On March 25, Institute Co-Director Jaya Ramji-Nogales and Temple Law student Lilah Thompson (2L) hosted “Between Borders: A Refugee Simulation” at the National Constitution Center. More than 50 individuals participated in a workshop that simulates the life of a refugee throughout all stages of the refugee process from life in a refugee camp to resettlement in the United States.
Each participant received a refugee identity and spent time in a refugee camp in either Jordan or Cote d’Ivoire. Zaye Tete from Liberia shared her real-life experiences living in a refugee camp in Cote d’Ivoire, while Sandi Hamouz from the Nationality Service Center discussed her work in the Zaatari Refugee Camp in Jordan.
Once participants were “resettled” to the United States, they were then required to attend ESL classes, seek employment, and face similar challenges that thousands of resettled refugees face on a daily basis. To add an educational component to the simulation, Women Against Abuse, a Philadelphia-based service organization for survivors of domestic violence, helped to counsel female refugees about their rights in the United States. The simulation concluded with a U.S. Citizenship ceremony and a performance by the Liberian Women’s Chorus.
The event was sponsored by Temple Law School’s Law & Public Policy Program.
