pressure, and then you know so.

Yannick:

But for us it was like okay, it was almost like okay, you're free to to choose any path that you like to choose, but all we want is that you take time, you don't rush into doing, doing anything, uh, that you don't want to do, but just take the time and and at the appropriate time, choose your path right. So you see, it was in that spirit that I kind of like grew up, and for me that's when I said I was just going through the motion. I did not really have any pressure whatsoever to to choose a certain path, but, but, but I could. In contrast, I could. I could also tell you that because I have, um, two other siblings right, a younger sister and an older brother. I could definitely say that my older brother is a poet today. He's a renowned poet in France. He writes books and things of that nature. If you were to talk to him, he would tell you that since he was the age of eight, he already knew what he wanted to do. He already dreamt about being a poet and writing books and things like that.

Yannick:

But for me it was. It was not like that, it was just okay. Just enjoy your every single period of time, enjoy your teenage years and, uh, you know, just enjoy your childhood. Enjoy your teenage years, enjoy every season of your life. Just, um, take them as they come and uh yeah and uh yeah. So that's a surprising answer, I'm pretty sure.

Gurasis:

But uh, yeah well, your motto was uh, carpeting him.

Yannick:

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:

Tell us something that people might not know about Cameron, that you would like to educate us about.

Yannick:

I'm thinking about asking you the question what do you know about Cameron?

Gurasis:

first, Me, so I know that it's bilingual.

Yannick:

English and.

Gurasis:

French is kind of spoken widely. That's what I know, and I haven't spoken to enough people from Cameroon so far. So I think I will let you take the stage and educate us more about that.

Yannick:

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 Cameroon is that they have like a. It's a soccer country. They call it football over there.

Gurasis:

They have like a very big soccer team actually did.

Yannick:

Uh, their golden years were in the 90s, where they did very well. In the 90s world cup they went into. They were the first African team 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 it it's that Cameroon is called Africa in miniature. African miniature because from east to west, from north to south, you have different landscapes, different people, kind of like tribes and cultures. So really when you travel around Cameroon, you could be traveling from one area of Cameroon to another and feel like you were traveling from one country to another country right, because it's so diverse, right, it's diverse as far as culture.

Yannick:

It's diverse even as far as religion. You know, you have Christians, muslims, you have all types of. So it's a very, very diverse country, and I would also definitely say that my passion for diversity also has to come from you know the diversity of Cameroon that I've witnessed as I was growing up, because, like I said, there's a country that has over 320 or 300 different ethnic groups.

Yannick:

Oh, wow so yeah, obviously the main languages are English and French, but within those communities, I mean, people are still speaking their own language. So you can be going from one area of Cameroon to another and then have two different languages that are spoken. So how do you navigate those differences? You have to find a way of navigating the differences and accepting the other. I think also my love for diversity came from my Cameroonian navigating the differences and accepting the other. And so I think also my diversity, my love for diversity, came from my Cameroonian heritage.

Gurasis:

Absolutely so. That's where the seed for it was planted. I would love to explore more where that plant has grown to, but now I want to pivot towards your move to France. I think you were telling me at the age of 14, you decided to move. Tell me what influenced the decision to do that oh, to do that.

Yannick:

Oh yeah, I mean I did not decide, I was too young, I was 14, so I did not decide to to move, but, um, well, unfortunately it was an unfortunate event that actually happened. I lost my mom at that age, at age 14. And so that's when, basically, my dad took the decision to send me and my siblings to France to live with my aunt, my mom's sister, because obviously he found himself on his own on his own in cameroon. So he was. The question was okay, he asked my aunt to kind of like help him raise us right. So that's why we had to kind of like move and, uh, so we moved to cameroon following that, uh, that event, you know, yeah, okay.

Gurasis:

Do you remember your first day when you moved there, any initial thoughts or emotions?

Yannick:

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 that conversation a couple of days ago, and uh, were you preparing for this podcast?

Yannick:

while talking to her, I guess, I guess it looks like it. I mean, I think things happened so fast that I did not have, I don't think I had time to process what was happening. It was just okay, this is an event that just happened, okay, you guys have to go, and then the next thing that we know, we have already moved from Cameroon, so now we're in France and then you know, so just have to adjust quickly to the changes that are going on. But you don't really, because it goes, it happens so fast, you don't really take the time to process Right. So at the time I did not have I wouldn't say that I didn't have any emotion, but I would just say that I did not have enough time to process it.

Yannick:

Now, if you tell me looking back, maybe looking back, I can give you some pointers and some answers on how you know the emotions and the, the thing that I'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, uh, like I said, too fast, too quick 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:

Basically, yeah, until what age did you stay in france then, before moving to us?

Yannick:

until about the age of 18, so until after my uh, yeah, I basically finished completing my high school in france and then I moved, uh, after my uh, I mean it's called the baccalaureate there, the French baccalaureate. So yeah, it was at 18.

