Media CenterWorld Refugee Day: 17 Years In Limbo — What Would You Do?

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT:          
Nikki Gamer
Catholic Relief Services
(443) 955-7125
[email protected]

A new video from Catholic Relief Services (CRS) asks Americans to ponder life 17 years from now—
the average amount of time today’s refugees are uprooted from their homes.

BALTIMORE, MD, June 16, 2016 – What will you be doing in 17 years? In recognition of World Refugee Day, June 20, a new video from Catholic Relief Services (CRS) asks Americans to think about this question as a reminder of the average time a refugee will be displaced from his or her home.

“With 65 million refugees around the world, the scale of the suffering is devastating. As Pope Francis reminds us, there are human faces behind the staggering statistics. Each of the millions of displaced Syrians, for example, is an individual uprooted from a full life, a career, a loved one,” says Kevin Hartigan, CRS regional director for Europe, the Middle East and Central Asia.

Half of the 65 million people displaced globally today are children, and this “lost generation” could spend their entire childhood without a place to call home. The crisis is turning into one of the greatest humanitarian catastrophes today.

CRS provides support to millions of refugees around the globe. In the Middle East, for example, where the biggest exodus since World War II has been unfolding as a result of the Syrian civil war, CRS teams and our Church partners work tirelessly to make sure those years aren’t lost entirely. 

Journalists, bloggers, and editors: Please join CRS in urging people into action by sharing this video with your audiences. 

###

Catholic Relief Services is the official international humanitarian agency of the Catholic community in the United States. The agency alleviates suffering and provides assistance to people in need in more than 100 countries, without regard to race, religion or nationality. CRS’ relief and development work is accomplished through programs of emergency response, HIV, health, agriculture, education, microfinance and peacebuilding. For more information, please visit crs.org or crsespanol.org and follow CRS on social media: Facebook, @CatholicRelief, @CRSnews, YouTube, Instagram and Pinterest.