The Covid-19 crisis significantly affected the access to fundamental rights and justice and the effectiveness of remedies against violations of rights and discrimination. The insecurity and vulnerability faced refugees and migrants deepened and physical and social isolation complicated even more the access to services, including legal aid. That is why the Foundation for Access to Rights - FAR launched a new project - "Legal aid to financially disadvantaged refugees and immigrants during a pandemic by using and improving the Migrantlife.Bg platform."
The assistance, provided in the project, focuses on cross-sectoral cases where there is a double vulnerability due to the migrant/refugee status of the person and the Covid-19 crisis. The project is built on:
- The rich experience of FAR in providing legal assistance and its direct work with refugees and migrants in Bulgaria.
- The online information platform Migrantlife.Bg created by FAR, which is widely used by refugee and migrant communities.
- The expertise of a multidisciplinary team of lawyers that includes not only specialists in migration and refugee law but also in labour, family, criminal, civil and anti-discriminatory law.
The duration of the project is 6 months: from December 21, 2020, to June 20, 2021. It is funded by the Active Citizens Fund Bulgaria, in the scheme for funding small initiatives, with thematic priority № 2: Support for human rights.
Project activities include:
- Providing legal aid to financially disadvantaged refugees and immigrants during the pandemic through the online module "Request Assistance" (http://migrantlife.bg/bg/request-assistance).
- Conducting free monthly webinars - group information sessions and consultations, on selected current topics, which will be broadcasted live in the Facebook group Migrantlife.bg.
- Creation of up-to-date articles in the context of COVID-19, which will be published and available on Migrantlife.Bg.
The first webinar was dedicated to labor rights and visa issues in the COVID 19 crasis and was held on January 30, 2021 at 11:00.
The second webinar is dedicated to the available social support for asylum seekers and refugees in Bulgaria during the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition to the specific support measures introduced by the Bulgarian government, we will also provide information on the generally available support in the field of social assistance, family benefits for children and social services in the country. The webinar was held on 20 February 2021 (Saturday) from 11:00 to 12:00 (EET) online and in the closed Facebook group MigrantLife.Bg
The third webinar on the topic "Bulgarian citizenship – practical issues and challenges in receiving it" was held on 30.03.2021г., 16:00h.
The fourth webinar on the topic "Reuniting Refugees with Their Families" was held on 29.04.2021г., 16:00h.
The fifth webinar on the topic "Access to a bank account by foreigners in Bulgaria" was held on 20.05.2021г., 16:00h.
The final webinar was dedicated to the latest amendments in the Bulgarian legislation on foreigners and took place on 15.06.2021, 16:00
If you are an immigrant, asylum seeker, a refugee or a stateless person, don't forget to register for our upcoming webinars and join the Facebook group Migrantlife.bg, where we will broadcast the webinars and where you can find up-to-date information. Share with family and friends!
The project "Legal aid to financially disadvantaged refugees and immigrants during a pandemic by using and improving the Migrantlife.Bg platform" is implemented with financial support in the amount of EUR 10,000 provided by Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway under the EEA Financial Mechanism. The main goal of the project “Legal aid to financially disadvantaged refugees and immigrants during a pandemic by using and improving the Migrantlife.Bg platform” is to offer modern digital solutions for access to reliable information and a lawyer during a pandemic.
This page was created with the financial support of the Active Citizens Fund of Bulgaria under the Financial Mechanism of the European Economic Area. The entire responsibility for the content lies with the Foundation for Access to Rights - FAR and under no circumstances it can be assumed that this content reflects the official opinion of the Financial Mechanism of the European Economic Area and the Operator of the Active Citizens Fund Bulgaria.
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