Posts by worldrelief
World Relief Calls for Renewed Attention to AIDS on World AIDS Day
***FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE***
December 1, 2017
CONTACTS:
Jenny Yang 443.527.8363
Matthew Soerens 920.428.9534
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World Relief Calls for Renewed Attention to AIDS on World AIDS Day
BALTIMORE, MD â Itâs estimated that more than 36 million people worldwide are currently living with AIDS, more than 2 million of which are children. Approximately 5,000 new cases are contracted every single day and 1 million lives are lost each year. While significant progress has been made in combating this deadly disease, with this many lives still at risk, the world cannot afford to get complacent and forget those still in desperate need.
We pleased to hear that in the United States, the Presidentâs Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) efforts have increased, saving more lives and preventing future infections at a greater rate than in years past, with a record 13.3 million precious lives receiving antiretroviral treatment. Medical and technological improvements have made it possible to treat more infections than ever before, yet it is absolutely crucial that efforts are also focused on preventing the transmission of HIV/AIDS from ever occurring in the first place. We urge Congress and the Administration to continue to support funds to combat this disease.
We are proud of the lifesaving work World Relief staff and volunteers have done on the front lines throughout Africa and across the globe to help make sexually transmitted diseases a thing of the past. We wonât let up our efforts until AIDS is history.
Download the PDF version of this press release.
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World Relief is a global humanitarian relief and development organization that stands with the vulnerable and partners with local churches to end the cycle of suffering, transform lives and build sustainable communities. With over 70 years of experience, World Relief works in 20 countries worldwide through disaster response, health and child development, economic development and peacebuilding and has offices in the United States that specialize in refugee and immigration services.
Website | worldrelief.org Twitter | @WorldRelief
World Relief Congratulates its Seattle Office on Receiving $25,000 Award from Starbucks Foundation for Groundbreaking Work with Refugees
***FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE***
November 30, 2017
CONTACTS:
Jenny Yang 443.527.8363
Christina Klinepeter 773.724.0605
World Relief Congratulates its Seattle Office on Receiving $25,000 Award
from Starbucks Foundation for Groundbreaking Work with Refugees
BALTIMORE, MD â On November 30th, World Reliefâs Seattle office in Kent, Washington was one of 25 finalists awarded $25,000 from the Starbucks Foundationâs Upstander Challenge. To be eligible for the award from the Starbucks Foundation, charitable organizations had to submit a video highlighting their work and demonstrate how it contributes positively to the community.
The video from World Relief Seattle features many of the various ways in which their office has welcomed nearly 1,000 refugees to Washington since January of this year, such as offering sewing and jewelry-making classes along with summer camps for refugee children. You can view World Reliefâs award-winning video here.
World Relief CEO Tim Breene, applauded this achievement stating, âHaving spent time with their dynamic staff over the years, it comes as no surprise that World Relief Seattle would be recognized by the foundation of such a prominent, global business. Their steadfast dedication to the important work we do has surely made America a more gracious and hospitable home for those seeking refuge. I thank the Starbucks Foundation for acknowledging World Relief Seattleâs commitment to welcoming and caring for the worldâs most vulnerable people in the great state of Washington.â
A panel of judges chose the winners based upon inspirational content, community impact, video creativity and social media buzz. The foundation considers an Upstander broadly to be âa person or organization that acts to make positive change.â
World Relief Seattle is the largest refugee resettlement organization in the state of Washington and also serves vulnerable immigrants in Western Washington. The Seattle office has been around for almost four decades, and in that time, has resettled more than 30,000 refugees. In 2016 alone, the office resettled 1,205 refugees, nearly one-third of the amount settled in the entire state, and served over 4,000 vulnerable people in total. World Relief Seattle is also noteworthy in that the majority of their officeâs leadership team are refugees and asylees themselves.
Download the PDF version of this press release.
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World Relief is a global humanitarian relief and development organization that stands with the vulnerable and partners with local churches to end the cycle of suffering, transform lives and build sustainable communities. With over 70 years of experience, World Relief works in 20 countries worldwide through disaster response, health and child development, economic development and peacebuilding and has offices in the United States that specialize in refugee and immigration services.
