Providing support to Atlanta’s Senegalese community
Atlanta, GA—Friday, August 9, 2024
Earlier this year, GAIN became a part of an asylum support group organized by the Atlanta Mayor’s Office of International and Immigrant Affairs. Through this collaboration, we connected with additional local immigrant communities needing our legal assistance. We are fortunate to have been introduced to over one hundred Senegalese nationals who have come to Georgia seeking refuge from targeted political and gender-based persecution. In response, GAIN hosted two legal orientation workshops for Senegalese nationals, taking time to speak with members of this group and tailoring our presentations to address their most pressing concerns.
GAIN’s legal orientations explain critical concepts including what it means to be in immigration court (deportation) proceedings, changing court venue, presenting a strong asylum case, accessing permission to work in the United States, and reunifying with separated family members. Through a collaboration with the Senegalese Community for Aid and Self-Development (SENCAD) and the Georgia Human Rights Clinic (GHRC) at Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University, newly arrived asylum-seekers left our workshops equipped with knowledge about their legal cases, information on adjusting to life in the United States, and appointments for critical medical care.
Following the initial orientations, GAIN’s legal team held one-on-one consultations to discuss individual questions. The GHRC team also met one-on-one with the Senegalese asylum-seekers—many of whom endured physically and psychologically damaging journeys to safety in the U.S.—to connect them with medical and mental health care through the Clinic’s comprehensive medical database.
GAIN is grateful for the opportunity to develop a partnership with SENCAD. Dedicated to serving the Senegalese diaspora in Georgia, SENCAD hosts community activities and promotes development of community members through education, training, and networking. However, the group was thrust into an emergency response role as over one hundred Senegalese asylum-seekers arrived in Georgia in a short space of time, the vast majority of whom were in urgent need of emergency support like food, housing, and medical care. We were struck by SENCAD’s grace, dedication, and meticulous organization in addressing this community crisis.
We are grateful to work with SENCAD to help Senegalese asylum-seekers with legal support and share lessons and best practices across both organizations. To ensure language access at our events, the SENCAD team brought Wolof-speakers to generously provide interpretation—one of whom drove through the night from New York to support this critical workshop! GAIN is proud of the work achieved through these collaborative events and we look forward to continuing this partnership to better serve Senegalese immigrants fleeing persecution.
