Most importantly as a victim of human trafficking in modern day slavery today in Africa, Europe and the US. Now, as a survivor, I am extremely proud. As I become an expert on modern day slavery today, I'm proud to be a voice of about 50 million, a slave victim around the world from all risk children, women and men in hopes of change. Hi, I'm Alexandra Lloyd, a French-Canadian who's called Birmingham, Alabama, home since 2017. Welcome to From Where to hear the podcast that celebrates the rich diversity of languages cultures in the stories that connect us all. Each month, I'll sit down with inspiring guests from different backgrounds to explore their cultures, languages and tackle some fun in our truth. There are a debunk segment. Whether you're a language enthusiast, a culture lover, or just curious about the world. You're in the right place. Let's dive into your next favorite cultural adventure. What is language legacy? It's a youth and elders interview series where teenagers from Alabama engage in meaningful conversations with elders from immigrant and refugee communities through guided storytelling and cultural exploration. Youth were able to record elders, language memories, items, childhood stories, and first language expressions. These interviews were edited into short video stories and shared across all platforms. The goal is to bridge generations through the power of language and storytelling. Preserving cultural heritage by connecting youth with immigrant and refugee elders. The possibility of this project is cultural connection, intergenerational understanding and appreciation through the power of language and storytelling. We want to foster cross-generational and cross-cultural connection, elevate and preserve the linguistic and cultural stories of elders, and finally empower youth as interviewers, listeners and cultural documentarians. Hi aspirants, how are you? Good. Thank you. Kelpie. All right. We'll start off with our first question. If you were telling me about who you are but not using your name job, where you're from, or what you do for fun, how would you describe yourself? Courageous. Resilient. Dreaming. Loving. That's beautiful. Thank you. I see all these things just in having that. Thank you so much again. Vice versa. Can you share a proverb, idiom or common saying from your culture? In my country, we use a lot of proverb because they were silenced for a long time. And. But I have this 1 or 1 among them is ones I would share more about. Emma, not a good chance. Does this mean the enemy plot to use this when God is plotting to save you? I think we did a bit closer to that because this is spoke to me a lot to what I went through. It changed since I was two years old too, and for some some decades victims of countries of different camps against humanity survived them in the think that the enemy wanted me to die and to disappear and not to tell my story that. But God was there protecting me. I'm glad you're here sharing today. Thank you. Who were the storytellers in your community or family, and what stories do you remember? My mother was amazing. Storyteller. First, she told me about her maternal grandmother. Who. Who raised her as a nurse in London. Little girl and baby. But most importantly, he told me a story about me and her maternal grandmother, who was amazing, amazing, brave, and women and feminists in, in in Rwanda. She took me, I call it a Rwandan prophecy. And I even put it in my book memoir when I was a little girl and little baby born. She brought my parents, brought me to her to visit her in the countryside. And she the minute she saw me, she lifted me up. And she to them that discharge would be great among all nations. At that time, I couldn't understand. I was young, flying high. But now I can. I can see that. So how old were you when she told you? 20s. Flying high. Batting. Working hard. And I was like, now I can see that prophecy is coming here in the US. In the US. As in my 60s and your 60s. Yes. Were you close to her. Did you get to. Maybe you're doing today. I would love to see an amazing amazing exceptional gone great grandmother. Her name is Elizabeth. You know. Have you mama? I didn't have a chance to see her, but my mum has what I was extremely fond of her, and. But you can tell how she is my mother. My mother become one of the amazing, amazing feminists in my country. Saved a lot of girls and. And children from abuse. Now those women are thriving children. Yeah. And so I am from I am blessed and some amazing, amazing feeling myself. What accomplishments are you most proud of? Oh, many, many thanks to to to the blessings of my parents and this amazing, amazing woman. Great grandma and my grandma comes from a legacy of feminist family is in men. They were my my father. My grandfather. Yes. My story is very complex and complicated and is historical, inspiring. But what I'm proud of many, many things. I was denied to go to school. And yet I love school so much since I was a little girl. But I become is self taught and we started with utmost education at all. I become one a successful young woman in Iran today. I am so proud to become soon a system author again without the most education. Most importantly, as a victim of human trafficking and modern day slavery today in Africa, Europe and the US. Now, as a survivor, I am extremely proud as I become an expert on modern day slavery today, proud to be a voice of about 50 million, a slave victim around the world from all risk children, women and men in hopes of change. Oh my goodness. How old were you when you had to start teaching yourself? Since? Since I was five years old. Yes. As a survivor, as a child survivor of the genocide in Rwanda in 69. When did you leave again? Or when did you leave Rwanda? During the genocide in Rwanda? In 94, 94. And I was in my mid. Did you go to Europe from there? I went to many countries as a as a refugee. I have been almost a refugee all my life. That's now today in my 60s, as it starts to serve. Maybe America is home in America and Rwanda. As an American woman, I started to see that Rwanda in US is my home because it was. I have been homeless almost all my life. I'm glad you found a bit of a home here. That was a little bit, yes. You and your family