| Date: | Thursday 22 June 2017 |
|---|---|
| Time: | 6:00pm - 8:00pm |
| Venue: | Garden Court Chambers, 57-60 Lincoln's Inn Fields, London WC2A 3LJ |
This Refugee Week, join Garden Court Chambers’ Immigration Team for a film screening of ‘Precarious Trajectories: Voices from the Mediterranean Migration Crisis’ and panel discussion to raise funds for the Athens Legal Support Project for Refugees.
Set on location in Libya, Italy and Greece during 2015-2016 at the height of the Mediterranean migration crisis, Precarious Trajectories focuses on the perilous sea crossings that hundreds of thousands of refugees have undertaken in recent years in order to arrive at what they hope will be the safer shores of Europe through the eyes of Ruha from Syria and Ahmed from Somalia.
About the Athens Legal Support Project for Refugees
With the support of ILPA and in conjunction with a community centre in Athens, a group of UK volunteer immigration lawyers have set up the Athens Legal Support Project, a pilot scheme founded to provide legal advice and support to refugees and Greek lawyers.
At the heart of the refugee crisis, Greek lawyers on the frontline are incredibly overstretched and the majority of refugees do not receive advice or representation prior to receiving the initial decision on their claim. If refused, they can expect an excruciatingly long appeal process. Volunteer immigration experts from the UK are travelling to Greece to assist in preparing the first stages of a claim, train and build capacity for Greek lawyers and develop remote support services.
You can find out more about the Athens Legal Support Project for Refugees and how you can help here.
Programme
18:00 – 18:30 - Registration and drinks reception
18:30 – 19:00 - Screening of Simon Parker’s short film ‘Precarious Trajectories’ (33 minutes)
19:00 - 20:00 - Panel discussion: Film director Simon Parker in conversation with refugee lawyers volunteering with the Athens Legal Support Project for Refugees
We hope you will join us after the event for a drinks reception. Please include any access or dietary requirements when you book your place.
Speakers include:
Sondos Arafa, Trainee Solicitor, Duncan Lewis Solicitors
Sondos is a Trainee Solicitor who joined Duncan Lewis in 2015. She specialises in asylum and human rights work and has particular expertise in cases involving stateless persecution, asylum-seeking children, human trafficking and exclusion from the Refugee Convention. Throughout 2016 and 2017, Sondos was involved with assisting unaccompanied minors in Calais. She is currently volunteering with ILPA Athens Legal Support pilot project.
Simon Parker, Director, 'Precarious Trajectories: Voices from the Mediterranean Migration Crisis"
Simon Parker is co-founder of Refugee Action York and a coordinator of End Child Detention Now. He is a senior lecturer in Politics at the University of York and former president of the University of York University and College Union.
Emma Fitzsimons, Barrister, Garden Court Chambers
Emma recently joined chambers following completion of pupillage in October 2016. She is regularly instructed in the First-tier and Upper Tribunals in asylum appeals. She has experience representing vulnerable clients, including children, women fleeing gender-based violence and minority groups. In May 2017, she spent a week volunteering with the ILPA Athens Legal Support pilot project.
