Migration Crisis in the EU: Meeting of MA students of the Caspian Higher School of Interpreting and Translation with Prof. Bruce Leimsidor

On May 4, the students taking the master program on interpreting “Theory of Interpreting. Intercultural/Interlingual Communication» at the Caspian Higher School of Interpreting and Translation had a lesson with Mr. Bruce Leimsidor, a professor at Ca’Foscari University of Venice and an acknowledged expert in the field of international migration law. Prof. Leimsidor visits our University every academic year to give classes on migration law and various aspects of migration in the EU. Of course, he meets with MA students as well, for whom this issue is an important point in their preparation for interpreting work at the international level.
During the meeting, Prof. Leimsidor raised one of the most topical issues in the modern world – the situation of migrants in the European Union. The guest told MA students about the two main streams of refugees arriving in the EU countries, explained the causes of this process and revealed the reasons why this problem is difficult to solve. At the same time, he drew attention to the policies pursued by the Federal Chancellor of Germany Angela Merkel and how her actions in relation to refugees affected the current situation in many countries of the European Union. In addition, Mr. Leimsidor compared the situation of the Turkish and Libyan refugees in terms of international law.
At the end of the class, the students asked a few questions relating to sanctions, deportation, identification of refugees’ origin and the situation in North Korea. It is worth noting that such training format is valuable for interpreters-to-be, as they are given an opportunity to improve their general and specific knowledge and, of course, to practise interpretation in a real life situation.