Website | worldrelief.org Twitter | @WorldRelief
2 Ways to Put Love In Action This #GivingTuesday
Love feeds the hungry.
Love welcomes the stranger.
Love knows no limits.
This #GivingTuesday (November 28), put your love in action in one of two ways:
1. LOCAL â Give to change the lives of refugees and immigrants in the U.S.
- Help meet the needs of refugees by providing compassionate and holistic care from the moment they arrive at the airport through their journey to self-sufficiency.
- Help immigrants maneuver through the U.S. immigration system, reunite with family members left behind and gain access to economic and educational opportunities.
2. INTERNATIONAL â Give to change the lives of vulnerable families in Africa, Asia and Haiti.
- Help meet the immediate needs of those affected by natural disasters, regional conflict, drought and famine.
- Help empower local churches to break the cycle of poverty by loving, serving and extending the mercy of God to the most vulnerable around the world.
5 Words That Can Change a Nation
In 2008 my wife and I were in her childhood home of Kenya when violence after the countryâs election broke outâresulting in the death of over 1,100 people and the displacement of thousands more. As we witnessed the devastation in the lives of our friends and the Kenyan people, we felt called to act. And in 2013, ahead of the next elections, we returned to Kenya to participate in peace and reconciliation workshops and a peace march with local pastors. In the Kibera slum of Nairobi, and in Molo, in the White Mountainsâtwo places where some of the worst inter-tribal violence took placeâwe saw communities embrace forgiveness for acts committed against one another. We saw tears shed and commitments made to be followers of Jesus first, Kenyans second and tribal community leaders a distant third. The subsequent elections were largely peaceful and celebrated as an important step forward. And so it was with great sadness that we learned this yearâs elections in July had once again been disputedâlargely along tribal lines. Following the Kenyan Supreme Court ruling that the elections needed to be re-run, the country was plunged into an economic crisis as investors and others fled the resulting uncertainty.
Coincidentally, this weekend found us back in Nairobi just days after the re-run election, only to find the country more deeply divided and polarized than ever and facing an uneasy peace. The root causes of the turmoil are being hotly disputed amongst factions and there is little desire for compromise amongst the political elite. Meanwhile, the working poorâthose living barely above the poverty lineâare seeing their already fragile lives caught in the political cross fire, escalating rhetoric and disappearing livelihoods. Tales of violence and killing abound, though much of this will never surface in the mainstream media because what happens in and around the slums of Nairobi and the most rural parts of the country is only partially recorded.
A Challenging Question
So what, you might ask, has this to do with America?
On Sunday my wife and I listened to a Nairobi pastor preaching into the crisis, explaining the ways in which we as individuals can either calm or inflame a crisis. He laid out five characteristics that he believes make this current Kenyan crisis perhaps more profound and harder to resolve than previous ones. After all, Kenyans stared into the abyss in 2008. They are naturally peace-loving and optimistic people. Surely it could not descend into serious open conflict again?
As is often the case here in Africa the Pastor used a colorful metaphor to catch his congregationâs attention â and ours. He identified five characteristics that polarize and inflame crises, characteristics that each one of us can too easily embrace. And he called us to examine our own hearts, challenging us with this question:
âAre we promoting unity, as we are called to do by Christ and the apostle Paul, or are we so entrenched in our own beliefs and self righteousness that we are actually promoting division and fueling crisis?â
The 5 Characteristics
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An attacking mouth â Insensitivity to the reasons others might hold a different view, and worse, an incapacity to understand how our positions and words might make them feel. By our words we donât just express disagreement, we attack, discredit, inflame, and in so doingâpolarize.
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Blind eyes â Ignorance. An almost wilful blindness to the complexity of issues that often underlie peopleâs different views; a willingness to accept the narrative that corresponds to our own preference without examining facts that would be uncomfortable.
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Cold shoulders â Indifference to the plight of others, so long as âI am all rightâ. The opposite of love, this Pastor suggested, is not hateâit is indifference. His argument? At least if you hate someone your emotions are engaged. It is worse to be relegated to the status of non-person, someone whose concerns and views are simply irrelevant to you and your view of the world.
