Combining social and legal minds

Tomasz Lachowski, one of the instructors of community visit, with the children of Gonotuli cleaner's area

The 14th Human Rights Summer School (HRSS) organised by the Empowerment through Law of the Common People (ELCOP) has been completed its 12 days long journey with success. 48 law students from home and abroad attended this residential training programme. HRSS is different for its unique training methods which include community visit, capacity building to work in a team successfully, brain storming to refresh the mind of young law students, formal sessions conducted by the experts from home and abroad. 'Learning by doing' is one of the most important principles of this school.  The objectives of community visit are to identify the legal grievances of the minorities; to suggest specific measures whereby deprivations and grievances may, as far as practicable, be remedied by effecting reforms of the existing customary and legal framework of each of the communities and to create a group of potential motivators and community leaders. This is an intensive field research designed to know and examine various aspects of their community life; their lifestyle, culture, religion, custom, laws, traditional economy, social. The objective of this work is to bring the law students out of the classroom to mobilise the prospective community leaders for human rights training and motivation.
The participants visited two places namely Nazira Bazar and Gonoktuli cleaner's area this year (2013). The people of these areas are known as Horizon community. During the visit, the participants collect information by way of interview, focus group discussion and from other sources and observation.
After coming back from visit, the participants sit together with their respective team members, analyse the data collected, share the data and observation with each team with others and prepare the presentation. The ways and techniques applied in the presentation are most effective method to make the participants skilful on the methodology of research, the way to present effectively, approach and attitude towards the way of thinking for the benefit of the poor and marginalized people. Expert opinions during the present by the participants are the most effective method. The objective of this school is to make the participants as rebellious lawyers who can realise and feel the exact condition of disadvantaged and poor people of the society so that they can stand beside them in their next career life upholding the motto of the school 'Lawyering with the poor is lawyering for justice'. This school is the brain child of Prof. Dr. Mizanur Rahman, the Chairman, National Human Rights Commission, who has a dream to make a group of lawyers for working together for ensuring equality, human dignity and social justice in the society.

The writer is a student of Law, University of Dhaka and participant of 14th HRSS.