Rome: Refugee Clinic, Research and Risotto

Seamus O., Bachelor of Business / Bachelor of Laws (Honours)
The Clinic of Immigration Law and Citizenship of the Faculty of Law at the Roma Tre University (January 2019)

During January of 2019 I was fortunate enough to participate in the Clinic of Immigration and Citizenship at the Rome Tre University located in Rome, Italy.

Whilst my time at the Clinic was short lived, the amount of technical, cultural and social knowledge I gained will last a life time. In a nut shell, the Clinic assists migrants and asylum seekers in knowing their rights and enhancing their protection by offering them qualified assistance whilst also being an advocate for refugees in Italy. My experience can be broken down to three main parts: Exploring Rome, researching and assisting refugees in the Clinic.

The Clinic

Once or twice a week the team of law students and lawyers would open the doors to the clinic (a class room). Here is where the students and lawyers meet with current refugees and assist them with the migration and legal process. It was incredibly interesting and at times quite confronting to see what these people had gone through back in their respective countries, and then what they were having to go through once they arrived in Italy. Given recent change to the refugee policy in Italy, I couldn’t help but empathise with the refugees and share the frustration of the students and lawyers working in the Clinic.

My Research

As the Clinic only opened one or two days a week, I was given a research task to assist the Clinic in their Country of Origin Information (COI) program. The COI program involved a group of one professor/lawyer and 5 students working with the Court of Italy in preparing COI reports on various countries/areas. The Court recently requested a report on the persecution of Chinese Christians in China. Given the Report was to be written in Italian, I was given the task to gather as many reports/articles/accounts on the topic and summarise the findings for the team. Whilst at times it felt I was researching too much and not eating enough Pizza, it was incredible to work on a project which had a great impact on future refugees in Italy and the Italian justice system.

Of course, when in Rome do as the Romans do. It was incredible to live in a city full of ancient history, art, a rich culture and of course, delectable food. There are endless sights to see in Rome and a relic around every corner, a real treat for any research break or day off. I would like to thank all QUT and Rome Tre staff for assisting me with this experience all steps of the way.