Violinist Mariela Shaker, who fled Aleppo as a college student, reflects on the war in Syria, the healing power of music, and the contributions refugees make in the countries that welcome them.

Actor Mandy Patinkin is traveling in Europe with the IRC this week to see the refugee crisis firsthand, and meet brave and resilient people at various stages of their own journeys from harm to home. Follow his path - and theirs - from Greece to Serbia and Berlin.

Thousands of refugees escaping violence and persecution travel along the Central Mediterranean Route – from sub-Saharan Africa, through Niger to Libya and some on to Europe. These asylum seekers face the dangers of the world's harshest extreme environments: the sea and the desert.

American aid is a mighty defense against conflict, poverty and despair, especially in countries where war and violence has forced millions to flee from the places they once called home. 

“When you start doing anything, at first it’s going to be frightening,” Bothina Matar reassures the refugee women she works with in Dallas. She encourages them to strive for a better future—their children’s future—without forgetting their past. “I am trying my best,” Bothina tells them, “and succeeding somehow.”