Gurasis:

You talked about. You know solidarity, integrity and the value sort of like instilled in you growing up During the time in France at any point. Were they like shaken here and there or sort of like the whole culture or having that experience of being an immigrant sort of like shook you in any way in that country?

Yannick:

it's funny that you're asking me the question because, again, my daughter asked me the same questions. You know, and, uh, and, and I, I told a funny story, a funny story that, uh, I still, I still think about today. So, prior to going to, prior to moving to france, uh, so I told you earlier about my dad and his, 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 support the Cameroonian team. So we spent like a month there in the.

Yannick:

US right Doing all those cultural activities. And so it was on the way back from the us uh that uh instead of going all the way to cameron. So my dad said, okay, you guys are going to stay with your aunt, and then I'm just gonna go all the way to cameron. And then, so that's how it happened. So the funny story is that my first 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, where are you from?

Yannick:

And all of that, and when he say, where are you from, where do you come from? I mean, to me my natural answer was where are you from when? Where did you just come from, right? Where did you just come from, like? Where are you from, like originally? Where did you where did so? That's how I heard it. And then I say to him, uh, I just came from the U? S, right.

Yannick:

And then he, and then that turned out to be, oh, this guy's from the U? S and so, and then the rumor spread at school that I was an American right, that I came from the US, and since I was, like, very good in English, and so that's basically how you know, before people even had the time to kind of have a conversation with me and to find out exactly where I was from, it seems like it was convenient for them to look at me, at this american boy who just coming into the school and you know who was enticing their curiosity and and I guess I also let it go like this. And then you know, you know, so it turned out that you know, I was perceived as an American boy, and so to answer your question. So I'm going to answer your question, right? Okay, and the answer to your question is that I'm going to answer your question, but I'm going to talk to you about that America, that, that that experience of me being perceived as an American, but also the experience of some of my friends, because at a time, also because, uh, because of the colonial history between France and Cameron, uh, it was very uh cost. It was like a custom for um parents to send their kids to France to study.

Yannick:

So some of my friends that I left behind in Cameroon ended up coming also for their studies in France at some point, and so when they were sharing their stories of their first encounter and their immigration journey, it wasn't as fun as mine because they were saying that they had of their first encounter and their immigration journey. It wasn't as fun as mine because they were saying that you know they had encountered a lot of racism. You know people asking them questions like you know, do you?

Yannick:

guys live in trees in Cameroon? Do you guys live in the jungle? Do you live with animals and things like that. So just goes to show you that in one instance, uh, or I guess the lack of conversations, uh, can actually lead to either a positive perception or a negative 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 american because of that short conversation that we had and that was, you know, so that that kind of like led to a whole different experience than than my friends who, because they were coming from Africa, so it goes to show that, depending on where you're from, you can have a certain color, but from one area of the world you can be perceived negatively and the other area of the world you can be perceived positively.

Gurasis:

Right, it proves to show the the preconceived notions that people have associated to certain names of the countries. It's insane, you know. This example is the testimony of to that. You know how quickly we are to judge somebody based on where is actually the person from.

Yannick:

Wow, absolutely, absolutely.

Gurasis:

Talk to me about your transition to US. Then why US and what was that decision?

Yannick:

Yeah, I mean US, as I already kind of like alluded to in my introduction. When I was 14, you know that influence with the American culture it was like almost like it had always been a dream for me to have an experience in the US Right. And so, in fact, when I went first in 1994 with my dad, I actually tried to convince him to leave me behind in the US Right, but he said to me I mean you're just too young to stay here on your own, and we didn't have anybody in the US at the time.

Yannick:

So when I was 18, I managed to convince my dad that he could let me go on a quote-unquote sabbatical and take like a year, because I just completed my degree in between, or my high school degree.

Yannick:

In between my high school and university. I just leave me like maybe like a little gap and then just to go and explore and you know, so that's. And so we, uh, I mean, he got convinced and uh, and, and so the destination was, uh, was the us. And why the us? Because, uh, we had like a good family friend, uh, so a family friend of my dad was living uh in atlanta in the us and then, uh, so we talked to him and then we, we kind of like made it happen so when you were asked there where are you from, when it is, what did you say then?

Yannick:

france yeah, I mean, mean, when I was asked where I was from, I said France, cameroon. But I said Cameroon, I said France also. But I guess one thing that I noticed from being in the US I guess it's not everywhere the same in the US, but in some parts of the US, especially the South is that people are not really exposed to world culture, they don't have an expanded general knowledge, right in general right. So people kind of like reduced even sometimes some people you know even georgia, they don't, they don't even know because, for example, when I was, when I would say you know, I spent some time in paris, people would ask me paris, where?

Yannick:

Paris, georgia, or paris, uh, you know paris because because in the us you have to say the city and then the state, right, so I would say I'm coming, I mean 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 that there's a certain level of, I would say, ignorance in some parts of the US, that I mean the conversation cuts short really quickly because people are not exposed to a lot, if that makes sense, right.

Gurasis:

So you were saying that you were seen through a certain lens of nationality, race or accent in any way?

