Who owns the story? Decolonise How?

"The first place that people are dehumanised is in stories." - Sophie Otiende The way we tell stories about humanitarian crises can distort the realities of the people living through them. From news coverage and research to aid donation appeals, there is a tendency to simplify, decontextualise, and even dehumanise – to portray locals as suffering and helpless, and the outsiders riding to their rescue as heroic and selfless. In Decolonise How? host Patrick Gathara brings together journalists, humanitarians, researchers, and affected communities, to understand why this happens, and how to change it. For his first podcast, Gathara is joined by Kenyan teacher, activist and advocate for survivors of human trafficking, Sophie Otiende, and Kelsie Kilawna Marchand, a Syilx journalist from Canada. They discuss community, consent, what to do differently – and just what is a "coyote" move? Decolonise How? is a new podcast by The New Humanitarian that examines the stories we tell about humanitarian crises.

You can listen to Who owns the story? Decolonise How? online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

Who owns the story? Decolonise How? is an episode from Level 3: Stories from the Heart of Humanitarian Crises by The New Humanitarian.

This episode is 40:47 long.

This episode was published on Mar 17, 2026.

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