Dear John,
The coronavirus pandemic is a devastating development for refugees and asylum seekers around the world.
Stuck in overcrowded camps and unfamiliar cities or held behind newly closed borders – often without access to clean water or health care – refugees are especially vulnerable to the havoc this virus is wreaking on communities everywhere. Confined to their homes due to lockdowns, refugees are unable to go out to earn a living, while refugee women and girls are more vulnerable than ever to gender-based violence.
HIAS is doing everything we can to prevent the spread of the coronavirus in refugee communities – providing them with critical information about the virus and ways to access medical care, shelter, food, and other support.
We’re also looking for new ways to deliver our services remotely, because the need for essential services like resettlement assistance and legal aid is just as pressing now as it was last week and the week before.
HIAS isn’t stepping back from the challenges the coronavirus pandemic has created – we’re stepping up. We know these are difficult times, but if you're able to, we're asking if you could make a contribution of $18 today to help support our lifesaving programs in support of refugees and asylum seekers.
Across the 16 countries where we operate, HIAS is committed to maintaining our services while taking every precaution to keep our teams and the people we help safe.
In Ecuador, HIAS is partnering with local supermarkets to help asylum seekers buy food, helping refugees on our hotline, and offering emergency rent payment, food and medicine to those most urgently in need.
As Greece puts coronavirus response measures in place that effectively trap asylum seekers in overcrowded camps, HIAS is filing petitions against detention, advocating against dangerous living conditions, and providing assistance to newly arrived refugees.
And in Panama, HIAS teams are empowering refugees by sharing vital information through social media, providing phone- and zoom-based mental health services, creating safety plans for survivors of domestic abuse, and offering emergency cash assistance to those who need it.
For more than a hundred years, our values have guided our work as we help refugees and asylum seekers build new lives free of violence and persecution. With refugee communities increasingly affected by this worsening pandemic, HIAS remains as committed as ever to helping refugees stay safe – during this crisis and beyond. That’s why we’re asking for your support now:
Thank you for everything you do for those in need. We couldn’t be more grateful for your support.
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