This event was held virtually as a Zoom webinar.
Please join the Committee on Forced Migration, Columbia Global Centers, the Institute for the Study of Human Rights, and the Harriman Institute for a panel discussion.
In 2015, the so-called European refugee “crisis” started when over a million people arrived to seek refuge on European shores. One of the most popular migratory routes was the Balkan route which runs from Turkey to the Greek islands through Serbia to Croatia. Five years ago, on March 20, 2016, the EU-Turkey Agreement went into effect, halting most of the irregular migration from Turkey to Greece and trapping refugees and migrants along the route. Volunteers from all over Europe and beyond assisted them with daily needs and the right to seek asylum. Panelists will address their areas of engagement in their respective countries and reflect on the situation on the ground amidst the ongoing pandemic. They will also address what the solidarity movement has accomplished over the last five years and how the movement has changed.
SPEAKERS
Efi Latsoudi, Pikpa/Lesvos Solidarity; Nansen Refugee Award Winner (UNHCR)
Nasim Lomani, activist, Migrants Social Center Athens; Human Rights Advocates Program fellow, ISHR
Nidzara Ahmestašević, independent volunteer, Bosnia-Herzegovina; editor at Kosovo 2.0; former fellow at the Alliance for Historical Dialogue, ISHR
Radoš Đurović, Executive Director of the Asylum Protection Center, Serbia
Moderator: Lara J. Nettelfield, Senior Lecturer in the Discipline of Human Rights, Institute for the Study of Human Rights
This event is part of a year-long series of webinars organized by Columbia Global Centers and the Committee on Forced Migration to provide opportunities to explore issues of forced migration from within different disciplines and contexts. The series examine the history of anti-immigrant racism, issues of density and urban living in a post-Covid world, and the role of journalism in humanitarian crises. These events explore a globalized economy as a contributing factor to forced migration, and survey literature of the migrant experience.
