Refugee Realities

In this bonus episode, Kaweh Beheshtizadeh speaks to Jenifer Elmslie about his extraordinary journey from asylum seeker to refugee lawyer. Kaweh arrived in the UK in 2004, seeking political asylum from Iran due to his pro-Kurdish political activism.

Show Notes

In this bonus episode, Kaweh Beheshtizadeh speaks to Jenifer Elmslie about his journey from asylum seeker to refugee lawyer. Kaweh sought asylum from Iran after participating in pro-Kurdish activism in the country, a group which is heavily persecuted and discriminated against. After a short stay in Turkey under the protection of UNHCR, Kaweh entered the UK in 2004 and gained asylum status after one year. His experience motivated him to study for the bar at University and he now represents the cases of other asylum seekers. He discusses how the UK government’s hostile environment policy has affected the asylum cases of those who he represents today.

What is Refugee Realities?

To help celebrate and bring awareness to Refugee Week UK 2023, we are pleased to introduce Season 3 of ‘Refugee Realities’, a podcast series created by students on the Forced Displacement and Refugees course in the Department of International Development. In the lead up to UK Refugee Week we’ll be releasing student-recorded podcasts each day. Like the course, the topics covered are eclectic.

For a complete listing of Refugee Week events or to get involved, check out the Refugee Week website at https://refugeeweek.org.uk/ and follow Refugee Week on Instagram @refugeeweekuk and on Twitter and Facebook @RefugeeWeek. In the meantime, stay tuned for the podcasts.