Dear John,
As we approach World Refugee Day on June 20, we wanted to share with you why our work for refugees and asylum seekers is so important.
Around the world, more than 70 million people have been forced to leave their homes and are in search of safety from violence and persecution. For them, the pandemic has made a difficult situation even worse.
In places where HIAS works, like Greece and Chad, far too many families are trapped in crowded living conditions without adequate access to sanitation or medical care, leaving them especially vulnerable to contracting COVID-19. In Israel, more than 90% of asylum seekers have lost their jobs and cannot make rent or feed their families. And in Panama, many refugees and asylum seekers cannot escape dangerous situations that put them at risk of domestic violence.
Yet even as countries have closed their borders, HIAS continues to do everything possible to meet the urgent needs of displaced families in 16 countries. Every day, our teams are providing refugees with one-on-one counseling services, as well as access to emergency cash-based relief, legal aid and other vital assistance to help them rebuild new lives in safety.
No matter how long this difficult situation lasts, HIAS will never turn our backs on refugees and asylum seekers seeking safety from persecution. That’s why, in honor of World Refugee Day, we’ve set a goal to raise $150,000 to continue this crucial work.
Thank you for making this lifesaving work possible.
Team HIAS
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