Each year on June 20, organizations around the world commemorate World Refugee Day.
Established by the United Nations men, women and children who are forced to leave their homes are honored for their strength and courage. According to the UN Refugee Agency, approximately 43.7 refugee displaced from their homeland around the world.
“For Christians, at least, we reach out to refugees and other immigrants because the Bible instructs us to do so,” Matthew Soerens, a World Relief staffer and field director of the Evangelical Immigration Table, told Religion News Service.
The U.S. Department of State welcomes the most refugees than any other nation. Nearly 70,000 refugees from 65 nations found a new home in in the United States last year.
Many humanitarian officials have expressed concern of the fragility of the refugee experience underlined by situations in Afghanistan, Somalia, Iraq and Syria, causing 7.6 million people to became refugees in 2012 alone. The total number of refugees is now greater than at any time since 1994.
“World Refugee Day is more than a moment marked on a calendar, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said in a statement. “It is a time to honor the strength and resilience of refugees around the world and renew our determination to support them as they rebuild their lives and communities.”
Publication date: June 20, 2014