2008 Castan Centre Intern

Lucy Bradlow, Human Rights First New York

Report

On the very first day of my three month internship at Human Rights First in New York, a staff attorney told me that every day, in her job she is amazed by the novel ways human beings think up ways to inflict pain and suffering on other human beings . What was so poignant about her comment was that it reflected not just on the way refugees are treated in their country of origin, but also very often, in the country of asylum. I spent the next three months delving into the deep physical and emotional suffering and political contentions that surround the plight of asylum seekers.

My work at Human Rights First was divided into two main areas. The first task was to assist with the interviewing of asylum seekers and preparing their cases to be handled by pro-bono lawyers from New York’s major law firms. I would sit in on interviews with asylum seekers from across the globe and listen to their horrendous, and yet fascinating, stories. I heard from a man from Chad, telling the story of how, one day he was a computer specialist and the next was being tortured for seeing dead bodies in a government building; and the testament of a Mexican man who was persecuted his whole life for being gay,  just to name a few. I would then write-up and research their stories and provide a booklet for review to assess whether HRF could accept them as a client. To me, the most important lesson from this work was how, as we sat there trying desperately to fit a person into a Government created objective set of criteria to allow them any chance at asylum, we stripped these people who had already suffered so much of any notion of individuality, of personality. It is amazing how easy it is to forget that a young Egyptian man who was tortured for demanding an education free from corruption was still a young man, who, like me, enjoyed swimming!

The second aspect of my work was involved with HRF’s extensive lobbying of the U.S. Government to provide more support for the 4 million Iraqis who have been displaced by the current war. I was lucky enough to work on two research projects that were used at a round table conference in Washington DC in early February. The first looked at Operation Provide Comfort, which was a coalition enforced no-fly zone instituted in Northern Iraq immediately following the Gulf War to protect the Kurds, and whether a similar solution could be used in the current Iraq conflict. Secondly, I researched previous air-lifts of particularly vulnerable refugees from crisis areas. Both projects were fascinating and increased my general knowledge on the current Iraq crises from almost nothing to almost expert! As a part of the research I attended two panel discussions hosted in Manhattan on the issue. The first looked at Iraqi fixers and the U.S. (and any coalition Government)’s refusal to provide an acceptable system of asylum for them. Fixers, as I learnt, are Iraqis who act as translators, and all round assistants for Western journalists. They are very often targeted by insurgents for providing assistance to the coalition, most particularly when the journalists have returned home or are practising ‘hotel journalism’. The forum was hosted by the wife of American journalist Steve Vincent, who along with his fixer was kidnapped and shot in the back of the head in Iraq. When Vincent died, his fixer survived and while Vincent’s wife spent several years trying to get permission to bring her to the U.S., she had to remain in hiding in Syria. The other forum discussion looked at the Iraqi refugee crises through the eyes of photographers, documentary film makers and writers. It was hosted by renowned journalist George Packer who shared the stories of the many refugees for whom he wrote his play, Betrayed, which was premiered by HRF in early February. To say the stories of these incredible people were moving, would be a gross understatement.

On top of this truly incredible work I got to be a part of, I was also given the opportunity to live in Manhattan for three months. Discovering the city from my little Soho apartment, to my Chelsea office space and beyond, was probably the most wonderful experience of my life and I can’t thank the Castan Centre enough for giving me this chance.

Profile

As a child of parents from the age of apartheid, the importance of equality and justice were instilled in Lucy at a young age. This inspired her to pursue a Law degree, with a particular interest in Human Rights Law.

Lucy is currently in her 5th year of her Arts/Law studies. During her time at Monash, she has concentrated on Human Rights Law in her work and studies. She has volunteered at the Victorian Aboriginal Legal Services, Asylum Seekers Resource Centre and done a Castan Centre In-House internship. Currently, she volunteers at the Sudanese Australian Integrated Learning Program. Lucy was also a member of the winning team in the Inaugural Castan Centre Human Rights Charter moot where she researched, wrote, and argued about human rights violations under the new Victorian Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities. She has studied Human Rights based subjects for all her electives, and hopes to write a research thesis next year on the role of multinational enterprises in International Human Rights Law.

Lucy’s other great passion is travel. In the last five years she has managed to tread the soil of every continent (except Antarctica, which she plans to visit soon!). After finishing school, Lucy spent a year working at the Dragon School in Oxford, where she coached sport. In 2005, Lucy spent a year at the University of California, Berkeley, where she studied African History and Refugee Law, and gained insight into the American asylum seeker system.

Lucy was ecstatic to be combining her two passions at Human Rights First, New York. She hoped to learn a lot about global refugee issues, meet interesting people and experience the legal coalface in this area and from her report, it appears that she has done just that.

Human Rights First, New York