Student fellows from UB’s Center for International and Comparative Law on the island of Chios, Greece.
Seven student fellows from UB’s Center for International and Comparative Law (CICL) traveled to Greece over spring break to work with Advocates Abroad, a nonprofit organization that provides free legal advice to refugees and asylum seekers.
A presentation about the fellows’ field mission will be held Monday evening:
April 10, 2017
5-6:30 p.m.
Room 403
John and Frances Angelos Law Center
1401 N. Charles St., Baltimore 21201
The UB group was led by Catherine Moore, coordinator for international law programs. Moore was awarded a $10,000 Fund for Excellence grant by the UB Foundation to make the trip possible.
The CICL fellows were Christian Kim, Carolyn Mills, Valerie Ochoa, Jasmine Pope, John Rizos, Kia Roberts-Warren and Robert Steininger. Kim and Pope were each awarded a $2,000 travel and research award by the University of Baltimore.
More than 60,000 refugees and migrants fleeing violence in Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq are stranded in mainland Greece and in the Greek islands, according to news reports.
Under an agreement struck last year between the European Union and Turkey, refugees arriving in Greece are now held in centers or camps on five islands, including Lesvos and Chios. (See photo below.) If their asylum applications are rejected, the refugees are deported to Turkey. The process has moved slowly, not least because refugees must navigate a complicated legal asylum process in languages foreign to them.
Living conditions in the centers are difficult and many refugees’ physical and mental health has deteriorated after months in the island camps.
The CICL fellows worked with Advocates Abroad in Athens and on the islands of Chios and Lesvos, conducting field research on the right of refugees and asylum seekers to adequate medical care and legal aid.
For more information, contact Catherine Moore at cmoore@ubalt.edu or 410-837-6784.
The Souda refugee camp on the Greek island of Chios. Refugees live in tents on the beach.
UPDATES/University of Baltimore School of Law 