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Dead ears â Inflexibilty. An unwillingness to re-examine oneâs own views, a preference for certainty, even when it is misplaced, over inquiry and uncertainty.
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Empty Hands â Irresponsibility. Denial that one might have contributed in any way to the crisis, instead searching to always put the blame elsewhere, and to always find scapegoats.
Does the Shoe Fit?
In the most sophisticated nation in the world we might assume that none of this applies. But I must ask, can we truly open the newspaper each day, watch the news, or scroll through twitter, facebook or other social media and not recognize that perhaps âthe shoe does fit us too?â
Disagreements in human relationships are inevitable, yet just as marriage disagreements do not have to lead to breakdown, neither do they have to in civil society.
But genuine reconciliation requires a heart that is open and a willingness to forgive and reconcile. Indeed, the ability to reconcile is one key sign of a maturing Christian faith.
And so I challenge us as we look to the deepening divisions in our own society. Do we have something to learn from this courageous Kenyan Pastor, challenging his followers to recognize their own part in the crisis and examine their own hearts, attitudes and behaviors?
âLittle children let us not love in word or talk, but in deed and in truth.â
John 3:18
(ABOVE PHOTO: Marianne Bach, Thomas Busch)
Tim Breene served on the World Relief Board from 2010 to 2015 before assuming the role of CEO in 2016. Timâs business career has spanned nearly 40 years with organizations like McKinsey, and Accenture where he was the Corporate Development Officer and Founder and Chief Executive of Accenture Interactive. Tim is the co-author of Jumping the S-Curve, published by Harvard Publishing. Tim and his wife Michele, a longtime supporter of World Relief, have a wealth of experience working with Christian leaders in the United States and around the world.
#GivingTuesday 2017
This year for #GivingTuesday, you can make a tangible difference in the lives of refugees and immigrants.
How?
- Below, find the local World Relief office closest to you.
 - Click the link to learn what you can do on or before November 28 to welcome refugees and immigrants from around the world.
CALIFORNIA
Modesto
Sacramento
Garden Grove
FLORIDA
Jacksonville
GEORGIA
Atlanta
ILLINOIS
Chicago
Dupage/Aurora
Moline
MARYLAND
Baltimore
MINNESOTA
MinneapolisâSt. Paul
TEXAS
Fort Worth
WASHINGTON
Tri-Cities
Seattle (Kent)
Spokane
WISCONSIN
Fox Valley
OHIO
Akron
TENNESSEE
Memphis
New Executive Order Creates Virtual Wall for Vulnerable Refugees
***FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE***
October 25 2017
CONTACTS:
Matt Soerens 920.428.9534
Christina Klinepeter 773.724.0605
New Executive Order Creates Virtual Wall for Vulnerable Refugees
BALTIMORE, MD â The new executive order regarding the future of the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program creates a virtual wall that will keep many of the most vulnerable refugees in our world from finding safety in America. World Relief is deeply concerned for the individuals and families affected by this decision to impose an additional 90-day ban on refugees from 11 countries at the center of the most extreme refugee crisis in human history, and for those families who are now facing an indefinite suspension of the process to be reunited with loved ones. We grieve the lives that could have been saved but will be lost due to this action.
This order continues the ban on refugees primarily from Muslim-majority countries, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Libya, Mali, North Korea, Somalia, Sudan, South Sudan, Syria, Yemen, and also stateless Palestinians. This is also a ban on the U.S. providing protection and safety for persecuted Christians. According to Emily Gray, World Relief Sr. Vice President for U.S. Ministries, âIn 2017 the U.S. admitted far fewer Christian refugees than in prior years due to the ban on citizens of these countries and the reduction in the overall numbers of refugees allowed to find safety in America.â
The initial 120-day period ordered by the government to review the refugee program ended yesterday. The stated reason for the initial order was to review procedures and re-open the program. The new order issued Tuesday does not reopen the program for refugees in the hardest hit areas and creates additional bureaucratic hurdles that are a virtual barrier for refugees from any country. The process mandates that refugees provide detailed contact information on family members from whom many have been separated without any contact for years. Many refugees do not know the fate of their family members due to the violence they fled and will not be able to provide this information. Additionally, effective immediately, refugees must provide 10 years of detailed information on where they have lived for any period of 30 days. According to Gray, âThese new requirements will mean that many refugees who had cleared the multi-level, detailed, years-long process of screening and were ready to travel to a new, safe home will be delayed or eliminated from this opportunity. Repeating these detailed processes will also create additional, unnecessary costs.â
âThis order is a further abdication of the United Statesâ position as the global leader in compassion and welcome for the most vulnerable in our world,â said World Relief CEO Tim Breene. As a Christian organization, World Relief calls on our government to reflect the compassion of the American people and to lift the ban on these 11 countries, allow families separated by war and persecution to be reunited and to diligently work to allow refugees who have been cleared to enter the U.S. without delay.
