Trading Places
How the Iraq war caused a rift between Khadija Ouannane and her 'American family'
Aida Alami's mother, Khadija Ouannane, was a Moroccan exchange student in the midwestern state of Wisconsin in 1969. It was a life-changing year for Khadija, and she kept in touch with her American family for many years. But that all fell apart after the attacks of September 11th. Aida picks up the story from there, and tries to piece together her mother's past. Then, we check in with a Syrian refugee family who've resettled in California and are feeling a post-Paris chill. Plus: a brief history of America's hostility to a previous generation of Mediterranean migrants— Italians.
Also: a father and son find a way to compromise in real life and in the new Pixar short, 'Sanjay's Super Team'. And the story of Vahagni— a Los Angeles-based Armenian flamenco guitarist.
Image: A school yearbook photo of Khadija Ouannane and her American host family in Wisconsin. (Courtesy of Aida Alami)
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Clips
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The real life story behind ‘Sanjay's Super Team’
Duration: 04:39
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When America feared Italians
Duration: 03:56
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How an Armenian kid fell in love with flamenco
Duration: 04:31
Broadcasts
- Sat 5 Dec 201505:32GMTBBC World Service Americas and the Caribbean, Online, UK DAB/Freeview, Australasia & West and Central Africa only
- Sat 5 Dec 201519:32GMTBBC World Service except East and Southern Africa, News Internet & West and Central Africa
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Boston Calling
How the world looks through American eyes, and the myriad and unexpected ways that the world influences the United States.
