Burgess COMMENTARY

Peter Burgess

75 Years From Harm to Home Donate Now. Support our work Take Action. Advocate for change

Refugee crisis: the IRC's response from Syria and Afghanistan to Europe and the United States

September 6, 2015 by The IRC

Thousands of refugees are arriving on Europe's shores each day seeking safety and a new start after fleeing conflict in Syria and other countries in chaos. IRC video from August 2015. Donate now to support the IRC's emergency response »

The International Rescue Committee is providing humanitarian aid to millions of people displaced by years of brutal conflict in Syria and Afghanistan. With neighboring countries no longer able to absorb the influx, hundreds of thousands of refugees have fled to Europe seek safety and better lives. The IRC is the only aid organization assisting the refugees in the Middle East, Asia, Europe and the United States.

Our relief efforts are taking place inside Syria and in four neighboring countries, in Afghanistan, on the shores of Greece, and in our 25 resettlement offices in the U.S.

In Syria and across the Middle East ... More than 3,000 IRC aid workers and local volunteers operating in five countries have reached 2.4 million Syrians fleeing violence with emergency services and long-term support. Here are just a few examples of our work and impact:

Health

Inside Syria, the IRC and our local partners are keeping 50 primary care clinics, a trauma center, and a dialysis center up and running. In 2014 alone, we immunized over 1 million children and gave 567,643 medical consultations.

In northern Jordan, IRC mobile clinics have reached 18,000 Syrians and Jordanians who could not otherwise access health services.

Children

IRC schools in 13 camps for displaced families inside Syria provide classes, counseling, and protection services for nearly 5,000 children

In Iraq, the IRC provides career services and training for uprooted Syrian and Iraqi youth in skills our market research shows are needed in their communities

Emergency relief and economic recovery

In Lebanon, over 16,000 Syrian refugees and their Lebanese neighbors have benefited from the IRC’s work to help families make ends meet with emergency cash assistance and create long term opportunities by developing job skills

Information sharing and innovation

More and more, refugees are settling in urban areas where they are harder to find and reach with assistance. IRC teams are making innovative use of technologies such as geo-tracking and unique beneficiary IDs to respond efficiently and effectively to those in need, and adjust our response in real time.

In Afghanistan

The IRC has worked inside Afghanistan for nearly three decades and currently reaches over 4 million people in more than 4,000 communities, focusing on community-driven reconstruction projects and education. We also provide emergency relief to people who have been forced to flee their homes by violence.

In Europe

Thousands of refugees are arriving each day on the shores of Lesbos, Greece in hopes of making their way to wealthier nations in Europe. In July, the IRC was one of the first aid organizations to deploy an emergency response team to the island.

IRC aid workers continue to work around the clock to provide essential services, including clean water and sanitation to families living in terrible conditions in the Kara Tepe refugee camp on Lesbos. And we are helping new arrivals navigate the confusing transit process and understand their legal rights.

In the United States

The IRC is proud to have resettled 270 of the 1,541 Syrian refugees who have been accepted into the U.S., including a businessman and his family who fled the bombing of Aleppo, Syria, and now live in New Jersey. We also assisted a carpenter from Homs, Syria who fled with his family and now lives in Georgia. These families are incredibly grateful to the U.S. for sanctuary and the opportunities for a safe and secure life.

We believe those figures — and stories — are far too few. Even the U. S.’s commitment to accept 8,000 refugees is not enough. Syria’s neighbors have accepted 4 million refugees, and Germany alone says it is prepared to take in 800,000.

Global advocacy

The IRC is committed to advocating on behalf of those whose lives have been shattered by this crisis. We are working to influence and shape opinions and policy by leading the call for the U.S. government to resettle 65,000 Syrian refugees and asylum seekers before the end of 2016. Fourteen U.S. Senators have indicated support for this recommendation.

We have launched a Change.org petition to Make all #RefugeesWelcome. We’re encouraging people to sign the pledge to stand with refugees and the IRC. The world’s governments need to hear our call to offer a safe haven and a new start to Syrian families and other refugees fleeing war and persecution.

We're also continuing to focus on the need for a solution at the source via political and diplomatic pressure to bring an end to the conflict in Syria.

How to help refugees

Sign our petition to make all #RefugeesWelcome

Donate now to support our emergency response to the refugee crisis

Join @theIRC on Twitter and the International Rescue Committee on Facebook and help us spread the word

Posted in Advocacy, Emergency Response, Resettlement, Humanitarian Aid, Syria Crisis, Afghanistan, Europe Refugee Crisis, Europe, Greece, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Middle East, Syria, U.K., United States