Download the PDF version of this press release.
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World Relief is a global humanitarian relief and development organization that stands with the vulnerable and partners with local churches to end the cycle of suffering, transform lives and build sustainable communities. With over 70 years of experience, World Relief works in 20 countries worldwide through disaster response, health and child development, economic development and peacebuilding and has offices in the United States that specialize in refugee and immigration services.
Website | worldrelief.org Twitter | @WorldRelief
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VIDEO: Roots of the Tree â Addressing Belief Systems
Elias Kamau is the World Relief Country Director for Kenya. In the video below, he discusses the World Relief approach to sustainable change.
We at World Relief often spend 2-3 years in a community before introducing technical programs, because we believe and recognize that transformation must happen from the inside-out. We know that in order for behaviors to change, belief and value change must first lead the way. And that that change must be rooted in local leaders, addressing local challenges, with local solutions.
Too often, Elias notes, the international community expects instant and easy solutions to massive challenges. But it is vital that we take our time in finding the right solutions, rooted in culturally appropriate lessons, in order to address causation, not just effect. We must come alongside communities, at the right times, with the right local voices, seeking not to solve, but to understand. We must understand the unique values that drive action. That spectrum of understanding, Elias says, is vital for success.
Single-focus, short-term interventions fail to ensure sustainability â in fact, they often breed dependency. Yet through a holistic, nuanced, roots-based approach, harmful beliefs and behaviors can be changed, driving sustainable life-giving results.
We believe the video above gives insight, and helps bring to life, how this kind of transformation happens. And at World Relief, we believe this approach is the only way to achieve lasting change in a community.
VIDEO: Meet Liz Dong
“Immigration is not a political issue. It is a human issue. A biblical issue,” says Liz Dong.
Liz is a Chinese American, and DACA recipient. Here she explains how a small clerical error thew her life into chaos, and how as a suddenly undocumented immigrant, she experienced God’s profound love through the church as His people welcomed her in.
Fact vs. Fiction â 10 Things You Need to Know about the Presidential Determination on Refugee Admissions
Reports from multiple news sources have confirmed that the Trump administration is poised to set 2018 refugee admissions levels at 45,000âthe lowest in the nationâs history. Hereâs what the administration has said in its report to Congress to justify these historically low numbers, at a historically high time of need, and the facts you should know:
FICTION #1:
There is no way to securely vet all refugees who come to the U.S.
FACT: The integrity of security procedures in the U.S. resettlement program is evidenced by the fact that, while over 3 million refugees have been admitted to the U.S. since 1980, not a single refugee has committed a lethal terrorist attack on U.S. soil.
FICTION #2:
Refugees are a security risk as demonstrated by the fact that the FBI is investigating 300 refugees for connections to terrorism.
FACT: 300 refugees is an immensely small fraction of resettled refugees in the U.S. and is not representative of the population writ large. According to CATO, 300 refugees represents less than 0.009 percent of all refugees admitted to the U.S. since 1975. It is a far cry from a statistically significant portion of the refugee population and should not have any bearing on our understanding of the resettled refugee population. Even if those 300 refugees were resettled to the U.S. in a single year, they would represent less than 1% of the total number of refugees accepted on average per year since 1980. [1]
Refugees are not terror threats; they are fleeing terror. Refugees are civilians who have fled their country due to fear of persecution or violence. By definition, refugees have not engaged in violence, persecution of others, or serious criminality. Persons believed to have engaged in war crimes, crimes against humanity or serious non-political crimes are disqualified from refugee status.
