I loved the summerschool and all its feelings

I’m now finishing the blogs that were left unfinished, most of them were written half way, before time-limitations prevented me from finishing them fully. So I will still summarize the 2 final days of summerschool : Thursday 26 July on Access to Justice, and on Employment, and the final day 27 July with Moot Court and the farewell dinner.

But first I want to reflect on the course in general.

It has been a very tiring and intensive 2-weeks for me. It has been very empowering in terms of legal knowledge, but also very painful in terms of being confronted with personal horrors. And it was heart warming to get so much support from my fellow students, who all offered to help me with my personal case whenever they could. And they never said something that made me feel bad. It was really lovely.

I’m proud of myself, that I did manage to join every day, and that I didn’t lose the joy of being part of it. It was warm in a human way. I didn’t feel lonely or excluded, but very much supported. That was a great experience on itself. It was sometimes hard, and then I cried, but nobody judged me as weak. Instead I was complimented of being brave and inspiring. It was said to me many times, that most student really got to feel how much impact the human-right-violations have on a personal life, because of my presence and my story. Some actually said they learned the most of me, during the course, and that I was a great teacher to them.
For me personally it was great to experience that lawyers aren’t all insensitive people who only care for paperwork (which is what my previous experiences showed me). It was even on contrary, there was such a humane and supportive vibe in the air. I loved it.
It was also hilarious to learn that “lawyers are afraid of engineers” , so I can scare them just as much as they scare me, hahahaha. :)

I’m also glad to have learned a lot on the contents, such as how the system got this way, and how much influence certain jurisprudence on mental health have had (such as the right to treatment, which lead to the defence that “detention in cells” was treatment on itself, with arguments as confinement being low-stimulus and so on.. I see why this defence came into place, so now I can think about strategies to oppose and change that. This is really a very useful point for my advocacy. (I never understood this strange logic of “why locking someone up would be treatment”, but now I see how historical practices didn’t change, but only the words changed under influence of jurisprudence).

And I do feel a lot more confident with the legal matters now. I feel equipped with knowledge, enough to stand up in a legal context, and to make a plea. I have learned how to interpret and use the legal language, which makes me feel more in control of it. And I also learned a lot of general legal knowledge, such as on structures of courts and proceedings, and the use of various instruments. This course has been very helpful to me.

I’m really thankful to have been part of this warm human rights course. It is an experience that really has an impact on my life.

And maybe the best part is to come. Maybe I can finally find a way to address the human right violations that were done to me when I was 16,17,18 and institutionalized. All students were unanimous that MDAC should help me with my personal legal case, and I’m really happy to find out that MDAC is supportive to me, and is now helping me to find a Dutch lawyer and take next steps. I feel positive about this. It would be the biggest gift ever if they can really help me to find justice. I’m still a bit scared that it may turn out to be an illusion, but in a way I felt that these people are really genuine and we are sharing the same mission. I really loved the MDAC-office, which has a great, young and dynamic atmosphere, and nice people working there. I have found confidence in MDAC, and I look forward to working with MDAC more often on various matters. I have met them several times already throughout the last year (mostly at the UN OHCHR and in correspondence), and now I can really say, I got to know MDAC and I feel like we are real allies.

I loved Budapest, I loved the course, and I loved to be part of it.
And I’m also glad to be home again, to be able to rest and to evaluate everything, and to put all my knowledge into practice again. I still get a smile on my face when I think of the many great memories. “Kussi” to everyone!! It was a great experience, that will be in my heart forever.