In this episode, Jasmin Arciero and Oliver Nixon interview Alexa Netty, the trustee and chair of the steering committee of SolidariTee. SolidariTee is a charity that supports NGOs offering legal aid to forcibly displaced people, and so they begin with a discussion on the importance of legal aid as a key facet of refugee support. They also touch on debates surrounding the role of NGOs in refugee crises: where they fit within a complex system of assistance and whether and how it is possible to overcome structural constraints on their coordination and efficiency. Alexa also shares personal stories from her time volunteering in refugee camps to shed light on some of the lived experiences of refugees and the obstacles they are forced to overcome to receive asylum. To conclude, Jasmin and Oliver discuss the future of SolidariTee and other issues that SolidariTee is working to address.
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.