Emily Arnold-Fernandez

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2007

Emily Arnold-Fernandez

Asylum Access

http://www.asylumaccess.org

San Francisco, California, United States

Legal Advocacy

The Bold Idea:

Across the global south in Africa, Asia, and Latin America, almost fourteen million refugees have been forced to seek asylum in neighboring countries. Because resettlement in the global north is only an option for less than 1 percent of these refugees, the vast majority must attempt to build a life in a neighboring country. However, they are often denied fundamental human rights in their first countries of refuge, making it difficult for them to rebuild their lives.

Asylum Access moves beyond band-aid humanitarian assistance to address the root cause of refugees' needs: denial of rights. By giving refugees access to legal advocates on the ground in their first country of refuge—something no other U.S. organization does—Asylum Access empowers refugees to obtain legal status and assert other rights such as employment, education, and freedom of movement, so they can start providing for themselves.

Biography:

A recent graduate of Georgetown University Law Center, Emily Arnold-Fernandez has practiced in the areas of human rights, employment, and civil rights law on behalf of a variety of disenfranchised communities. In 2006, she received the Inspirational Young Alumna Award from her undergraduate university, Pomona College.

Moment of Obligation: What experiences led to the desire to start your own organization?
When I first went to Cairo as a refugee legal advocate, I had never before represented anyone in a legal proceeding. My first client was a young Liberian who fled to Egypt to avoid being abducted and forced to fight as a child soldier. After being initially denied refugee status, facing constant risk of arrest and deportation by the authorities, he came to us to get the decision reversed. I sweat blood over that client. He got refugee status, and safety. I saw the profound impact of volunteer legal representation on the lives of refugees—and the potential for a revolutionary model of legal aid.

Gall to Think Big: What has given you the ability to dream big and take on deeply entrenched social problems in the world?
I dream big because I have always been surrounded by people who believe in me. My mother was always genuinely convinced that her children were the best at anything we undertook. As a girl, I was incredibly lucky to have a father who seriously encouraged me to debate ideas as an equal, even when I was very young. (When I was six, he asked how I would solve California’s water shortage.) At Pomona College, my professors acted like their students could achieve anything. With everyone around me believing I could change the world, how could I ethically refuse?

New and Untested: What’s innovative about your new idea for social change?
Asylum Access takes the revolutionary approach of giving refugees the tools to fill their own needs. Until now, U.S. assistance to refugees in the global south has involved primarily band-aid humanitarian aid. Asylum Access puts lawyers on the ground to help refugees obtain legal status and assert their rights in their first countries of refuge, so they can live safely, work, put children in school, and begin rebuilding their lives.

Seeing Possibilities: What are the most important qualities to be a successful social entrepreneur?
Sheer determination and a willingness to admit you don’t know things are probably the two most important qualities of a social entrepreneur. I believe all problems can be solved with sufficient persistence. Unflagging determination won’t get you to a solution, however, if you simply repeat your failures. Once you’ve run at a brick wall and found it solid, the next step is to learn how others have gotten over, around or under similar walls. Learn from your mistakes, analogize from others’ successes, and sooner or later you’ll hit on the right answer.

Which musical artists/albums get you going and keep you inspired?
For inspiration, I love Sweet Honey in the Rock. They’re not afraid to tackle social and political problems, to call out oppressors—and they also recognize the power of celebration and the importance of spiritual renewal. As they say, “We are the ones we’ve been waiting for.” We can’t sit around and wait for someone else to make social change—we all, every one of us, has to get out there and do something!

What books do you recommend?
For work, Janus-Faced Humanitarianism by our board president Barbara Harrell-Bond and refugee advocate Guglielmo Verdirame, reminds me that we cannot trust institutions to live up to their promises unless outside entities hold them accountable. It is both a reminder of Asylum Access’s purpose, and a warning that we ourselves must embrace outside criticism to avoid complacency. For pleasure, Barbara Kingsolver’s High Tide in Tucson (a collection of essays) is one of my favorites. I love Kingsolver’s work because it doesn’t flinch from harsh realities, but it also recognizes—and celebrates—the small moments of wonder that make life worth living.

Which websites do you visit often?

• furbishment.blogspot.com (one of my favorite sites, for two simple reasons: it’s good writing, and it makes me think)
• refugees.org (for information on refugee situations around the world, I find USCRI’s World Refugee Survey very helpful)

What advice or quote do you keep close to your heart as a social change leader?
“No homework on Saturday.” This is a policy my husband (then-boyfriend) and his friends instituted when we were in college. No matter what, doing homework on a Saturday was forbidden. Saturdays were for fun. I continue to follow this rule because, if I did not, I would never take breaks. Most social entrepreneurs are driven and ambitious; I am no exception. Taking a weekly break gives me the time and space to strengthen my relationships, care for my own needs, and come at my social change efforts with renewed insight and vigor.