It is very easy to hurt those who are unprotected – and very difficult to secure their safety, liberty, and happiness.

An art historian and area studies expert by education, and an editor, writer of documentary and feature films, and political mediator by profession, Gavkhar Juraeva is devoted to serving the truth – and with it, those who suffer and need her help. In the post-Soviet period, when a bloody civil war broke out in her country, she served as a mediator and sought to protect those who suffered at the margins – on both sides of the conflict. She was forced to leave her country in 1992. Gavkhar continues her fight from Russia, her adopted home. She is a writer, editor, and critic.

Gavkhar Juraeva works to protect the rights of and to direct humanitarian help to the most vulnerable parts of society in Tajikistan. During the civil war, she carried out peacemaking activities and sought to protect the rights of those who suffered at the margins of society. In 1992, a seeming resolution to the political conflict only brought a new era of wide-scale repression and ethnic conflict to Tajikistan. Members of her family were victims of various acts of violence, and their homes were destroyed. Gavkhar was forced to leave her country. Today, she continues her fight from Russia, her adopted home. Among her vulnerable "clients" are victims of violence, fabricated criminal charges, public humiliation, robbery, or passport confiscation. Gavkhar also supports laborers whose employers refuse to pay them. To resolve legal and human rights situations, She directly confronts the often very aggressive employers in their workplaces and has even confronted criminal syndicates. Gavkhar Juraeva is a defender of the law, an ardent worker for justice, and a peacemaker. She considers her legal, humanitarian, and peacemaking activities to be her moral duty. She has founded and/or led numerous public-service organizations, including Tajikistan, a regional public fund for the support of refugees and migrants, and Migration and Law, an international legal center.

Migration and Law Loik