Season 3

Episode 1: Everybody Loves Chocolate

This episode explores what it looks like to find connections in one’s hostland in the cozy confines of a small town. What brings that unmistakable sense of home in such places, and how do these communities and the diasporas within them, make their mark on the towns they’ve adopted? Sharing his experiences with us is Tareq Hadhad, Owner/Founder of Peace by Chocolate and a Syrian Refugee in Small Town Nova Scotia.

Episode 2: Expectations of Motherhood: “You can’t just leave it at the airport”

This episode explores the diverse experiences of motherhood in Canada’s Diaspora communities. It navigates the nuances and realities of immigrant women, their experiences, their journeys in Canada, as well as the vital role that mothers play in shaping identities and culture for the next generation. Joining us for this episode are Dr. Jacqueline Getfield and  Sharon Findlay, both mothers, and experienced both personally and/or professionally on the subject of diasporic motherhood. 

Episode 3: Should I Stay or Should I Go?

This episode explores the push and pull factors of immigration in the lives of our guests as well as the notion of brain drain. Joining us for this episode are Azadeh Dastmalchi and Ifrah Arif.  Dastmalchi is the CEO and Co-Founder of VitalTracer, a medical startup that designs smart wearable medical devices. Arif currently works as a Senior Policy and Program Advisor at Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada.

Episode 4: Diaspora Care Packages: Supporting Homeland

In this episode, guests will explore their relationship with their own identity in relation to their home state. What sets this apart from other episodes, is that their homeland was not, or still hasn’t been, recognized as an independent state. We explore how this fight for independence and recognition has shaped the guests into who they are today, and why they may have a different relationship with their homeland than other Diaspora groups. The two cases represented in this episode are Nagorno-Karabakh and Kosovo. 

Tareq Hadhad

Since Peace By Chocolate was founded at the beginning of 2016, we have been fortunate to share our passion for chocolate with new friends in our community of Antigonish, with people all across the province of Nova Scotia, and now around the world.

Tareq Hadhad is telling his story. He was a Syrian refugee and now living his new life with his entrepreneurial family in Canada’s east coast. He is the founder and CEO of Peace by Chocolate, the recipient of the EY Entrepreneur of The Year 2021 for Atlantic, named one of the Top 25 Immigrants in The Maritimes, selected by Google as the National Hero Case, was awarded RBC’s top Immigrant Award and Entrepreneur of the Year in 2020 and Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee Medal. All of this has happened since Tareq’s arrival on Canada’s East Coast in December 2015 as a Syrian-Canadian newcomer.

In 2012 the Hadhad’s home and factory that housed the family chocolate-making business were destroyed which forced them to seek safety in other countries. A former medical student at Damascus University and long-time peacekeeping advocate, Tareq joined medical relief efforts after arriving in Lebanon. A new life began when Tareq and his family were welcomed to Canada on a community-based sponsorship. 

Passionate about peace and entrepreneurship, his family relaunched the family business to recreate the chocolates they once exported across the Middle East and their story has turned into an international inspiring phenomenon.

Tareq and his family have a focus on job creation, utilizing a network of local community members and refugees from across Nova Scotia and Canada to help support the local economy. Now that their chocolates are distributed across Canada, they look to offer more employment opportunities as their business grows.

In January 2020, Tareq received his official Canadian Citizenship which garnered international attention and has become one of the greatest accomplishments of his life. He has had the privilege to meet former President of the United States, Barack Obama, Canadian Prime Ministers, and has had conversations with many World Leaders. Author, Jon Tattrie wrote a book about the Hadhad’s story which has become a bestseller. A feature film, Peace by Chocolate, also based on the family’s story premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival and launched in Cineplex theaters across Canada in the spring of 2022. The film won several film festivals awards and accolades.

Tareq has spoken at the Summit of The Americas, Amnesty International’s Human Rights Conference, TEDx events, and Chambers of Commerce Dinners. He delivered keynote presentations in Jamaica, London England, Paris, and Copenhagen, spoke to several corporate and government organizations both in person and virtually, and has done over 500 interviews with different news teams across the globe. Tareq speaks on the compelling story of his family, the positive impact of newcomers, and the spirit of resiliency, entrepreneurship and giving back.

He was recently awarded Atlantic Business Magazine’s 30 under 30 Innovators.

Recently, Dr. Jacqueline Getfield successfully defended her doctoral thesis, “Prescriptive Partnerships: Black Mothers of Disabled Children and Educators in Ontario’s Public School System.” Dr. Getfield is currently available to work as an Equity, Diversity, Accessibility, and Inclusion specialist. She has a PhD from the University of Toronto. Her research interests include equity, educational policy, family engagement, motherhood, critical race and critical disability. She has taught at Seneca College and Centennial College and Toronto Metropolitan University. For over 20 years, she has worked as a public relations practitioner, grant-writer, website content writer and editor in several organizations and industries. Jacqui gives back to her community as a current board member of Ontario Alliance of Black Student Educators (ONABSE) and Caribbean African Canadian Social Services (CAFCAN) and a member of the policy advisory Anti-Racism Anti-Bias Pod of the Anglican Diocese of Toronto and the City of Vaughan’s Anti-Black Racism Special Advisory Committee.

