Sindhuja Sankaran

Sindhuja Sankaran from Chennai, India, completed her studies in Psychology in India and then finished her Ph.D. in Social Psychology at Cardiff University, UK. After that, she lived in Poland for eight years, where she founded the organisation - Rethinking Refugees.

She currently works as an Assistant Professor of Psychology in Chennai, India, and her research currently focuses on the cognitive and motivational factors that would increase refugee acceptance and pro-social behaviour. Between Dec 2017 - Jan 2018, Sindhuja spent some time volunteering with an NGO as part of the socio-psychological team at the Greek refugee camp Moria in Lesbos. On her return, she wanted to share her knowledge of volunteering at Moria, thereby leading to establishing the initiative Rethinking Refugees in June 2018. Sindhuja also works with Rohingya refugees who were re-settled in Chennai, India. 

Sindhuja believes that the key to refugee 'humanisation' is to talk to them as fellow peers, a friend, or family members. Be it about music, food, or films; the more one 'normalises' the conversation, the more we start seeing refugees beyond the label.