Yannick:

I would definitely say that I would not even go as far as saying race accent. I would definitely say that there is still in Georgia, a lot of segregation. I mean, the legacy of segregation is still there and it's almost like a black and white thing. So it's like community are divided, black and white thing, you know. So it's like you know white people are with. So it's like a community, community are divided.

Yannick:

As far as race is concerned, it's very difficult to to to explain. You know the, the, the dynamics there, because even within the, so you have the first division, which is like the race division, right so, black and white. And then you have subdivisions because even within the blacks, uh, right so black and white. And then you have subdivisions because even within the blacks, you wouldn't necessarily see black americans interact with black africans, for example, or black camerunians. So you'll have camerunians are going to be staying with camerunians, nigerians are going to be staying with nigerians, and so people don't, because of that legacy of segregation, people organically don't really mix with one another, so they rather stay within their own silos and their own communities. So that's something that, when you're talking about cultural shock, that shocked me.

Yannick:

France, for example, has had a lot of criticism recently as far as the multiculturalism and things like that.

Yannick:

But to me, when I look at France, I think there are different levels to integration and to making people who are not seen as part of the the normal feel integrated. The societal level I think there's like a mix, a very good mix. People are very good at mixing with one another in france, but the problem becomes when you start working and that's when you find ceilings. You know you cannot go and you have to. You stop and see, you stop at a certain level.

Yannick:

If you are of a certain color color, or if you are uh, or if you have a certain accent, you will always find the ceiling when you, when, when you, when you start professional life, but at the very low level, you know, like at university or at school, I think you know groups are mixing, at least Right. But in America, uh or what, I found that at least in Atlanta I'm not going to generalize and say America in general, but I would say Atlanta in particular it wasn't there. People were not just different communities were not just mixing with one another, and this was something that really shocked me and later on that was one of the reasons why I actually at some point decided to move out of there because of that cultural shock.

Gurasis:

So you touched on a couple of points here, but tell me for you, yannick, you know your transition from cameron to france and studying there and coming to us as well, how the soul transition and having this, experiencing firsthand the segregation within the community and living in that ecosystem, how does it shape your identity and understanding of belonging?

Yannick:

Today, to this day, I have a very different. I mean, I have a very clear definition of what belonging means to me.

Gurasis:

Absolutely. It's been like decades of work and 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 exactly happening.

Yannick:

So what happened then movement.

Yannick:

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, if I don't feel like I belong somewhere, I'm gonna have to change my environment. So that's, that's my, that's my reaction. So that's why, for example, after this thing, you know, a few years in the us, I'm like okay, this does not feel right, so I'm just gonna have to to make a move. So at that time and it was the same in in in france as well I guess the reason why I left france is because I felt like I'd reached I I I'd reached that ceiling that I was talking to you about, you know, although I did not work, but I felt like I'd reached that ceiling that I was talking to you about.

Yannick:

Although I did not work, but I felt like I'd reached that ceiling and that I needed to look at other horizons. So for me at that time, it's really okay. So if you don't feel comfortable in the environment, the natural answer would be okay, just try to find another environment that you feel comfortable into so now I want to move towards.

Gurasis:

You know your time, that you moved to london, and I think that was your one of the stops before you even came to canada, and you spent almost two decades there, more than 20 years.

Gurasis:

And honestly, when I was researching Yannick, I think there were times that I found it pretty fascinating, you know, considering the work also you did and trajectory that you followed towards filmmaking as well. I want to go deeper into that, but tell me first of all, what made you make this big stop of 20 years in London? What made you stop there, make this big stop of 20?

Yannick:

years in London. What made you stop there? Well, it started as it wasn't meant to be such a long stop. I don't think it was Well to me at the time, you know, looking back, but obviously if I spent 20 years there, that means that it was meant to be right. But no, but I would say definitely that it's my wife, my wife, I mean my, my, my, my wife to be, my, the one is my then to be.

Yannick:

I mean, then she wasn't my wife yet. I mean we were still, like you know, kind of dating and and because we were best friends before and then we kind of like uh, fell in love and decided to, to, to, to be together as husband and wife. So but she actually, when I expressed to her, um, my desire to kind of like change environment because, because the us, I've gotten, I've got tired of the us, just in short, she suggested that I came to visit the UK because all the brothers were living in the UK. So she said, just come for a visit and then you see how it goes. And then that's how I ended up in the uk. I came, I came it was supposed to be a very short visit and uh, and then 20 years later, I was still there, you know so. So, uh, yeah, so that's, that's how it happens. Basically, it was, it was, it was my, uh, my wife who actually recommended and who convinced me, who who persuaded me to come and follow her in the UK.

