June 23, 2020
Refugee Voices: COVID-19 & Migration
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Zoom Webinar
NaTakallam’s Refugee Voices Series provides virtual guest speaker sessions to companies, organizations, faith-based communities, or other interested groups. These virtual cultural and language exchange sessions, available in English, Arabic, Persian, French and Spanish, provide insights into the lives of refugees and displaced individuals from the Middle East, Latin America, and Sub-Saharan Africa. Each session includes engaging conversations about a displaced individual’s personal story and discussions about real world issues.
In partnership with NaTakallam, an award-winning organization employing refugees as online language instructors and translators, the French-American Foundation hosted a Zoom webinar on Tuesday, June 23 at 1:00pm ET to discuss the impact of COVID-19 on migration.
The event, taking place soon after World Refugee Day, was part of NaTakallam’s Refugee Voices program and featured guest speaker Ghaith Al Hallak of NaTakallam and moderator Cindy Carcamo (Young Leader ’13) of the Los Angeles Times.
Watch a recording of the webinar below:
Ghaith Al Hallak: Ghaith is in his thirties and is originally from Hama, Syria. Due to the conflict, he now lives in Padua, Italy where he studies Political Science and International Relations. In his free time, he likes to talk about politics and play chess.
Cindy Carcamo: Cindy Carcamo covers immigration issues for the Los Angeles Times. Previously, she was Arizona bureau chief and a national correspondent for The Times, focusing on border and immigration issues in the Southwest.
Suggested Readings:
- Why I deserted the Syrian Army, Middle East Eye
- He’s diabetic. He works a high-risk job. But to pay rent, he has no choice, Los Angeles Times
- She’s an essential worker, helping the homeless. But ICE plans to deport her next week, Los Angeles Times
- Coronavirus is turning an overloaded immigration system into a ‘tinderbox’, Los Angeles Times
- Citing coronavirus, Trump officials refuse to release migrant kids to sponsors — and deport them instead, Los Angeles Times