Ingrid Ligot | Avocats Sans Frontières France Interview given to Ms. Maria Louisa Vafiadaki
-Kindly introduce yourself and talk to us about your background. How did you decide to become involved in this project, what led you here and what did you do before?
I am the Project Manager and Country Representative for Avocats Sans Frontieres France in Samos. Previously, I have worked in the Middle East with another NGO supporting people with disabilities. I have worked a lot with Syrian refugees in refugee camps in Jordan and Lebanon, and really wanted to see the rest of their journey and get involved on the European side. Of course, Greece is the center of many events. The legal aspect interests me in particular. The asylum procedure is really difficult, and no one is really knowledgeable about it, so that’s why I came to work on this project.
ASF helping POM navigate the complexities of the Greek asylum system
-Please talk to us about the main objectives of Avocats Sans Frontieres France and what actions you are taking to achieve them.
ASF France is a French NGO aiming to defend the state of the law. We have 3 core objectives. Firstly, we promote access to law and justice for vulnerable people who are deprived of justice. Secondly, we aim to protect people who don’t have access to an independent legal representation, and human rights defenders who are threatened. Finally, our objective is to strengthen the local capacity to act in defense of the promotion of human rights. These are the core objectives for all the different countries we intervene in. e.g. Cambodia, Mali, Nigeria etc.
In Greece, we intervene directly to defend and ensure the right to apply for asylum for people who arrive in Europe. We assist them in all stages of asylum procedures and make sure that their human rights are respected throughout the procedure.
-What would you say is the main problem and why is it so important to address it? What are the biggest challenges in running a project like this?
I really think that the most difficult situation for the Greek government is the huge number of people in need of legal assistance and the very small number of people involved in processing them. Legal support is not seen as a priority, contrary to food and accommodation which are considered to be the number one need. Legal support is equally important. All people on the move (POM) are in need of legal assistance because all POM are submitting a request for asylum.
The so-called “jungle” where more than 200 POM are currently residing in makeshift homes and tents.
-Describe the main projects you are running at the moment.
In Samos, our objective is to assist asylum seekers in all stages of their asylum procedure. We opened our Samos Legal center in January 2019 with the objective to support people who come to us at any stage of the procedure and inform them of the asylum procedure and their rights. Then, we assist them with their asylum claim. We prepare them for their interview with international volunteers. Our Greek lawyers even accompany POM to their respective interviews in some cases. After that, we also send legal statements to the Greek authorities to support their claim.
If people receive a rejection, we support them. The idea is really to work with them on preparing their appeal document, to support them for their hearing. The deadline to respond to the rejection is 10 days so there is little preparation time. If their appeal is rejected for a second time, they can either return to their country of origin, which is not often considered as an option because they would be in imminent danger, or they can request for their claim to go to administrative court, which is expensive, or they can submit a subsequent application. Therefore, they either make a new claim or include a new element arising after their appeal proving that they are really in danger in their countries. We are seeing a new trend since 2020 where more and more people are in this situation of receiving a second rejection.
We also assist with different tasks such as family reunification and protection services [AS1] (through referrals to other NGOs).
The official capacity of the Samos camp is under 700 people. Currently over 2500 POM are living there under terrible conditions..
-Please discuss what makes Avocats Sans Frontieres France unique from other international NGOs, how is it distinctive?
The fact that we work on the legal aspect together with professional lawyers means that all our staff and volunteers are highly skilled and experienced in providing legal assistance. We also benefit from the support of volunteers working remotely and have an expert group of lawyers who assist us in following and supporting our projects on a daily basis.
-Which are your main sources of funding today?
For the Samos mission, currently we rely a lot on foundations and on private donors. We are receiving grants from Choose Love, Antonis Schwarz, Foundation Yo & Anne-Marie Hamoud… So our funding is coming to a large part from private foundations and individuals.
-What are you hoping to accomplish in the next year and in the long run?
Our current objective and main work is to try and stay on Samos, because we still think there is a huge need for all asylum seekers who have already come to the island and those who will arrive in the near future. We are constantly seeking more funding opportunities to continue our work. Also, as I mentioned there are more and more rejections of asylum cases so we want to keep supporting those asylum seekers who face rejection.
In the last 2 months there were a lot of positive results; we had 8 people who received their asylum status in the last 2 months. It is quite a lot although it doesn’t sound like it. We really want to continue this work.
The so-called “Reception and Identification Centre” (RIC) in Vathi with the jungle right next to it
-What do you need to move forward and achieve future tasks?
Funding is really important and a huge part of it. In addition, it is crucial to maintain strong partnerships. For example, on Samos we are working closely with DLA Piper, an international law firm whose pro bono lawyers are supporting us and our beneficiaries remotely. Before the pandemic, DLA Piper were sending pro bono lawyers to support us on Samos directly.
-Is there any advice you would like to give to other funders or people who are looking to make a meaningful impact for sustainability and/or social justice causes?
I think that capacity building is really important. That’s why our project involves Greek lawyers, as we need to have intimate knowledge of the national law and procedures. This is key to our Samos legal center project. Capacity building is something to really have in mind when working on sustainability, whatever the project.
-How can readers of the Good Move Initiatives Blog contribute to your work? How can they support your cause?
The legal aspect of the situation in Greece is not really well known. What everyone can do is raise awareness, talk about the project, the activities of ASF France, the situation in Samos. If more and more people are aware of the situation and what is happening, it will certainly increase our impact.
Donations can be made via the following link: https://www.avocatssansfrontieres-france.org/en/agir-avec-nous/faire-un-don/
You can also follow the work of Avocats Sans Frontières on Samos via their Facebook-page: https://www.facebook.com/LegalCentreSamos/