Gurasis:

Okay, very interesting. So you know, also, when I was researching about you, like I said, you know, I went deep into your history and your time that you spend there, you know, and it also when I talk to people like you on the podcast I realized that how less I am aware of global history because I live in like a complete different part of the world and such some incidents that have happened, like you know, times when I was like five or six and the world wasn't as connected as we are today, in 2025, and I wasn't that aware. And then I, when I researched and I realized, okay, I wasn't aware of these incidents and that's where I stumbled upon you know your documentary. That was called, you know, when Tottenham Exploded. It kind of focuses on the social tensions and systematic issues in the UK in 2011.

Yannick:

Right.

Gurasis:

And tell me more about that. You know what made you sort of like make the documentary and what also what led you to documentary filmmaking well, you will be surprised.

Yannick:

Uh, maybe maybe not, but uh, it was actually a dream. It was actually a dream that led me to uh, to filmmaking and documentary and all that. And the dream was, uh, just as the those events of uh Tottenham unfolded. So those were like you said. It was like there were big riots that actually occurred not only in Tottenham Tottenham, which is a neighborhood in London right but also all across the UK, and the riots actually occurred right after there was an incident of police brutality in that neighborhood called Tottenham, which is predominantly black and ethnic, I mean, which has predominantly black and ethnic minorities in it. So, or in the mainstream media at least, the assumption was that the people who actually driving the riots were people of ethnic minority backgrounds. That was the assumptions, whereas the truth it wasn't the truth at all. The truth is that people from all the truth of the matter is that people from all walks of life were involved in it, although the event was sparked in that city because of that incident. You know that was like the big spark.

Gurasis:

I believe it was following the death of Mark Duggins right.

Yannick:

Mark Duggins, that's correct At the hand of the police.

Gurasis:

That happened.

Yannick:

That's what the listeners I was- mentioning yeah, that's correct, that's what the listeners I was mentioning.

Yannick:

Yeah, that's correct, that's correct.

Yannick:

So a young man called Mark Duggan who fell in the hands of the police, and so the community came to ask for explanations, and the police did not want to give any kind of explanations to them as to what happened to them, as to what happened.

Yannick:

And then the frustration, the anger led to you know, people just being, you know, just lashing out, and I wouldn't even say rioting in Tottenham, because it was like a peaceful protest, right, but for some reason, I don't know how or what, led this event, this particular event in that city, to kind of turn into riots, where you know people just kind of like decided to try and take advantage of the situation and you would see in the news, you know people, like I said, from all walks of life coming out of shop with TVs. I think it ended up being it started with that event, but but for me it ended up being, uh, something that was deeply revealing of the consumerist society in which we live in, whereby, you know, people would just find any opportunity, or some people would just find any opportunity to their post.

Yannick:

Yeah, yeah To get something right To get something, because you, you see, you know, when you analyze it, you had, like I said, even middle-class people who were just they saw a shop that was open and they just went into there and then grab whatever they could grab and then came out with it, right. So. But in the mainstream media, the way it was portrayed, it was okay. It's just those young black or young brown people who have nothing to do who are rioting. That's how it was pushed in the media, in the mainstream media. And so to me, because that wasn't my experience, I was young at the time, I knew other young people who were not. We did not, I did not write.

Yannick:

I knew other people, young people, black, brown and from all colors and shapes we did not write and that really kind of like bothered me, you know, to see the kind of mainstream coverage that we were getting about this event. And I guess that's how I dreamt about it one day. And then, when I wake up, what I remember is that, as I was waking up, I remember that you know the dream. In the dream I felt like I was led to use my voice, so to speak, and say something about it or give my perspective, and that's how it all started. So when I woke up that night, it started with me just getting my computer and just recording something, you know, which was like a message, and I was just trying to give my perspective. And that's how that desire to want to give my perspective about this situation led to eventually making a short film about it.

Gurasis:

And uh, yeah, and then that's, that's how it happened yeah, you know, wow, no, hats off to you for doing that. And I think we need more such people to kind of bring out the truth, because it's the truth that mainstream media does not cover the actual truth and the people who are literally the real culprits are completely, uh, not even shown. And then we need people like you kind of like bring out the truth and encourage people to kind of follow that you know, rather than really being that, having that bullet theory where everything is like just thrown at you and we accept it, you know, whatever it's thrown to media. But we do need the other perspective, the real perspectives. You know kind of to. And also hats off to you for documenting it Right and I think, for the generations to come, just like me, who wasn't even aware of it, you know, I got to know about it and today we are discussing it. So, thank, thank you for documenting that. I appreciate that.

Yannick:

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 much the same work, you know, just giving another perspective on on on 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 for your work, the work that you're doing, yeah, no, thank you I appreciate that.

Gurasis:

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

Gurasis:

Yeah, yes, yes yes, yeah, okay, but you did not stop there. You also made another documentary called when Humanity Knocked on Our Doors, and that's where you covered about the refugee crisis and especially focusing on the lives of individuals in the Calais jungle pardon my pronunciation, a refugee camp in the France. Right, tell us a little bit about that as well. And any of these documentaries are available for listeners to watch.

