Adapted from the Episcopal Church’s Office of Public Affairs
The Episcopal Church will sponsor an hour-long webinar December 8 on Syria’s refugees.
Facilitated by Allison Duvall, church relations manager for Episcopal Migration Ministries, the church’s refugee resettlement agency, and Katie Conway, the church’s policy analyst for immigration and refugees, the free webinar begins at 7 p.m. (EST). The webinar also will be available on demand after the meeting.
Visit this page to register for the webinar.
Questions are welcome via the webinar chat room or on social media using #ShareTheJourney.
The facilitators will provide a survey of the conflict, the current status of Syria’s growing number of refugees, an update from the region, and what can be done in communities to prepare the way to welcome Syrian refugees as they arrive in the United States.
“Over 3.2 million Syrian refugees have fled their homes since the outbreak of civil war in 2011,” Conway said. “Most have fled to the neighboring countries of Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey, Egypt, and Iraq.”
Duvall added, “As the conflict continues to create new waves of refugees, neighboring asylum countries have been stretched beyond the breaking point as they try to provide protection and assistance.”
To serve these refugees and to enable countries within the region to continue providing sanctuary, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees has asked resettlement countries, of which the United States is the global leader, to increase admissions for Syrian refugees.
Image from “Syrian Refugees Seek Out Smugglers” by Voice of America News, via Wikimedia Commons