to the United States. We talked about that. Did you have any family with you? You know, I, as a young Rwandan Tutsi women victim of genocide in Rwanda in 94 and my parents. But parents have been assassinated during that time as extremely reasonable young woman. I was traffic to U.S. by a higher educated white man who in U.S. made me slave traffic to men to the U.S. state, recruit in foreign countries. Well, I know we talked a little bit about this last night about how people ask you this, but do you mind sharing how you got out of that when the when Americans heard about this story, they are horrified and you asked this question came to their mind, how did you escape? A still luck with my dream and vision I have when I was five years old, that saved me and this saved me when I was in captivity in America, in hell's held or captivity through hell. Really? Well, him and his accomplices wanted to kill me, to not to be exposed and to be caught at a stay within that vision and to speak up, to fight for justice, to speak up about modern day slavery, especially, especially labor trafficking. Forced labor owned it. Forced labor here in the US, which doesn't get a lot of attention, doesn't get talked about a lot who need to hear. Yeah, talk about six small six cells. Even though I have been a victim of sex trafficking in Africa. But us, I am pushing more about labor trafficking. And so I'm pushing about to change about statute of limitation laws on behalf of victims of our modern day slavery in the US, which is going to help other countries. This is a crime against humanity on American soil, and there is no statute of limitation for that. Or I refused because for many reasons where the victim is going to be able to get out because of trauma for many things, injustices in this country and racism isms and the distorted imitation is gone. And this should change the statute for limitation laws to stiffen. I hope you can be a bigger part of change. I am my goal is to go to Senate two years, Congress government to talk about that. But I think I'm not the only one who is talking about statute of limitation. I heard you talking about the survivor human trafficking in US, talking about statute of limitation lost by chance, and some expenses experts as well. Have you started that process or is that in the future is soon as future? I am watching my book memoirs to be published published, published it does. Is this is long waiting on? Yeah. It's going to open doors for opportunity. Are you finished with it or are you. I just finished to since last year to my my coauthor. But we are struggling to find a literary agent. Is it just your story? Is it all about a memoir? We sell many, many segment of stories. Many, many is touch. Immigration is statues. The abuse of form in my country. It touches my parents story. My family stories is touches many, many to us memoir. But when you ask me what to do, the demand is touch. Of course, the genocide in Rwanda, history of Run-DMC. But if you ask me, what is the main subject in your book? It is human trafficking and modern slavery today in the U.S. and around the world. So it's mostly on the US. Well, I don't mean all all of the things you said, but a lot of it is about trafficking in the US, trafficking around the world. The labor trafficking forced labor, bondage, forced labor. I am sweating more in the US as a victim, myself and survivor of labor trafficking, forced labor under forced labor in the US about 20 years. How long have you lived in the home around here? Well, this is a good question. When did people ask me? When did you arrive in the US? To me, I feel like I live in US since 2010, even since there was traffic in 94 and stay and be in captivity for about 20 years, I was not in America. To me, I was in hell. In hell in America. I didn't know anything about America. When you are slave Day, you don't have any information about where you are. It's does is Jim trips the deny in addition knowledge which is the key. But I feel like I have been in America since 2010 when I skip my traffickers and their accomplices. They are American accomplices and start to fight for justice. If you could preserve one story or memory from your life forever, what would it be? I gravitate toward acts. And so in addition to being denied school, I, my creativity brand becoming more bigger in where and I use it to heal and what I love architecture, I love songs, I love dancing, I love fashion, and I remember visiting that story when I went to church, because I'm from a spiritual family, and I was for it, tagged refugee without clothing and my parents bought me a beautiful pink flower dress and beautiful shoes. And for my sister and cut my hair. And I went to myself to take being independent naturally. Yeah. Being resilient, being amazing, I was I am now becoming a missing woman. I become independent early age too. I used to go to school by myself when when my, my little, my little sister went to to since school with the white kids, with bowling, with the the maid taking her. But to me I would I will go myself running the. Yes I went to that church on Sunday and before entering to the church went to a kind of a mountain just by myself. I took my dress and started to dance like a ballerina. I cannot forget that story. I wanted to be a fashion model. That's amazing. I five years old. Yeah. I was when I had too many dream, too many dreams. And when I met country, we didn't have magazines to look at was the fashion models. When we didn't have to, even though my parents were rich but only have video, but it was just wanted to be a fashion model. But today that that again, that dream didn't, left me. I become an immortal fashionista in my success. I can tell you my six successful life in Rwanda. Yeah, it was known for the most important to know. I wanted to be a fashion model for a cause, not for a move, fantasies or money or just arrogance, but for the cause to show that as a victim and survivor of human trafficking in modern day slavery, since we were called as niggas considered as in Syria, as dummy, as just a objects, as nothing that you know we are somebody. We have dreams, we are beautiful, we are intelligent, we are loving, we are human in the world. Need to see us, to