COVID-19 & Migration
July 1, 2020
Refugee Voices: COVID-19 & Migration, June 23, 2020
In partnership with NaTakallam, the French-American Foundation hosted a Zoom webinar to discuss the impact of COVID-19 on migration.
NaTakallam is an award-winning organization employing refugees as language instructors and translators. Organized as part of their Refugee Voices series, the webinar featured guest speaker Ghaith Al Hallak, conversation partner at NaTakallam, and moderator Cindy Carcamo, Young Leader and staff writer at the Los Angeles Times focusing on immigration-related issues.
The webinar began with Ghaith’s personal experiences as a Syrian refugee living in Italy. He described his journey leaving Syria, his life in Padua, Italy, his work with NaTakallam as an online Arabic instructor, the impacts of COVID-19 on his everyday life.
Drawing from their respective backgrounds and responding to questions from the audience, the speakers compared the treatment of migrants in Europe and in the US since the start of the pandemic, from the impact on daily life to changes in public policy.
The French-American Foundation developed this webinar initiative to continue our mission of encouraging transatlantic dialogue while prioritizing the health and safety of our community during the COVID-19 pandemic. Our webinars take place throughout the month.