The Council for At-Risk Academics (CARA) supports a range of academics who are facing “arrest, injury or even death” in their home countries. It provides financial and practical aid for those trying to reach a place of safety and ensure that their families are also able to escape.
The organisation also provides support to academics who decide to remain in their countries despite the risks to their work or safety, or who are forced into exile in neighbouring states.
CARA was founded in 1933 in response to the Nazis expelling a significant number of academics from German universities on the basis of their ethnic background or political beliefs. Originally known as the Academic Assistance Council, its founding statements was signed by prominent academics including John Maynard Keynes, and Albert Einstein’s final speech in Europe was made during a major fundraising event for the organisation at the Albert Hall on London.
Over the past 90 years the organisation has supported, assisted and helped to rescue thousands of academics, including several Nobel Prize winners.
Today, CARA’s patrons include the journalist Jon Snow and Dr Rowan Williams, the former Archbishop of Canterbury. In recent years, the organisation has seen increased activity in both Afghanistan and Ukraine, but is also helping individuals from countries such as Myanmar and Sudan.
According to CARA, 65% of UK higher education institutions are engaged in their work. More than twenty rescued academics are currently working in Scottish universities, with more to arrive soon.
“Cara’s work is about saving the lives of the academics and their immediate families but it’s also about protecting the intellectual capital of those countries. While our Fellows are here, they share their expertise with us, and when it's safe to return home, they help rebuild better and safer societies. We are therefore very grateful to our university partners in Scotland for providing this vital lifeline to our Fellows and their families.”
Zeid Al Bayaty, Deputy Director & Fellowship Programme Manager
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