Yannick:

When Humanity Not that Outdoor is available on YouTube, I'll give you the links and then your viewers can access it, definitely when Tottenham is not available yet, but it will soon be available. Because this one was kind of like made through City Hall and we it was like, yeah, there was some kind of regulations and things like that, you know. So it was commissioned by them, right. So we were just, I was just sort of like screening it in very. It was like almost like private, you know, screenings of the movie. So. But the other one, when humanity is definitely available on YouTube, it's there and, and as soon as the winter time will be clear to be made public, I will definitely put it on my YouTube page as well. So, yeah, so, just to answer your question similar circumstances on my YouTube page as well. So, yeah, so, just to answer your question, um, similar circumstances, uh, that, uh, when humanity knocked at our door.

Yannick:

Similar circumstances, uh, the time there was, uh, so much talk to talk about, uh, refugees and migrants in France. And again, the mainstream media giving a very stereotypical and preconceived notions about the immigrant and refugees. And they're just here to steal our jobs. They're here, you know, you know, so all those kind of very negative talks about people that 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 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 what was described in the news. That kind of like the same, pretty much same scenario like led me to say, okay, I'm just going to give my perspective about this event and I'm going to go to that so-called jungle and then show a different perspective, show a more human aspect to it, change a narrative about it. So that's kind of like how it happened, yeah.

Gurasis:

Okay, I think. If any of our listeners are interested to learn more about it, definitely. I'll put the links to both of the information about both of these in the show notes. You can check that. And a half ago, tell me about your decision to move. I remember you were telling me that you were destined to come here, since the process was accelerated somehow for you and within a few months you decided to move here. So tell me, how do you feel so far and how is canada treating you?

Yannick:

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.

Yannick:

So I can clarify that and go as far as saying that for me, the American, the Canadian or even the French dream, or whatever dream, that for me, the dream or the dream place that I see, or a place, can become a dream place, a dream country, a dream area, a dream continent and I talk about it a little bit in my poem is when I can connect with certain people, right, so when I'm able to connect with certain people who speak the same language that I speak, and when I, when I talk about language I'm not talking about necessarily 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.

Yannick:

And, and so when, and and to answer your question I, just a few months, almost a year and a half, into canada, I definitely think that I've connected with my tribe, with with those people, right, and so that's why I'm talking about dream. So it's for me, to me, the dream has always been to connect with these kind of people, you know, like-minded people and we feel we can, you know, not only build the connections, build on those connections, create connections, connect, create I mean create connection and build on those connections right, build something based on those connections.

Yannick:

So that's a very short answer to your, to your question okay, and when you're talking about the language, I would also add to, that is also the language of humanity that one has to speak absolutely, absolutely, absolutely, yeah, and uh, as uh you mentioned already, you know, based on my kind of like track record, uh, you know, that notion of humanity and you know, being humane and and and and connecting with people on a very deep and human level is, uh, yeah, it's, it's, it's, it's everything for me, right, it's everything, it's everything you know.

Gurasis:

Uh, when I was reading about your journey, uh, I stumbled upon this one quote from mr beast's interview. The quote, and I feel like I see you also sort of saying a similar quote. I'll tell you what the quote was. The quote is the cost of being different is highest when you are young, when the system forces you to fit in. But as you grow, the world starts 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:

and I'm absolutely no, absolutely. You're absolutely right.

Gurasis:

100, 100, yes, yeah I'll share that with you. You can definitely use it somewhere. Yes, yes, please yes, please do, please do yeah um, speaking of you, you know talking to people and creating that humane connections. You also do have a podcast that you host that our listeners more about that and where they can find it yes, I do have a couple of podcasts.

Yannick:

One podcast that's out already, which is called the Diary of a Diversity Champion, is on Spotify. Again, you can put the link on your page to direct listeners to it. And there's also another podcast which is going to be out or launched next week actually next week, on the 6th of march. This one has been in collaboration with the intercultural association of greater victoria and this one is called I am more than the immigrant you had in mind. Yeah and uh. Yeah, it's a storytelling, storytelling project on immigration into canada, about 14 guests that we have on the show just telling us about their story, their immigration journeys. And again, as soon as the podcast will be out, I'll share the link with you and so that you can share with your listeners as well.

Gurasis:

Yeah, awesome, absolutely. I'll put the links to that in the show notes. So, before we get into the final segment, I have added this new segment in this season of the podcast I call it know your host, where I give my guests an opportunity to ask me any question they might have okay, so no tough questions please how was your immigration journey from india?

Yannick:

is that right to canada, did you? Did you come first? Did you come straight from india 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 a little bit of my experience moving from india to canada?

Gurasis:

yeah, great question. It might have a long answer, but I'll try to sum it up quickly. Like you were telling me, it's going to take a long time, but I'll sum it up. Uh, so I came directly from india. I finished my bachelor's in india. Uh, I was 21 I just turned 22, I believe when I came to canada. Uh, very pampered, very naive initially, and uh hadn't lived anywhere around the world apart from my own city.