FICTION #3:
It is more cost-effective to help refugees in the region, in their first countries of asylum*.
FACT: Refugee resettlement in the U.S. is a solution with one-time, up-front costs that ultimately result in net fiscal gain to the U.S. as refugees become taxpayers. [2] Resettlement requires a short-term investment, but allows refugees to become full-fledged members of our society and economy, providing the refugee with a path to self-sufficiency and benefiting the American economy.
In 2016, over 72 percent of refugees resettled to the U.S. were women and children. [3] Many are single mothers, survivors of torture, or in need of urgent medical treatment. Women and girls are subject to heinous forms of persecution in wartime (such as gang rape) and suffer severe trauma that cannot be addressed in camps or difficult urban environments. Survivors of rape are often ostracized in their host countries, making them priorities for resettlement. For these women, resettlement is the only solution. No amount of aid in their host country could guarantee their safety and psychosocial recovery.
FICTION #4:
12 refugees can be helped in the region for every one refugee resettled to the U.S.
FACT: The comparison of one-time costs associated with resettlement with the long-term costs of assisting refugees for many years on end is not a reasonable one.
Refugees spend an average of 10 years displaced outside their countries of origin. For those refugees displaced for more than five years, the average soars to an astonishing 21 years. Refugees in these protracted situations require assistance over many, many years.
In stark contrast to the 21 years that some refugees spend in host countries dependent on temporary assistance, over the same period, resettled refugees rebuild their lives and contribute $21,000 more to the American economy than they receive in benefits.
FICTION #5:
The aim of U.S. refugee policy is for refugees to return home.
FACT: Of the worldâs 22.5 million refugees, less than 1% have access to resettlement. In 2018, 1.2 million face extreme vulnerabilities or family reunification needs for which they are in need of resettlement. Yet fewer than 200,000 resettlement slots are available annually.
Refugee resettlement of a few is necessary for the successful local integration or return of the majority of refugees. Refugee resettlement relieves pressures on host communities and contributes to overall regional stabilityâcontributing to the conditions necessary for the majority of the refugees that remain in the region to either integrate locally in their host countries or return home when it is safe to do so.
Conversely, retreating from resettlement commitments can have dramatic consequences for the eventual safe return of refugeesâprolonging and sometimes even reigniting conflict.
Today, this risk exists in the premature return of Syrian, Afghan, and Somali refugees, which could further destabilize fragile and conflict-ridden countries. Over 600,000 Afghan refugees were induced to return from Pakistan in 2016âa six-fold increase from 2015âas Afghanistan struggles with growing insecurity, instability and gains by terrorist organizations. Such premature returns come at a time when growing instability in Afghanistan has required an increase in U.S. troop levels to reverse gains by terrorist organizations.
FICTION #6:
The number of refugees resettled is of no consequence to American interests abroad.
FACT: Refugee resettlement is not just a humanitarian program and a moral choice, it is a strategic imperative that promotes regional stability and global security in some of the most challenging parts of the world. Refugee resettlement is a critical foreign policy and national security toolâalleviating pressures on critical allies, helping ensure the international community maintains its humanitarian obligations, encouraging responsibility sharing, maintaining cooperation with allies for U.S. diplomatic and intelligence operations, and sending the message to terrorist groups that the U.S. welcomes those who reject terrorist ideologies.
Maintaining resettlement commitments is critical to the effectiveness of military, diplomatic and intelligence operations abroad and the safety of U.S. troops. Tens of thousands of Iraqi and Afghan nationals have put their lives on the line to support intelligence gathering, operations planning and other essential services, especially translation. These individuals and their families are often targeted by terrorist groups as a direct result of their cooperation with Americans. Resettlement is instrumental in ensuring their safetyâa testament to the U.S. militaryâs commitment to leave no one behind.
