He is the Chair of the Pro Bono Committee of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, trustee of the American Immigration Law Foundation and recipient of the 1997 Joseph Minsky Young Lawyers Award. Ms. Redgrave was the main force behind this very interesting and successful event. People from various walks of life, including this writer, made brief presentations.
Artists also read poems, sang or performed on the violin, saxophone and piano.
Others who made poignant presentations were Ester Brunstein, Survivor of the Lodz Ghetto, Auschwitz and Belsen and Edward Said. Celebrated asylees such as Fauzija Kassindja and Hafsat Abiola, whose asylum cases received widespread media attention, were also present. Ms. Kassindja escaped female genital mutilation from her native country of Togo and was granted asylum only after the New York Times revealed her plight in U.S. detention. Ms. Abiola is the daughter of the deceased pro-democracy opponent to the Nigerian military regime. Prior to her father's recent death in custody, her mother was killed by unidentified gunman in Nigeria.