Blog

By Asad Mohammadi 

Steering Committee, Greece 

17th May 2021

ISAVE project is a very important project in my opinion. Every person needs to know their human rights for themselves and if they want to help other people. Being part of the team is very special, as we can discuss the problems and get feedback on when it is a violation of Human rights.

 What I have noticed from the workshop is that our instructors knew the subject very well. While I have done several seminars on human rights in the past, this one was different and it was more informative. The instructors were always in good spirits and explained everything to us even with videos, which helps more in understanding of the subject. It was always pleasant in the workshops. I can say that this particular workshop has helped me a lot to have a deeper understanding of the issue of human rights and the importance of knowing the Law of the country you live in. We were able to raise questions that, some of them, we carried with us for so many years and compared what we have learned with our own past experiences.

Above all, however, was the Q&A section that allowed everybody to clear up their doubts and raise their concerns. Human Rights… One thinks that he knows the term and can actually argue about it. It’s something you hear every day, read everywhere. It is not until you break it down and go through it step by step that you realize how many things you were missing.

Unfortunately, due to Covid, we did not have the opportunity to meet in person with the whole team, which will help us to get to know each member of the team better. I’m really looking forward for the next steps of the project and I’m genuinely curious of our team’s input as it progresses. 

Reflections on Beginning the Project

10th May 2021

At the heart of I-Save is the involvement of the young people who make up the steering committee. We asked each of them for their thoughts and feelings as they embarked on this project, and received some really interesting answers.

Ireland

• “I believe the project is important to be involved in, because I will be discussing current issues that our societies and refugee camps face in Ireland and the rest of the world.”
• “This project will contribute a lot to my personal growth and development.”
• “It is important for me to be part of this project as it will prepare me to have the skills to advocate for people who cannot speak for themselves.”
• “The most exciting thing about the project is learning new skills, meeting new people and sharing experiences. Also giving back all to the things I have learned to the people most need.”
• “This project is important as human rights are something society shouldn’t ignore and it’s important that everyone knows their rights. Whether at home, in public or living in direct provision.”
• “I’m very excited to fight for human rights and meet new people in this project to make this project a success.
• It is very important to know our rights and responsibilities as we, the youth, are the future.”
• “I am excited to meet the groups from other countries”
• “Consider how often we eat food; go to school; say/write what we think; practise religion(or not); or expect to be treated fairly. All of these activities depend on the protection of our human rights. I chose to be in this project to educate myself on how to take full advantage of all the opportunities and to protect people against abuse by those who are more powerful.”

Germany

Turkey

• “I’m so excited to be a part of this project and the committee, I also feel so happy when I think about the possibility of helping a person in the future.”
• “We will learn a lot of new things and succeed together.”
• “I think I-SAVE project is very useful and beneficial. Thanks to the project I’ve already learned a lot of things about other cultures and some of the human rights that I have not been aware of before.”
• “I’m very happy to participate in this project, we are working very well within our committee. I hope we will be helpful for other young refugees further along the road.”
• “We all have different personalities, we share our perspectives, exchange our ideas. It’s simply great.”
• “This is a beautiful and a significant experience for me.”
• “I’m very proud of having an opportunity to contribute to society and having a mission to stand up for the rights of the ones who cannot do it for themselves.”

Greece

• “The reason I chose to be in the steering committee is firstly I am interested in learning more about human rights so that I can use this knowledge to defend any person that has a need for it.”
• “Secondly and most importantly to be able to answer for myself If I really am a Human Rights defender.”
• “I chose to be part of it because I am looking forward to helping the ones whose human rights are being constantly violated. So, I will need to gain every knowledge possible related to it if I want to be able to do that.”
• “I am glad and happy I got myself involved in this as I was able to meet some great people and I’m excited to meet more amazing people from different countries and work as a team to achieve our goals on similar if not the same topics.”
• “My goal in participating in this group was to first, recognize human rights and my rights. Second, knowing others and helping each other’s.”