Mahmoud Abukhadir was the 2015 Thomas Addis Emmet Fellow, having completed his LLB with the National University of Ireland, Galway.
Before I began my trip to the west coast of America, I was thrilled as this was an unbelievable opportunity. I had an excellent briefing beforehand from Rachel Power who was brilliant in getting me prepared for my journey to the other side of the world. When I arrived there I was met by John Keane, an Honorary Consul of Ireland, who took me on tour of Seattle pointing out various places of interest. The weather was spectacular as this summer was the hottest to date and it was even more exciting as there were many events going on at the time. I was located close to the University of Washington in student accommodation, there I got to meet a wide array of students from the summer research students to the pre-season college basketball team who were kind enough to keep me company and introduce me to student life in Seattle. I also had the pleasure of meeting the Seattle Irish American community at a barbeque organised by John Keane.
While in Seattle, I worked with Washington Appleseed three days per week. There I had the pleasure of working on the project of re-entry, which dealt with various aspects in relation to allowing prisoners to re-enter society. The re-entry project permitted me to understand the prison system of not only Washington State, but also the harsh injustice brought about in the US prison system. I was put on the project of prisoners’ debts. This allowed to me understand the issues of prisoners dealing with debt whilst incarcerated, and comprehend the harsh reality of the modern day prisoner and debts that can affect them in future. The aftermath of falling into the prison system could ultimately affect prisoners in various ways; particularly in relation to future employment as to unpaid debts, which could cause them to be imprisoned again until those debts are repaid.
The second part of the week – Thursday and Friday – were reserved for work with Professor Walter Walsh in the University of Washington who put me on two separate projects. The main project was to assist in the creation of the University of Washington FIDE (Fédération Internationale des Échecs/ World Chess Federation) Chess academy which endeavors to aid students develop their talents in the sport, and hopefully create a scholarship in the future to help students who could possibly struggle financially with the cost of university. The second project was the creation of a model anti-discrimination law which allowed me delve into the anti-discrimination laws of different States in order to present this to a study committee, which would consider it in the future. Unfortunately, I did not have enough time to complete this project before I went back home but it was an invaluable learning experience.
I also had a wonderful series of public interest law lectures at the university which were convened by Professor William Covington. Some lectures had guest speakers that ranged from a panel of practicing lawyers to politicians with a background in law. There would always be an active discussion and engagement between the lecturer and the guests. The students were well aware of current public interest issues, and also made me feel very welcome.
Throughout my time in Seattle, I was engulfed by numerous sights and cultures as the city is immensely diverse. Being a major city in the North West of the US, there were always activities and places to explore. Sometimes, after work I would go down to the market place which was bustling with people and had a variety of interesting shops. Also, during my time there my new found friends and I would go to cafes and restaurants in the University District, where there was a wide variety of places to pass the time. There are also many scenic areas in Seattle, my favorite would be Gas Works Park, which was a short bike ride from the university, and Capitol Hill was bustling with nightlife. I was also very fortunate to take a weekend trip to Vancouver and meet some school friends who now live there, as Vancouver is only about a five hour trip by bus.
With all I experienced in the US over two months, I would like to thank everyone who made this incredible experience possible especially the FLAC team, Professor Walter Walsh, and Erin Schadt and all at Washington Appleseed.
FLAC is now accepting applications for the 2016 Thomas Addis Emmet Fellowship.
Click here for full details – the deadline is Friday 15 January 2016.