Refugee resettlement signals support for those who seek liberty and reject ideologies antithetical to American values. Just as the U.S. offered refuge to those fleeing communist regimes during the Cold War, so too must the U.S. open its arms to those standing against terrorist ideologies, many of whom refused to join or be conscripted into terrorist groups, militias and state security forces persecuting fellow citizens.
The last thing that terrorist organizations like ISIS want is for the U.S. to be a beacon of hope, acceptance and inclusion for Muslims.
FICTION #7:
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) cannot safely vet more than 45K given that improved security vetting being put in place during the 120-day ban is more resource-intensive.
FACT: Even in the face of the worst terrorist attack on our nationâs soil on Sept. 11, 2001, President George W. Bush set an admissions ceiling of 70,000 refugees and continued to do so in the years that followed. Doing so signaled that the U.S. would remain a humanitarian leader and demonstrated that the administration understood the critical role resettlement plays in supporting our allies.
The global context was also different under President Bush. The global refugee population was nearly half of what it is today (12 million in 2001 vs. 22.5 million in 2016).
FICTION #8:
Refugees are too costly; they are a drain on local economies and take jobs away from Americans.
FACT: All evidence points to the fact that refugees benefit local economies and fill empty jobs in the workforce.
A July 2017 report by the Department of Health and Human Services, commissioned by the Trump Administration, found that over the past decade refugees have contributed $63 billion more in government revenues over the past decade than they cost. [4]
FICTION #9:
Even with an admissions ceiling of 45,000 refugees, the U.S. will remain the world leader in refugee resettlement.
FACT: The average annual admissions ceiling since 1980 has exceeded 95,000. A refugee admissions ceiling of 45,000âthe lowest level ever setâis a drastic departure from historic tradition, signaling a retreat in leadership on the world stage. Presidents from both parties in the past two decades have set robust refugee ceilings as a proud humanitarian tradition of welcome.
Last year, Canada resettled 46,000 refugees, more than the new cap. Canada is roughly one-tenth the size of the US population and economy (smaller, in both regards, than the single U.S. state of California)
FICTION #10:
Refugees are imposed upon unwilling and overburdened communities who wish to care for their own people first and foremost, not the foreign born.
FACT:. The private sector, faith institutions and local communities are all deeply invested and involved in welcoming refugees and helping them achieve successful integration in their new homes. They do so with a commitment and desire to reflect the values of America, and build better, stronger, more vibrant communities here in the U.S.
Communities are enrichedâspiritually, socially, and economicallyâthrough diversity. Immigrants and refugees have enriched our nation, our community and our churches for generations through the unique cultures and traditions they bring. Hundreds of employers around the country work closely with resettlement agencies to systematically hire refugees (mainly in the manufacturing, hotel and food industries) in many industries that native-born Americans will not work in. Employers look to hire refugees because they find refugees to be among their most stable, reliable employees.
Thousands of volunteers and members of congregations donate tens of thousands of hours and in-kind contributions each year to support refugees, lowering costs to the federal government. Community members donate household items to help furnish a refugee familyâs first apartment, teach financial literacy and cultural orientation classes, help new arrivals prepare for job interviews, mentor refugee families to help them adapt to the American way of life, and much more.
* UNHCR says “The âfirst country of asylumâ concept is to be applied in cases where a person has already, in a previous state, found international protection, that is once again accessible and effective for the individual concerned.”
[1] âTrumpâs claim that âmore than 300â refugees are subjects of counterterrorism investigations,â Washington Post, March 2017
[2] âThese researchers just debunked an all-too-common belief about refugees,â Washington Post, June 2017
[3] âFact Sheet: Fiscal Year 2016 Refugee Admissions,â U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration January 2017.
[4] âRejected Report Shows Revenue Brought In by Refugees,â New York Times, September 2017
World Relief Expresses Disappointment at the Reduction in US Refugee Admissions for FY18, Pledges to Continue Working with Churches to Serve Refugees
***FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE***
SEPTEMBER 28, 2017
CONTACTS:
Jenny Yang 443.527.8363
Christina Klinepeter 773.724.0605
World Relief Expresses Disappointment at the Reduction in US Refugee Admissions for FY18, Pledges to Continue Working with Churches to Serve Refugees
BALTIMORE, MD â
World Relief is very disappointed by reports that the President will set the maximum number of refugees who could be resettled to the United States in FY2018 at a historically low 45,000. World Relief has urged the administration to allow at least 75,000 refugees to find safety and rebuild their lives in the United States in the new fiscal year that begins on October 1st, 2017. At a time of unprecedented forced displacement, World Relief has worked with hundreds of U.S. churches that are ready and willing to welcome as many refugees as our government will allow.
