One of Dundee University’s newest societies is SolidariTee, an international student-led charity which seeks to help uphold the rights of internationally displaced people who are facing vulnerable situations.
It does so by raising awareness of internationally displaced peoples and offers grants to NGOs and individuals working in the field. This allows them to provide holistic and trauma-informed legal-aid programmes and support to those displaced.
Their work has a particular focus on Greece. Greece’s geographical proximity to Africa and the Middle East makes it a gateway point to Europe.
The Jute Journal reached out to SolidariTee and sat down with Niamh Smith, a final year Scots law student and SolidariTee outreach officer.
The Jute Journal [TJJ]: ‘What does SolidariTee do?’
Niamh Smith: “SolidariTee raises funds to help provide holistic and trauma-informed legal-aid to displaced peoples arriving in Greece.
“SolidariTee also seeks to stop the spread of misinformation about immigration, trying to educate people on the differences between terms as a lot of people use immigrant and asylum seeker interchangeably, or often try to use them as a slur when they are not’.
“SolidariTee fundraises through various means. It’s primary source of fundraising is through its namesake T-shirts.
[insert t-shirt image]
“They are all designed by people who’ve been affected by displacement, so it is quite a nice full circle with all funds going towards their cause.
“Alongside the T-Shirt stalls, SolidariTee has held and continues to hold; fundraising events, documentary screenings paired with talks from human rights specialists, pub quizzes and second-hand clothing drives.
[TJJ]: “Why should students get involved? What kind of students should get involved?”
[Smith]: “In the context of a rising far right, it is really important that young people do get involved in the work the society is doing’.
“SolidariTee is seeking to shift the focus away from a numbers game relative to the economy. These people are being forced to flee their homes.
“They are people. That is the bottom line. It shouldn’t be about ‘what they can bring to us, really, it should be what can we bring to them?”.
[TJJ]: “And what can students do to help?”
‘Join. Repost. Donate.’
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