Where are you from, and why there?
I spent my early years in Linden, Guyana, and Ithaca, New York. I was born in Guyana to a Baha’i mother and Christian father and experienced a very idealist environment grounded by high principles, morals and goals. Reflecting, my childhood was framed in a type of utopia where I was surrounded by diversity, especially religious and cultural, supportive parents, and community support. Acquiring education and knowledge was the driving focus within my family, and parental encouragement was abundant. At around age 9, I can recall telling my parents I wanted to become a veterinarian. In response, my father built me a mini-zoo with a monkey, a macaw, chickens, dogs, a cat and even a slot to show his support of my dreams. No career choice or idea was met with hesitation, but with encouragement or discussions to clarify the idea. This type of family support instilled a passion for creativity, exploring ideas, and trying new things.
Additionally, my maternal grandparents’ home was the main Baha’i center in Linden, Guyana. Throughout my childhood, I met people from all over the world as Baha’i pioneers visited Guyana to share insights and knowledge about the faith or serve the local community in various capacities. The culture in Guyana was also diverse, having six distinct ethnicities, culminating in a vibrant Guyanese culture expressed in multiple religious traditions, cultural foods, festivities, and traditional dress. Notably, some of Guyana’s national holidays are religious and cultural holidays from these various groups. Therefore, during the Hindu Diwali or Muslim Eid ul-Azha religious celebrations, it was customary for the entire country to celebrate these holidays. Embracing and celebrating the victories or special observances of others became part of my identity. I cannot escape this quality, which causes disappointment when I see diversity being met with discrimination and prejudice.
My family then permanently migrated to the United States of America and settled in Ithaca, New York, to pursue educational opportunities. Ithaca’s culture of tolerance, the United States’ self-evident truths coupled with ideals of liberty and justice for all, further bolstered my belief system of celebrating and indulging diversity. As I reflect, my childhood was genuinely amazing, which was the springboard for my devotion to advancing justice and creating environments where everyone can be included and thrive.
Which issues do you work on/care about, and why?
My life is centered on advancing justice for disadvantaged groups. I am an attorney and international law professional with a keen interest in supporting global justice and accountability mechanisms. Currently, I work as a Human Rights Officer, advocating religious freedom for persecuted Baha’i communities in Iran, Yemen, and Qatar. I also work on supporting the advancement of the institution of the International Criminal Court. Previously, I worked as a defense attorney removing barriers to reintegration for formerly incarcerated individuals and prosecuted child abuse and maltreatment cases. The critical thread that runs throughout my career choices and issues I continue to care about is finding opportunities to utilize the rule of law to advance justice for groups that experience prejudice due to culture, nationality, ethnicity, race, religion, sex, gender, and other immutable characteristics.
How did you get involved?
I knew I wanted to become an attorney very early in life, and I also desired to advance international cooperation. I graduated high school at 15 years and went on to study pre-law to ensure a legal career was what I truly wanted to pursue. After migrating to the United States, I then went back to high school and later studied pre-law college courses during my undergraduate years. During college, I also took advantage of study abroad opportunities, traveling to Morocco to become exposed to foreign human rights concerns, and volunteered in New Orleans, Louisiana, six months after hurricane Katrina, to work on human rights violations of undocumented persons, which gave me perspective on domestic human rights concerns. At some point, it became evident that international law is the closest tool available to bring order, justice, and accountability to global processes and affairs, directly affecting domestic operations. Therefore, after college, I entered law school and took opportunities to study International Law in Costa Rica and Vienna. Further, to gain a focused understanding of International Law, I obtained an LL.M in the field where I gained substantial theoretical and practical knowledge of the field. Looking back, I intentionally exposed myself to domestic and international law opportunities, especially human rights issues.
What are the biggest challenges for the issue(s) today?
Lack of access to justice remains one of the critical barriers to ensuring accountability and restitution for human rights violations, domestically and internationally. Lack of access usually translates to economic barriers to effective counsel, lack of proper infrastructure to facilitate the implementation of justice mechanisms to bring about accountability, and lack of independent global structures and institutions to streamline effective international judicial processes. Critical systems still need to be built or strengthened and, in many instances, purged from social weakness such as bias and negative isms, including racism, sexism, and nationalism.
Who are your most frequent allies in your field? Any surprises?
Fellow human rights and international law professionals who are dedicated to ensuring that everyone, regardless of race, class, nationality, religion, etc., have opportunities to utilize the law to address legal wrongs. I also find allies in individuals who dare to be action-oriented idealists who believe that humanity can create better systems of justice, governance, and international cooperation, thereby allowing everyone to access judicial and other paths to justice.
What drives you?
What drives me the most is the fear that humanity's progress is being stagnated by the proliferation of injustices in infinite forms against people based on immutable characteristics like race, religion, and nationality. I often think about the delay in human progress due to the subjugation of women to second-class citizenship. It was only when the fullness of women's capacities was no longer entirely stifled by sexism that human progress benefited from the innovation and wisdom of women. When women began experiencing instances of equality with access to education, work, etc., and became engineers, doctors, lawmakers, inventors, and other professions, human knowledge and progress elevated substantially. Likewise, if every human being lived free of prejudice and injustice and were allowed to contribute to society fully, human advancement would exponentially increase. When the veils of discrimination and injustice are finally lifted, and people's full capacities are no longer held hostage by injustice and prejudice, there will be a springboard of human innovations. I believe justice and accountability mechanisms are vital tools to stop the suppression of people based on bigotry. Human potential can be realized, and people can contribute fully to the betterment of society. In that way, we all collectively benefit and excel faster.
What do you want your career/advocacy to stand for?
At the end of it all, I want to look back and say, yes, I have utilized every opportunity to add to a process that guarantees persecuted groups the chance to be heard and engage in legal procedures that ensure their persecutors are held accountable without fear of institutional discrimination or setbacks. I hope that my career bolsters access to justice and strengthens domestic and international justice systems and accountability measures.