Sharon Findlay

Sharon Findlay is the Project Manager at the Live Work Well Research Centre at the University of Guelph, providing leadership, strategic planning and oversight for major long-term SSHRC and WAGE-funded grant projects. Her research at the University of Guelph, where she earned her BA and MA in European Studies, centred around connecting people and their stories; her work looks at migration, oral history, individual and collective memory and the concept of home. With a particular interest in the representations of narratives through art and performance, Sharon has experience managing an international chamber music festival in southern Italy. Since 2015, Sharon has co-developed Italian Heritage Projects in collaboration with the Italian Studies program at the University of Guelph to collect and curate stores of Italian immigrants to Canada. In addition, she is also the project developer for a new SSHRC-funded oral history Italian Heritage Project initiative at the University of Waterloo 2023-24.
Sharon consults as a freelance grant writer and project developer in the heritage and arts sectors. When not at work, Sharon can be found hiking with her daughter and dog, biking, exploring areas of natural beauty and spending quality time with friends and loved ones.

Ifrah Arif

Ifrah Arif currently works as a Senior Policy and Program Advisor at Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. Her previous experiences consist as a Program Officer for Canada Border Services Agency, Research Analyst for University of Waterloo as well as a Junior Research Fellow for the European Institute of Policy and Research and Human Rights. She graduated from the University of Waterloo with a Bachelor of Honors Political Science, with Business specialization and a minor in Economics and International Trade as well as a diploma in Sustainability Studies. She then pursued a Masters in Migration and Diaspora studies from Carleton University. Her research interests include Education and Migration (International Students), Citizenship, and diaspora studies. Ifrah is an avid volunteer with a large catalogue of diverse opportunities where she has honed her political, business, and economic skills. Ifrah’s volunteer work includes the United Nations, the World University Service of Canada, the International and Canadian Student Network, Global Student Government and many more. During her free time, she enjoys learning about history by visiting museums and engaging in outdoor activities as well as participating in research-oriented conferences. 

Azadeh Dastmalchi

Azadeh Dastmalchi is the CEO and Co-Founder of VitalTracer, a medical startup that designs smart wearable medical devices. She is a Ph.D. candidate at Ottawa University, obtaining her MSc from the same university in Biomedical Engineering. In the last twelve years, her main field of research has been designing and developing medical devices, particularly vital signs monitoring ones and applying AI to bio-signals. She is one of the top 25 women of INFLUENCE RECIPIENTS 2021, Student Entrepreneur National Champion in 2021, a Canadian G20 Young Entrepreneurs’ Alliance, a skilled leader, entrepreneur, business Planner, and a successful project manager. Azadeh raised $2M in non-dilutive grants in April 2019. VitalTracer has been awarded several regional and national awards under her leadership, including Mitacs national entrepreneur award, CANNIE regional award for innovative products, the Startup Canada award, and AGE-WELL Emerging Entrepreneur Award (COVID-19 Countermeasures). Experienced Research Assistant with a demonstrated history of working in the higher education industry. Skilled in leadership, entrepreneurship, business planning, data mining and project management. Strong research professional with a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Biomedical Engineering focused on Smart Wearable Medical Devices with Machine Learning, Deep Learning and AI Algorithms.

Anonymous a.k.a. ‘Edith’

For the safety of herself and her family, ‘Edith’ is joining us under a pseudonym. She was born and raised in Nagorno-Karabakh and had been living in Canada for over 15 years.

Arta Rexhepi

Arta Rexhepi is a Canadian- Albanian writer/journalist living in Nova Scotia. She arrived in Canada as a refugee from Kosovo as a teenager. Since experiencing war, her passion about journalism was born along with the inspiration of her father’s artwork that often-showcased stories of inequality and the fight for freedom. At the age of 15-years-old, Arta participated in a poetry competition in Hollywood, CA earning ‘Editor’s Choice Award’. As a youth, she’s taken part in many human rights opportunities such as ‘Standing up against racism conference’ among many others. She is particularly passionate about stories involving human rights and diversity groups. Her documentary ‘North Preston: A look past stigma’ became a local viral story highlighting the challenges and some inspirational people of Nova Scotia’s largest black community which was showcased at the Emerging Lens Film Festival. Upon graduating from Broadcast Journalism at NSCC, she’s worked as a new journalist at CBC, CTV Atlantic and as a National Writer for CTV News Channel. She’s also worked as a freelance writer for Albanian news outlets.