Media
It’s Not That Immigrants Are Unwilling to ‘Wait Their Turn’
Image: Drew Angerer/Getty Image
By Matthew Soerens
The attitude of many Americans toward immigrants can be summed up in a simple question: “Why don’t they just wait their turn in line?”
Our view: Welcoming the stranger
Rob Cassell, World Relief Triad Executive Director, Graham Aitken, pastor of the Heart in Boone, Adam Clark, World Relief Durham’s Executive Director, and the Evangelical Immigration Table come together to discuss the prevalent need for immigration reform and providing a path towards legal citizenship for immigrants facing impermanence in this opinion piece.
A letter soliciting support from members of Congress — including our own Sens. Richard Burr and Thom Tillis — will, we hope, be influential. Its cause is compassionate and just.
The letter, signed by more than 70 evangelical pastors, leaders and church members — participants in the Evangelical Immigration Table — urges our legislators to provide permanent legal status to Afghans who are already resettled across the U.S. after fleeing from the nightmare of Afghanistan’s final days as a democracy in August 2021.
These are the people, and their family members, who assisted the U.S. military and other Americans during our long and, in the end, tragic foray into Afghanistan, only to have to abandon their homes and rush to safety here after civilized allies left and the Taliban resurged.
San Antonio migrant tragedy adds to growing body count along U.S.-Mexico border
Image: Eric Gay/Associated Press
By Kyle Dunphey
The death toll continues to rise after a trailer filled with dozens of migrants was discovered in San Antonio Monday, with 53 now deceased and over 12 hospitalized.
On Refugees, Being Better Than Trump Isn’t Good Enough
Image: Spencer Platt/Getty Images
By Myal Greene
On World Refugee Day, as the war in Ukraine rages, the number of forcibly displaced people globally has topped 100 million for the first time in recorded history.
World Relief Welcomes Announcement of Ukrainian Refugee Resettlement and Humanitarian Assistance, Urges Broader Welcome
March 24, 2022
CONTACT:
Audrey Garden
audrey.garden@pinkston.co
571-405-1606
BALTIMORE – Today, President Biden announced a plan to admit as many as 100,000 Ukrainians to the United States as refugees and through other means. In addition, the United States is committing to provide more than $1 billion in new funding towards humanitarian assistance for those affected by Russia’s war in Ukraine and its impacts around the world. World Relief welcomes this announcement of additional humanitarian aid and is eager to welcome more Ukrainians to the United States, while also insisting that the U.S. should also welcome a larger number of refugees fleeing other conflicts globally.
“Prior to the Russian invasion last month, World Relief had already resettled more than 7,300 Ukrainians in the past decade, roughly 40 percent of all Ukrainians admitted to the U.S. as refugees during that time,” observed Myal Greene, president and CEO of World Relief. “We are in close contact with many of these individuals, almost all of whom have loved ones now at risk in Ukraine, and we’re grateful that President Biden’s announcement today seems to open up the likelihood of expedited family reunification and other avenues of protection. We are ready to welcome them, in partnership with local churches and other community partners.”
World Relief is also actively responding to the crisis in Europe, working with local churches and other partners both in Western Ukraine and in Slovakia, Romania, Moldova, Poland, and Hungary to provide immediate humanitarian assistance to Ukrainians who were forced to flee to neighboring countries or are in need of immediate assistance in Ukraine.
“The additional funding provided by the United States will help meet the immediate humanitarian needs of vulnerable Ukrainians who are bearing the brunt of war. We urge the international community to continue to provide humanitarian assistance as generously as possible to vulnerable Ukrainians and ensure there can be humanitarian corridors for civilians to be able to safely leave Ukraine or for aid to reach those trapped inside Ukraine,” said Myal Greene. “Most Ukrainians who make the difficult decision to leave their homes are relatively safe in neighboring European countries, where most would prefer to stay, in part because they hope and pray to return soon to a safe, free Ukraine. But for those who have family in the U.S. or for whom voluntary repatriation is impossible, some may prefer the option of resettlement to the U.S., where we are also eager to welcome and support them as they replant their lives. A multi-pronged approach to this crisis, exploring every pathway of protection for those who can resettle to the United States, while also continuing to support Ukrainians who remain in the region, will be critical as the humanitarian needs climb in the months ahead.”
While pleased with the U.S. government’s intention to welcome a large number of Ukrainian refugees, World Relief is also concerned about refugees who have fled other conflicts. “The Russian invasion of Ukraine is just the latest in a series of wars and conflicts that have fueled the greatest global refugee crisis since at least World War II,” noted Jenny Yang, senior vice president of advocacy and policy for World Relief. “The Biden administration must rebuild the U.S. refugee resettlement program not only for Ukrainians, but also for those who have fled similar conflicts that have garnered less media attention or been largely forgotten in the U.S. — even though the conflicts continue and refugees remain in desperate conditions in neighboring countries for years and sometimes for decades.”
World Relief celebrated the president’s decision last fall to raise the annual ceiling for refugee admissions to 125,000, the highest level in decades. But it has become clear that, without dramatic U.S. government efforts to increase the pace and scale of overseas processing as well as sustained investments in the domestic resettlement infrastructure, the U.S. will resettle, at most, a small fraction of that goal this year. Five months into the federal fiscal year, the U.S. has admitted just 6,494 refugees, which does not include Afghans resettled through a separate process.
“We need to rebuild a robust, nimble resettlement process that can welcome the persecuted from various parts of the world, with a particular concern for those most vulnerable, who may have no safe neighboring country to which to flee. And we must also ensure our asylum laws offer protections to those of any nationality who reach the U.S. and can demonstrate a credible fear of persecution, rights that the Biden administration is currently denying to many who are not Ukrainian under the pretext of the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Yang.
