Along with hundreds of other refugees, Audrey, Baimba and Hassan have received mental health support from the IRC whilst living in Greece’s overcrowded camps. They’ve confronted the traumas of the past whilst living in conditions that no one should have to endure. The pandemic has only made things tougher for refugees living in camps with lockdowns trapping people in intolerable conditions.

In northeastern Nigeria, conflict and instability has left three out of 10 women and girls with experiences of violence. Through the Programmatic Partnership with the European Union, the IRC is running safe spaces where girls like Hauwa learn mindfulness techniques, helping them to manage stress and deal with negative thoughts.

Refugees bring more than they carry. When forced to flee, refugees can only carry so much.

Chadia and her daughter Nour fled Syria years ago. Now, for World Refugee Day, they’re opening up about how the experience shaped them—and how they’re now in turn helping shape their new home for the better. When asked her favourite thing about her mom Chadia Bchir, 15-year-old Nour Alsaleh says without hesitation, it’s her smile.

Refugees bring more than they carry. When forced to flee, refugees can only carry so much.

Every minute conflict and disaster forces 20 people to flee their homes, often with mere seconds to make impossible choices about what to bring with them on a journey of unknown length to an unknown destination. We can never replace what was left behind, but your donations can help create a new beginning. Donate now.

Andrii Kokorin, 52, and his wife Mariia Borysova, 39, will never forget the day they met. They were restoring an old monastery together in Ukraine—Andrii as a builder and carpenter and Mariia as an artist.  “You sat down next to me, and, by some divine providence, I gave you my hand, and you gave me yours,” said Andrii.

When asked how her family story has shaped her, Juno Englander, whose father fled Nazi-occupied Czechoslovakia during the Second World War, answers without hesitation: "That one must never give up, that one must always see the positive."  Today, Juno’s father’s spirit also inspires his grandson, film and television actor Lucas Englander.  “He just tried as an individual to do his utmost to help people, or make a difference politically

Refugees should not be kept in closed and controlled camps but rather shared community settings. International Rescue Committee Advocacy Officer Melina Koumpou speaks from the Greek island of Samos where many refugees live isolated behind barbed wire in a closed controlled camp far from the nearest city.

For more information on how to access healthcare services in Greece, please check our video.