Writer Fatin Abbas was born in Sudan and moved to the US with her family when she was 8 years old. She earned a BA in English literature from the University of Cambridge, a PhD in Comparative Literature from Harvard University, and an MFA in Creative Writing from Hunter College, CUNY. Her latest book, Ghost Season, was recently published by W.W. Norton and is available for purchase from an independent bookstore near you. You can find more about Fatin and her professional work on her website fatinabbas.com.

In this episode, we discuss Fatin's memories of her childhood in Sudan, her growing up years in New York, and her ongoing complex relationship with Sudan.  

In the interview, Fatin very clearly explains the war happening now in Khartoum and suggested several organizations that are concretely and effectively helping on the ground in Khartoum. If you’re moved to donate, these organizations would be good choices, from someone who knows.  

       Sudanese-American Physicians' Association 

       HomeTax Sudan 

       Darfur Women Action Group 

In each episode of Cerdan Stories, we ask our guests to suggest a song that is meaningful for them. Fatin suggested Zimbabwe, by Bob Marley & The Wailers.

Finally, while I really love the work we’ve been doing on this podcast, Cerdan Stories will be going on hiatus for personal reasons as of this episode. If you’re interested in staying updated, please follow us on Instagram, Facebook, or sign up for our newsletter on our website. I very much hope to be back with you before long! 

And some final words from Fatin, pretty well summing up what we've learned from our guests over these past 13 episodes. 

“I am American, but I'm also a citizen of elsewhere. And that's Sudan. When I'm in Sudan, I'm Sudanese, but I'm also a citizen of elsewhere…This idea of belonging is very complicated for me… What does it mean to belong to a place or a culture or a language?”   – Fatin Abbas, on Cerdan Stories, 12/5/23

In this episode, we talk with Banuta Rubess, whose family is from Latvia and who was born in Toronto.

She is a theater artist and writer, and a theater instructor, who has been researching and writing about her father’s experience during WW2 in Latvia, feeling squeezed between the Nazis on one side and the Soviets on the other, perceiving that neither side were friends of Latvia.

You can learn more about Banuta, her history, and her writing and theater art on her website. And, you can see her play The Trojan Women here.

The song we play at the end is I Love It Here, I Live Here by Luge, with her daughter Kaiva on vocals.

If you want to help in Ukraine, the aid organization that Banuta mentions in this piece is Stopify. They provide practical on-the-ground assistance like medical supplies, walkie-talkies, and so on via small but regular monthly donations.

We are so excited to be back with Season 2 of Cerdan Stories!

In this first episode, we talk with Luisa Ortiz-Perez, a journalist and activist from Mexico City now living in California. Luisa cares deeply about the traumas experienced by journalists, especially women journalists from Latin America, and works in different ways to heal that pain. She co-founded the non-profit Vita-Activa and was a John S. Knight Fellow at Stanford University last year, where she wrote a play about journalists called A Human Condition. Hear more from Luisa in this episode.

The featured song on this episode is Cancion Sin Miedo by Vivir Quintana. You can listen to the full song on YouTube. Thank you to Vivir Quintana for writing this moving song and to Luisa for sharing it with us. 

I want to thank Montana Skies for their song Gringo Flamenco, which played at the top of this podcast and which we got from Free Music Archives. 

I also want to thank my new producer and editor Leyla Doss, originally from Egypt and now living in NY, without whom this podcast wouldn’t sound nearly as excellent. And to also say thank you to Katie Hanford, a Penn graduate student, who is helping with our social media. 

If you like Cerdan Stories, please subscribe. It helps make sure you catch the latest episodes when they are released and really helps us out as well.