As the president travels to Europe, World Relief urges the president to encourage and support Poland and neighboring countries to continue their welcome of Ukrainian and other refugees. World Relief also urges the international community to stand in solidarity with the Ukrainian people by providing ongoing humanitarian assistance and facilitating diplomatic solutions to resolve the conflict.
“We hope and pray that the Ukrainian people will know peace and security in the near future. And we call upon the global church to support the Ukrainian people, and others experiencing conflict, as robustly as possible,” said Myal Greene.
Individuals interested in supporting World Relief’s humanitarian response in and around Ukraine can find more information at worldrelief.org/respond, while those interested in supporting resettlement efforts within the U.S. can find a list of World Relief resettlement locations at worldrelief.org/us-locations.
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.
COVID-19 Impact on the World’s Poor
Over the past two years, COVID-19 has grown into one of the greatest humanitarian issues in recorded history. In this report, we lay out the devastating effects economically, socially, emotionally and physically, and how we can respond with compassionate, thoughtful action.
Overview
From 1990 until 2015 we witnessed a consistent downward trend of global poverty rates, from nearly 36% to just 10% of people at the extreme poverty level living on just $1.90 a day. COVID-19 changed everything, and today 97 million more people were pushed into poverty as a result of COVID-19. Globally, “three to four years of progress toward ending extreme poverty are estimated to have been lost.”
Food Insecurity and Livelihoods
Expectations from the start of the pandemic showed that the number of people facing acute food insecurity would nearly double to 265 million by the end of 2020. But forecasting today predicts that acute food insecurity is likely to deteriorate even further in 20 countries of West Africa alone. Young children globally are bearing the brunt of the devastation, with 50 million suffering from wasting (low weight-for-height). There is virtually no aspect of livelihood and employment that COVID-19 has not interfered with.
Healthcare
Throughout Africa, the pandemic has disrupted critical health services and undermined years of progress fighting other deadly diseases, including HIV, TB and malaria. And COVID-19 vaccine distribution, education and availability have been a problem. Poorer nations rejected more than 100 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines in one month alone because of insufficient storage facilities, vaccine hesitancy and overburdened healthcare systems.
Women & Children
The devastating impact of COVID-19 on women and children cannot be overstated. Women typically earn less, have less access to social protections and make up most single-parent households. Along with rising rates of poverty come other major concerns, one of which is the “shadow pandemic”— violence against women. The number of children affected by COVID-19-associated orphanhood and caregiver death is estimated to have increased by 90% in just six months. Globally, schoolchildren have lost over 1.8 trillion hours of in-person learning, and only 1 in 10 students in the poorest countries have internet access, making remote learning inaccessible.
World Relief Responds
World Relief has been responding since the early days of the pandemic, launching an online information and support platform, providing community mobilization about COVID-19, delivering vaccinations and providing livelihood support, child protection and health services.
Our view: Welcoming the stranger
Winston-Salem Journal //
A letter soliciting support from members of Congress — including our own Sens. Richard Burr and Thom Tillis — will, we hope, be influential. Its cause is compassionate and just.
The letter, signed by more than 70 evangelical pastors, leaders and church members — participants in the Evangelical Immigration Table — urges our legislators to provide permanent legal status to Afghans who are already resettled across the U.S. after fleeing from the nightmare of Afghanistan’s final days as a democracy in August 2021.
These are the people, and their family members, who assisted the U.S. military and other Americans during our long and, at the end, tragic foray in Afghanistan, only to have to abandon their homes and rush to safety here after civilized allies left and the Taliban resurged. …
Read the full piece at the Winston-Salem Journal.
Visit the Evangelical Immigration Table to add your name to the letter.
Three Ways to Care for Children Orphaned by COVID-19
Image: Taylor Brandon / Unsplash
By Lanre Williams-Ayedun
In this brand new report, World Relief’s Lanre Williams-Ayedun, expounds on the impact of COVID-19 and how we can help.
The Gift of Friendship – Welcome Club for Refugee Students
The little moments that create welcoming communities can make the largest impact in the life of a refugee child.
As part of World Relief Sacramento’s Children and Youth Department highlight, we attended Welcome Club, a weekly afterschool program that focuses on character development and cultural engagement. Students learned about the gift of friendship and love by using rocks, pink and red paint, and multicolored markers to create “friendship rocks” to give to another friend or family member along with a note of encouragement.
Some students decided to give their friendship rocks to World Relief Sacramento team members because of their love for the program –
“Thank you so much for being a great teacher to all of these students. Thank you for everything. Happy Valentines Day.”
“To all of the coaches. Thank you so much for creating Welcome Club. Thank you so much. Happy Valentines Day.”
Programs like Welcome Club change lives by providing a space for refugee students to grow and to feel like kids. It creates a safe environment for youth to feel belonging.
We wouldn’t be able to make lasting impacts without your continuous support. You can help programs like Welcome Club this month by participating in our Children and Youth drive this month! Help us reach our goal of giving 250 $15 Target gift cards to teach students financial independence and to encourage accomplishing goals.
Click here to donate and send to Meghan Scurti (4616 Roseville Rd, Ste 107 North Highlands, CA) or by dropping them off at our office during our donation hours (Fridays 11am-3pm).
Want to continually make a lasting impact? You can become a monthly donor by clicking here!
Join us in making a difference in the lives of refugee youth.
We need equity and justice in vaccine distribution. The church can help.
Image: AP Photo / Marta Lavandier
By Myal Greene, Lanre Williams-Ayedun
Though we in the United States seem to be on the downslope of the latest surge of COVID-19, many countries are still in the thick of the fight against the omicron variant. Scientists warn that another variant could send our numbers back up at any time. So far, we know of only one good answer: vaccines.
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