Colleagues from across the justice community are helping to establish female Afghan judges, and their families, in Ireland.
We are now in the fifth month of the Afghan Appeal, the collaborative response by the Irish legal community to support 10 judges and their families who have recently arrived in Ireland from Afghanistan. The Law Society is proud to join colleagues from the Bar of Ireland, members of the judiciary led by the International Association of Women Judges and the Association of Judges in Ireland, and Irish Rule of Law International in this important response effort.
Some of the Afghan judges have already begun the process of establishing their family in their new communities, thanks to the efforts and support of volunteers. Your continued support on this is appreciated and will become more important as time moves on.
Housing request
A core aspect of this response is to provide suitable housing for the families. Thank you to each of our members who have already offered accommodation for consideration by the relevant State agencies for the families. The volume of offers has been inspiring and reflective of the collegiality in our profession.
However, principally due to family configurations, six families have not yet been matched with housing. The updated request to members of the partner organisations is for offers of six three-bedroomed properties for a period of one year. All offers of housing will be treated in confidence.
- Do you have a property that might suit?
- Do you know anyone who might be in a position to provide such a property?
- Is there a property that may require some refurbishment that we could assist in completing for rental?
These six properties will provide a stable location for 12 months, and certainty to the families. This will also help the Afghan Appeal response team in pinpointing the neighbouring supports, adding to what has been a wave of support in terms of collegiality, befriending and future gainful employment.
Donate if you can
The Law Society is appealing to all members of the profession to do what they can to support the Justice Community Fund. Contributions, no matter how small, can be made online.
Thank you again to all Law Society members for your support of this collective response. We will continue to provide updates on the Afghan Appeal at every stage.