Maya Khalife-Hamdan, a Rhodes senior majoring in international studies and Spanish, has published an article in the University of Chile Law School’s Human Rights Yearbook. It is rare for an undergraduate student to contribute to the publication, and Khalife-Hamdan is also one of a very few non-native Spanish speakers to do so.
The title of the article, which is written in Spanish, is “Entre fronteras y jaulas: La realidad de la detención de inmigrantes centroamericanos en los Estados Unidos” [Between Borders and Cages: The Reality of the Detention of Central American Immigrants in the United States.] The piece examines the pressing human rights issues at the U.S. border and the need for policy reform.
The Human Rights Yearbook is edited by the Human Rights Research Center of the University of Chile Law School, and articles are reviewed through a system of blind peer reviewers. The editorial team decides on the publication of the works after receiving the external reports from each of the reviewers.
In the summer of 2023, Khalife-Hamdan worked as a researcher at the Human Rights Research Center through the Mertie Buckman International Internship program at Rhodes. She has worked as a multilingual translator for various local nonprofit organizations, including Advocates for Immigrant Rights and Literacy Mid-South. On campus, she serves as president of the Sigma Iota Rho International Studies Honor Society, Amnesty International, and the Society of World Affairs Today, as well as treasurer of the Medical Spanish Club. Khalife-Hamdan is quadrilingual and works as a Spanish and French tutor for Modern Languages and Literatures at Rhodes.
"I am very grateful for the guidance and mentorship that I have received from the international studies department,” said Khalife-Hamdan. “My academic advisor in particular, Professor Amy Risley, has been instrumental in helping me grow as a student and a researcher. It is through my coursework and work with professors in the department that I deepened my passion for Latin American politics and human rights. The opportunity to engage in research projects in each of my international studies classes has helped me develop confidence in my writing and investigation efforts.”