Gurasis:

In fact, I haven't even moved another city altogether, never did that uh, so moved directly here and, uh, initial days, obviously a little bit of time to get accustomed to each other's accents, because that was my very first culture shock, because all my life I thought I had a very good command over the English language until I came to Canada and I'm talking and people are not even understanding me. I'm not even heard in the classroom, not with the intent of people ignoring me, but they were just not able to understand my accent somehow or the other. So I think that took a little bit of time. That kind of. Definitely it hit my confidence. I got very quiet and shy, even though I'm not. I refused to kind of put my thoughts out or kind of participate in certain activities in the class because I had this, uh again, I had this notion that, okay, they're not even understanding me, what's the 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 we understood each other's uh sort of like personalities also. Right, because they because a lot of people hadn't ever seen a turban wearing person in their life, they didn't even know about my religion. You know, I wouldn't be shocked if you might also not know like at the age of 19 or 20, right. So most of my classmates were around the same age of mine and they weren't even aware of my religion 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 kind of integrate, uh and know more about me. But I think eventually I realized that I think I had to build that comfort level with the people. So I did that, and by asking them the questions about their culture, about themselves, about their immigration if somebody has moved as an immigrant or even their upbringing if they are natives, right. So that allowed me to have that dialogue with them and tell them more about me and the colors of my turban, and then eventually I think things went pretty good.

Gurasis:

It took me a little bit of time, like I said, it could get assimilated within the culture and understand that how the kind of things I need to unlearn which 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 new world, because I'm trying to live a life in a world where life has never existed before, right?

Gurasis:

Um, so, long story short. I think I graduated and that's where the actual life started and got exposed to people outside of the classroom, because the challenges within classrooms are very linear, so to say, but then when you're outside, things kind of go haywire, and then the whole pressure of immigration, collecting the right points, collecting the points for pr, finding the right job and etc. Etc. Kind of kicks in and but everything eventually works out and it all made me more resilient, for sure, very, very grateful for the people I have met throughout my journey. And, um, yeah, and I think I'm trying to pay it forward, so to say, through my podcast, bringing forth these stories of immigrants and selling that hope and will and people that, hey, if he or she can do it, you can do it as well yeah, right, right.

Yannick:

So and when you talk about home then and uh, feeling at home. So would you say that you feel at home and also I guess the notion of belonging also is included in that. So do you feel like now you belong more and do you feel like home is here in Canada, in Montreal? What are your thoughts?

Gurasis:

Yeah, that's a great question and that has been ongoing discussion throughout my conversations with my friends and family as well. Because, as an immigrant, you are kind of somewhere you're like in the limbo, right, you're not fully either way like I'm like I've said this like multiple times on the podcast that I'm like too canadian for indians and I'm like too indian for canadians. You know, I'm kind of like in the middle somewhere, but uh, but deep inside, you know I have actually understood this, yannick that home is where the people are. Actually, that's how I would define 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 who are there in your ups and downs. You know, and I think that's where the home is.

Gurasis:

I would say the home is through the people you live with and, although I still feel like I'm yet to find my true family here, but I still I'm extremely grateful for the people, uh, like you also, so to say, right, because you're also sharing your story and kind of bringing me into the understanding of that. We all are here for each other, right? So this is also the family I have built. So, yeah, I think my short answer is you know, home is where the people you love are.

Yannick:

No, absolutely, yeah, I love it, I love it, I love it.

Gurasis:

Yes, no, thank you. Thank you for the questions. It's always fascinated how my brain works and people kind of shoot these questions at me. So thank you for that.

Yannick:

Thank you for answering.

Gurasis:

Now, in the final segment of the podcast I call it beneath the accent I'm going to ask a couple of questions. You can answer them in one word or a sentence, or how. So you feel like the idea is just to know a little bit more about you. So ready, sure.

Yannick:

Yes, let's go.

Gurasis:

So the first is, what advice?

Yannick:

would you give to your younger self, and at what age? Advice I would give my younger self?

Gurasis:

I would say stay the same, don't change anything, okay what would you like to say to your 60 year old self?

Yannick:

I would say I hope you're happy with the choice that your younger self has made.

Gurasis:

Describe a moment when you experienced a significant cultural difference that surprised you.

Yannick:

Definitely, I would say. In Atlanta, georgia, I had a white girlfriend at the time and she came to visit me in where I was living because it was a predominantly black neighborhood. It made me uncomfortable. You know the way they just looked at her and and and really, you know, despised her. I mean, it's like they've never seen, I guess, an interracial couple before in their lives. It was, it was almost like surreal to them, right, and that kind of reflected in their looks.

Gurasis:

Coming from france again, which was, like I said, much more multicultural than that okay, what's the one dish from your home country that always brings you comfort and nostalgia?

Yannick:

plantains. Yeah, I mean, it doesn't bring you nostalgia because I get, I can access them here, so okay but it kind of reminds you of your heritage oh, definitely, definitely that, that is definitely that yeah, yes I was also reading that it's like a, like a side dish for for anything yes, yes, yes, literally it's like fries here. You know, you can eat them everything that you like.

