Seeking Refuge, Rebuilding Lives
Today, we are witnessing the highest levels of displacement on record, with 65.6 million people displaced worldwide. Every minute, 20 people flee their homes to escape war, disaster, terror or persecution. They have no choice but to leave behind the things they love: their families, friends, livelihoods and communities. They take only what they can carry – if they are lucky to carry anything at all. And they find themselves in unfamiliar places, surrounded by strangers and mired in uncertainty—wondering if they will ever go home and how to start again.
Every year, the international community honors refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs) with World Refugee Day on June 20. This year, International Medical Corps will take you deeper into the experiences of the refugees and IDPs we serve globally on the frontlines of war and disaster. Whether they are Syrian refugees in Jordanian camps or Congolese IDPs in temporary shelters, we meet those most in need wherever they are and provide emergency relief, comprehensive health care and long-term programming to help them recover and rebuild. Their lives are unique and their circumstances complex, but they are all seeking the same things: refuge, and a way to move forward.
These are their stories.
Fast Facts:
- 65.6 million individuals displaced worldwide as a result of persecution, conflict, violence or human rights violations—the highest number on record
- One person becomes displaced every 3 seconds
- 55% of refugees come from just three countries: Syria, Afghanistan and South Sudan
- Refugee children are five times more likely to be out of school than their non-refugee peers
Somalia
In a village called Harhar, International Medical Corps built 30 latrines to serve internally displaced people in Somalia. Nadifu and her children now call this village home after a relentless drought wiped out their livestock, leaving them without food, water or a source of livelihood.
Central African Republic
An International Medical Corps doctor speaks with Emma at PK3, a camp for displaced persons near Bria in the Central African Republic.
Greece
Nurse Despoina Botonaki checks a baby’s temperature at an International Medical Corps mobile medical unit in Greece serving Syrian and Iraqi refugees.
Iraq
A woman walks with her daughter in Hammam al-Alil, a camp for those displaced in the Battle for Mosul in Iraq, where International Medical Corps has worked since 2003.
Lebanon
At an informal Syrian refugee settlement in Lebanon's Bekaa Valley, International Medical Corps provides health education sessions.
Nigeria
Families displaced by the Boko Haram insurgency line up for food being distributed by International Medical Corps in northeast Nigeria's Borno state.