Article January 1, 2001 Issue

Valia Damala

Lawyer

with contributions from Valia Damala—Athens, Greece

Since childhood, I had a deep desire to understand justice. I wanted to offer my abilities so that justice could prevail for other people. Also, there was a tradition of men who were lawyers in the family.

In the 1960s, my country suffered from the results of a civil war that followed the end of the Second World War and lasted a couple of years. The quest for justice, therefore, was something that prevailed in our society. So I decided to study law at a university in Central Europe.

Then I had my first disappointment in the law. My philosophy of law professor said that law is not an exact science but rather, a human creation. It might be right, but it also might not be. He said there is no unshakeable basis for the concept of justice. So I added to my studies other courses that would lead me to truth — philosophy, psychology, history of art, and literature.