hear us, celebrate us. And I want to inspire. I call them my sisters and brothers, the victim and survivors of modern day slavery. Because I know them, I see them, I know them is in door. I have to meet them. I know what they are going through, went through. They are me. I am them. I want to be in an international fashion model for that as well. I know you listen to From where to here because you're not into surface level travel. You want the story, not just the sights. But let's be honest, breaking the language barrier can be intimidating. That's why I created the five phrases that unlock any culture. These are five simple phrases designed to past small talk into real conversations from almost anywhere in the world. Don't just be a tourist, be a connector. You can grab it at from where to here pod.com/5 phrases. That's your shortcut to unlocking real conversations. That is amazing. I think you should still do it. That's a that's this is a market for us. Oh 100 is a market for us. Look, one woman I love is my mask. The mother of Elon Musk. Multi-billionaire men. Who has to say this cause I love her mother. She's about 70 years old. Beautiful intonation model at 70 years old. Despite what the C about the richness about her son, her son. Sorry for my fans. No, you're fine. And see, she went through too much abuse and I admire her being a more intentional innocent of fashion model 70s plus in them. But to be 70s and that strong to believe I will be if I international fashion model as well. Okay, so there already is a market for that. And like probably people could easily like you could get in contact with. Yes. Who dare the women I am so proud of. But the women are evolving in positive ways. Of course, I have so many admirers. I see a lot of changes. There is no short model, no hefty model. The old model, the short model, the black brown, white dare model with disability. And they have disability too. Because a survivor of contrast, a few of comments against humanity I have PTSD in this is a disability to end because in the end there is a hope. And I'm so thankful to my parents who named up stilts to me and hope in English, which means splash in France, which means many, many, many languages as well. I think it's so that hope name I found in end when I survive all not perfectly, of course. It's there a lot of responsibility. I could not betrayed that name, leaving and becoming angry and hateful and vengeful. I want to continue to carry that hope and give that hope to us. Where will you give off that hope and all the things that you're saying and it's inspiring. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. You had mentioned that you went to school and your sister went to school. Was it common for girls females in Rwanda to go to school or was that specific to your area? My sons, my parents were among the very few elite in my country, rich and have access to people in government. And we we had the opportunity, which many others didn't have. But thank God my parents shared that opportunity to the poorest people, to the abused people, some. Or it's a group in my country Tutsis, Hutus and is called as a racist country. My parents were not racist to hint me that that's that beauty, the legacy and so what I'm doing today is to honor the legacy of my parents. Oh my goodness. And I have a lot of responsibility. I could not let myself down. No, it's fear because it's so honor of my parents legacy that they kept me alive. That saved me during my captivity. The U.S. where did you have any other siblings? My sister living in France. You get to see her often or no. Yes, I see sometimes. Yes. She. Older, younger, younger. Okay. If your language were a song, what kind of song would it be? Many hope of love, I believe song in love when he's in the I was been for many years surrounded by for people resist evil people. But I believe strongly in love because again, my parents, my great grandmother Elizabeth, you know, my my maternal grandmother, paternal grandmother is certainly in the future doing amazing, loving, proud to be from a loving family and just be kindness. Kindness is my thought system is to grace. I am so thankful not only for my family but also for many American people are still my my skip. I met who really helped me and who become my family. Now my choosing family. You had said we talked a little bit about how a lot of your culture is like quieter and more keep to themselves and how you were different from that. Do you think that's just your nature and how you were? Do you think experiences in your life made you like that? This is a good question. I used to question myself. Why am to such difference? I live in my own world, but that what helped me as a as a child's suffering of trauma traumas and we didn't have psychiatry, we didn't have psychologists, we didn't have access to all. But I developed, I lived in my own world or the beauty of endless possibility, even though we were. I was from elite family when we were all family. But in when you live in that country, in that such system in one day, you lose it in one, one minute you don't know, and then the next day, if you're going to survive, you will to move. And I was living in my own world when a dreams and endless possibility and beauty and and love and grace and kindness, empathy and compassion. I was very, very different, outspoken. I was outspoken, which was dangerous to that country, to this change to six degrees. I'm honored to have been able to talk with you. Oh my goodness. Thank you so much for being open and sharing and letting us hear a bit of your story. And about that. Oh my goodness. Thank you. This is a small portion of my story. Thank you for this opportunity to thank you for coming. Thank you to everyone who shared their stories and helped bring this project to life. Thank you for tuning in to from where to here. If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to hit subscribe, leave a review and share it with someone who loves discovering new cultures. Follow us on Instagram at From Where to hear Pod for exclusive updates, behind the scenes moments and a peek at upcoming guests. Until next time, keep learning, keep connecting and keep celebrating the beauty of languages and cultures. I so.