The following is a first-hand update about interns Christy and Palmer Hurst, who are two of the three Center interns with the European Center for Law and Justice (ECLJ) this summer. Christy and Palmer met at Regent University School of Law and were married the summer after their 1L year.
As Christy and I immerse ourselves more in our European experience,
we are challenged to learn about and understand the challenges that Europe is
facing. As the presidential race kicks off back home and illegal immigration is
picked up again as a hot topic, Europe is also struggling with its own
immigration crisis. The European Union has seen an incredible surge in illegal
immigration (which Europeans refer to as “migration”) across its southern
border. Some migrants cross on foot from Turkey into the EU via Greece, but
many attempt the dangerous crossing over the Mediterranean Sea from North
Africa to Italy or Spain. The majority of migrants cross the choppy water from
Tunisia to the Italian island of Lampadusa or Sicily. This is no simple boat
ride. Crowded onto boats that are often not meant for the rough waters of the
Mediterranean, migrants die from exposure, dehydration, drowning, and are
subjected to theft, abuse, rape, and enslavement. Migrants come from all over
North Africa, West Africa, and the Middle East. The recent conflicts in Mali,
Nigeria, Libya, Syria, and Iraq have exponentially increased the number of
migrants willing to risk their lives and life savings to make it to the safety
and prosperity of Europe. Once in the EU, however, migrants can be subjected to
further violence from corrupt and abusive government officials, police, and
anti-immigrant groups.
The European response to this crisis has been slow and
underwhelming. The EU member states most affected are on the southern reaches
of the Union: namely Spain, Italy, Croatia, Greece, and Hungary. This
disproportionate effect has created a “it’s not my problem” attitude throughout
the Union. Unfortunately, the countries most affected by the migration crisis
are also the most crippled by the financial crisis. Greece, Italy, and Spain
simply cannot spend the money necessary to respond to the humanitarian crisis
washing up on their shores.
The European Center for Law and Justice is on the front
lines of the migration crisis, fighting to ensure that migrants are seen for
what they are, human beings with dignity and rights trying to make a better
life. A cohesive and humanitarian approach to the migration issue would include
recognizing the human dignity and sovereignty of the migrants once they are on
European soil, treating all migrants in accordance with Article III of the
European Convention on Human Rights (which is a duty of all member states,
regardless of their political stance on the migration issue), and implementing
serious and real reforms of the asylum, immigration, and assistance government
programs, especially in the European south. These reforms must come in a number
of ways, but above all must recognize human dignity, appreciate desperation,
and aim to service a group of fellow humans who have known nothing but pain and
exploitation. By shining a light on the issue and bringing a voice to those who
have been victimized, the ECLJ is helping to create a policy that recognizes
the dignity and worth of each migrant attempting the long crossing of the
Mediterranean.