Gurasis:

You know fish, chicken, anything, yeah so you know, since any you lived like all around continents, what's your favorite cultural festival or celebration that you have come across, and do you actually celebrate it then?

Yannick:

one festival, the Cameroonian festival. Actually never experienced it physically, but my dad was kind of like one of the organizers of it at some point and I've always heard about it. It's called. It happens every year in December in Cameroon the tribe, from which my parents are like the water, the water tribe right, they close the water, so there's all those celebrations around the water and then so it's called like it's almost like a water festival and there are a lot of activities around that you know, like races, fighting a lot of and food degust a lot of good things that are happening in that time of the year.

Gurasis:

What's it called?

Yannick:

It's called the Ngondo N-G-O-N-D-O, the Ngondo Festival, and so this is one of the festivals that I've been exposed to, not physically, but I've always wanted to be part of it, and also that's another fun fact also about Cameroon. There are plenty of festivals like this, depending on the tribe and the different cultures, and I mean all year round there are different activities like that that are actually celebrating the culture. So that's one. You asked me for one, right?

Gurasis:

Yeah, okay. Share a quick tip for fellow immigrants who are trying to adjust in a new country.

Yannick:

Remember that you have something to bring to the country? I'm asked this question. I always try to get people to remember the so-called soft skills right, that we those those soft skills and and that I believe, as immigrant and people from the the global south, we almost inherit them in our culture, because I've I've been around a lot of people from different culture in the South and and you, you see a lot of common commonalities as far as some of those values that I was talking to you about.

Yannick:

You know hospitality and solidarity and you know just respect for the elders and you know just behaving in a certain way when you're in public and treating the other so because those societies are collectivist collectivist societies as opposed to here in canada or in the west that are individualistic society absolutely yeah, those skills that you have to bring um, treat them as a gift that you are going to share with your host community and use every opportunity to share those gifts with them.

Yannick:

If you have that mindset of always trying to create this sort of like exchange, cultural exchange, then I think you'll be good. The journey will become easier and easier.

Gurasis:

I love that. Thanks for that. And since you spend most of your time in London, tell me about a friend that you made there and are you still in connect?

Yannick:

one of the leaders at the church that we attended my family and I, my wife and my sister and I and over the years she became also, she almost became like a mother, to me, like a second mother.

Gurasis:

I love that.

Yannick:

And we're still in touch today. You know she's uh, she's a senior citizen, obviously, but, yeah, but, but but there's, like this, 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. That's the first picture that I saw him because, yeah, she, she's more, but she's more, she's much more than a friend.

Gurasis:

She's almost like a yeah, like a mother to me okay, what's something you ate for the first time in canada, and did you like it?

Yannick:

again, when I mean we talked about tim bits, tim tim hortons earlier. Yeah, I would definitely say that uh, you know he's. I mean, that's where my mind goes about Tim Hortons. Earlier I would definitely say that, you know, I mean that's where my mind goes to Tim Hortons. Either Tim Hortons or the other restaurant is Hi-Hop. They do pancakes and things like that you know. So yeah, Okay.

Gurasis:

If you could describe yourself as any creature, what would it be and why?

Yannick:

a creature. It's funny that you say that. It's funny that you say that just like now, because, I mean, I'm I'm actually talking to, uh, one of our common friends, andrea.

Gurasis:

Oh, okay.

Yannick:

Yeah, about the project that I don't want to say so much about it now, but it's like a project that we are working on right now. The symbol of that project is the hummingbird, and that's how I see myself, because there's a legend, it's a native's legend. One day there was a big fire in the forest. All the animals were just trying to run away as fast as possible from that forest, from that forest fire, all the animals but one, and it was the hummingbird. And the hummingbird started to collect some water and started dipping the water on the fire. And then, when the other animal said to him, why are you doing that? This is such a big fire? And then the hummingbird said I'm just doing my part, I'm just doing my part.

Yannick:

I love that so there could be a fire of hate, a fire of fear of the other. But you know we all have to. Just as long as we all do our part, then you know we never know what our part, how much of a long way the fact of doing our part will just take us in in in getting in getting rid of the fire. So so for that I would say definitely I'm a hummingbird.

Yannick:

And like I said, yeah, thank you, thank you and, like I said, there's a, there's a project coming around the corner.

Gurasis:

I'm looking forward to that, and if you could have one superpower what would it be?

Yannick:

oh, one superpower? No, I mean, I think I already have my superpower, and my superpower is my uniqueness. It's a superpower, my cultural uniqueness is a superpower, the superpower. And then, like it's like you told me in your, in your quotes, uh, that you just shared with me, yeah, it is something to be shared and to be, uh, you know, shared with others as a gift, and that I think that, as we go along, I mean uh, you know, we realize that there's more more people who are anything that give than uh, than rejecting. So, yeah, so I already have it.

Gurasis:

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 to make a documentary on?

Yannick:

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 someone who has an accident, and you know all those, everything that we just talked about today.

