World Refugee Day 2022 Marks Historic Displacement Levels, World Relief Calls For Increased Global Response Efforts

June 20, 2022

CONTACT:
Audrey Garden
audrey.garden@pinkston.co
571-405-1606

BALTIMORE  – On this World Refugee Day, the number of forcibly displaced people globally has surpassed 100 million for the first time in recorded history, according to UNHCR news. World Refugee Day is an annual international awareness day that recognizes and honors individuals who have fled from their home countries due to violence and oppression. As people continue to flee their homes amid war, violence and persecution, World Relief is actively responding to emergencies throughout the world as well as by resettling refugees in the United States.

“As war rages in Ukraine and the compounding factors of food scarcity, inflation and the climate crisis continue to impact and displace the world’s most vulnerable, the Biden administration and Congress must work together to  promote refugee protection abroad while reimagining the bureaucratic systems and processes that plague the U.S. resettlement program today,” said Jenny Yang, World Relief vice president of advocacy and policy.

Despite efforts to revamp the U.S. refugee resettlement program that was decimated by policies of the previous administration and the aftershock of COVID, the global situation for refugees has only gotten worse: More people are being forced to flee their homes, and less than 19,000 individuals are forecasted to be resettled this fiscal year to the United States — far below the 125,000 ceiling set by the Biden administration.

World Relief is working to assist the displaced around the world, including with partners on the ground in Ukraine, Poland, Romania, Moldova and Slovakia to provide lodging, food, medical assistance and other basic necessities to those who have fled their country. While response efforts occur year-round, today World Relief recognizes the important work of  volunteers, supporters and staff who are dedicated to help refugees find safety and assistance in their countries of refuge and those who are helping refugees rebuild their lives in the U.S. in safety.

“The Ukraine crisis hits very close to home for World Relief,” said Yang. “In the last 18 years, World Relief helped resettle over 13,000 refugees from Ukraine. With the U.S. aiming to resettle up to 100,000 Ukrainians fleeing the current conflict in Europe, World Relief is eager to offer whatever support we can to those seeking safety in the U.S. while ensuring that the program provides protection to those in Africa, Asia, and other parts of the world who have been waiting many years to come to the United States.”

Additionally, over the past year, World Relief has helped welcome and resettle approximately 3,600 Afghan women, men and children and approximately 2,500 refugees from other countries of origin, providing services designed to help them get acclimated and thrive in their new communities. Offices around the country have helped these families find housing, pursue employment, access immigration legal services, learn English, build friendships and create long-term support systems.

“Families in war-torn and disaster-stricken countries are fleeing for their lives and desperately seeking refuge,” said Myal Greene, president and CEO of World Relief. “Welcoming refugees is a critical component of our civic duty as a country established and cultivated by the contributions of people from all over the world. As Christians, it is also a biblical imperative to stand with these vulnerable neighbors.”

“In acknowledgment of the alarming numbers reported by the UNHCR, World Relief encourages the Biden administration and Congress to work for greater diplomatic solutions to protracted refugee crises abroad while also working to improve and streamline our nation’s resettlement process,” said Yang. “We are living through a historic refugee crisis, and it’s time to make a concerted effort to actually reach the ceiling set by the administration.”

World Relief encourages our partners and church community to work together as a community of compassion to serve refugees and forcibly displaced persons. World Relief also asks the global church to pray for all those affected by conflict and violence around the world. 

To learn more about World Relief’s programs around the world, visit worldrelief.org.

To download a PDF version of this press release, click here.

About World Relief

World Relief is a global Christian humanitarian organization that brings sustainable solutions to the world’s greatest problems – disasters, extreme poverty, violence, oppression, and mass displacement. For over 75 years, we’ve partnered with churches and community leaders in the U.S. and abroad to bring hope, healing and transformation to the most vulnerable.

Learn more at worldrelief.org