âThe refugee program has been a lifeline of protection for persecuted individuals, in particular, persecuted Christians, around the world. We should take every opportunity to protect them, including through the strategic use of resettlement,â said Scott Arbeiter, President of World Relief. âA refugee admissions ceiling of 45,000 is extremely troubling, especially as the persecution of many religious minorities, including Christians, is on the rise globally,â said Arbeiter. âWorld Relief is grateful for the Presidentâs strong statements of commitment to stand with persecuted Christians and we had hoped he would set a refugee ceiling that would allow moreânot fewerâpersecuted Christians along with other persecuted religious minorities to find safety and rebuild their lives in the U.S.â
Historically, the average annual refugee admissions ceiling since 1980 has been 95,000, with Republican Presidents Reagan and George H.W. Bush setting their own respective refugee admissions ceilings as high as 140,000 (FY1982) and 142,000 (FY1993) respectively. Since 2001, the average refugee admissions ceiling has been 81,000.
Arbeiter continued, âSetting the refugee admissions ceiling at 45,000 will have devastating consequences in some of the most fragile regions around the world. Our allies in the Middle East, Africa, and Asia in particular work in partnership with the United States to assist and protect refugees from despotic regimes and horrific terrorism. The United States should lead a more robust refugee response especially as there are more refugees in the world now than ever in recorded history.â
CEO of World Relief Tim Breene said, âThe United States setting the refugee ceiling at historically low levels is profoundly worrying and disturbing. We are better than this. As Christians, we believe that all people are made in the image of God and that we are called to welcome the stranger. These beliefs are also enshrined in the history and traditions of the USA which have made America great.â
Of the worldâs 22.5 million refugees, the UN estimates that 1.2 million are in critical need of resettlement in 2018 because they face extreme vulnerabilities or family reunification needs. With a maximum of 45,000 being resettled in FY18, the U.S. will welcome, at most, two-tenths of one percent of the worldâs refugees and less than 4% of those who are in urgent need of resettlement. 72% of refugees that came to the U.S. in 2016 were women and children. âRefugees are widows, orphans, and victims of rape, torture, religious persecution, and political oppression,â said Arbeiter, âThey flee the very regimes and terror the U.S. is fighting against. These are individuals whom God specifically calls us in Scripture to care for and serve.â
âSuch a severely limited refugee ceiling for FY18 will have ripple effects all around the world and keep refugees who have nowhere to go in constant risk,â said Breene. âThis will affect those desperately fleeing persecution and violence, women and children who have experienced unimaginable atrocity, and our allies who have supported our armed forces and foreign policy agenda. In our nearly forty years of welcoming refugees, we have seen the mutual transformation that happens as refugees integrate into the fabric of the United States. We have seen the lives of volunteers and of local churches enriched as they serve and learn from resilient new neighbors. We have witnessed local economies thrive because of refugeesâ entrepreneurialism. Hundreds of churches in the U.S. are eager and willing to welcome and serve refugees in partnership with the U.S. government, and a dramatically reduced refugee ceiling will limit their ability to live out their faith in this way. Weâre deeply saddened by such a low ceiling and urge the President to use refugee resettlement as a foreign policy tool to promote our values abroad, while also providing refuge for those fleeing persecution to rebuild their lives in the U.S.â
Download the PDF version of this press release.
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World Relief is a global humanitarian relief and development organization that stands with the vulnerable and partners with local churches to end the cycle of suffering, transform lives and build sustainable communities. With over 70 years of experience, World Relief works in 20 countries worldwide through disaster response, health and child development, economic development and peacebuilding and has offices in the United States that specialize in refugee and immigration services.
Website | worldrelief.org Twitter | @WorldRelief
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