Yannick:

I mean if I had a chance in the project to take it further as a documentary, then yeah, I would definitely love it. In fact, it's also another project that is kind of like in the pipeline right now with the Greater Association of, I mean, the Victoria-based association that I'm working with, the Intercultural Association of Greater Victoria. I mean we are just in discussion also about that, about, you know, making maybe a possible documentary which is going to be on immigration and you know just all those topics, but just continuing the discussion because obviously the podcasting is. I like the podcasting because obviously you take the time to discuss with the guest and go deeper, but the documentary also has another, another layer to the conversation, you know absolutely yeah, and also the long form, right you?

Yannick:

can do a lot.

Gurasis:

Yes, yes, yes, yes, absolutely so finally, any describe canada in one word or a sentence now two words are coming to me go ahead share two welcoming and embracing.

Yannick:

Welcoming and embracing, yeah, welcoming and embracing. That's my experience, at least the circles that I've navigated so far, they have been very welcoming to me, as in this unique and complex person, right and but that, but, but. The thing is, I don't want to mislead people. I guess what I want to say is that, in order for it to be welcoming, one has to be the most authentic that it can be, because people will uh, respond to your authenticity and to your uniqueness.

Gurasis:

Yeah, I guess that's that would be the best, the best way to describe it, you know how I'm interpreting is like it's welcoming towards all kinds of people and cultures and also allows you to embrace who you are yes, yes, but I think I would take.

Yannick:

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:

Absolutely Right.

Yannick:

I am of a different culture, but I haven't experienced that To me. I believe the reason why it's been so welcoming to me is because I've been able to show a version of myself that is the most authentic and unique, absolutely. But then the problem is what happens to your unique self and your authentic self if the first encounter that you have, kind of like, make you lose your voice right because of your accent, because of the way you look. So if after your first encounter you you're afraid to show your uniqueness and your, your most authentic self, then the welcoming is not going to happen. The gap between the welcoming part, our first arrival, or our rejection to become authentic again and to be unique again and to express it again, Because people will respond to that.

Yannick:

People will respond to who you are the truest version of yourself, right?

Gurasis:

That's what people will respond to and they will welcome that. It's definitely a journey from being misunderstood and not being welcomed, being misunderstood and not being well welcomed, but to the point of really understanding that, okay, I need to be my true self and not change myself to try to become somebody else you know, that's the journey that one has to go through, and all it doesn't happen like overnight.

Gurasis:

It's a. It takes time and a lot of introspection, for sure. Um, but, yannick, if you could leave me with one piece of advice, what would it be?

Yannick:

oh man, I mean, it's difficult because, uh, you're already doing like, uh, I mean I admire, I really do admire, uh, you know what you do, uh, your work and uh, so I don't know if there's much that I can say to you. There's not this much that I can say I think you're doing well. I guess the only thing that I can say to you is just, yeah, keep being you. You know, keep'm pretty sure that there have been times when, you know, you doubted yourself, you felt like maybe you know what's the reason of doing this and are people even listening to me and you know, but yeah, but I 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 have to keep, keep, keep, keep it moving and keep going and uh, and we need you, we need your voice, we need your voice.

Yannick:

So, uh, yeah, so, so, so, so, keep it up and uh, and you have us here and uh and uh, we'll also do our best to uh, to share it around among, among our networks, and support you in any way that we can. And yeah, and yes, like, I mean, I feel like you know, you know, I feel like I've known you for forever because we have, we have like a very deep connection and 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, so you definitely, um, a member of the tribe, a member of the tribe and uh, yeah, and so we, we we're there to support you. So keep, keep being you and keep sharing your gift with the world, brother, yeah keep sharing.

Gurasis:

I'm humble. I'm humbled by your kind of world. Thank you so much and if people are listening. Please reach out to me. I would love to hear from you and how you would describe your experience being on the podcast it was awesome.

Yannick:

It was awesome, it was awesome. It was a free-flowing uh you know conversation and uh, yeah, I loved it, I loved it, I loved it. Just uh, going back and forth like that typically, um, I'm the person, I mean, we, we kind of switch, switch roles today, you know yeah, and to be honest, I, I'd rather interview people than being put on the spotlight.

Yannick:

This is just, this is just my natural kind of instinct, right? So yeah, I always, uh, yeah, I always find it. Uh, you know, I prefer, I prefer being the one who interviews, but, uh, yeah, but but but it was a joy to just have that conversation with you today and uh, yeah, thank you, thank you again for having me and uh it was really a pleasure to be here oh, thank you, pleasure is all mine.

Gurasis:

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 the podcast and adding value to me and to my listeners. Thank you so much thank you. Thank you, guru asish yes, I know how you taught me in the beginning, nasim nasoom right, yeah, nasoom, yes I remember that all right thank you so much thank you, thank, thank you.

Yannick:

Thank you, brother, thank you.

People on this episode

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Gurasis Singh

Host
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Yannick Oho Bambe

Guest