In the battle against COVID-19 and beyond, refugees are essential to keeping communities safe, making society stronger and rebuilding our world. This World Refugee Day—and every day—we are proud to celebrate their contributions. Watch our video voiced by South African refugee and famed actress Noma Dumezweni.  Learn more about our campaign at Rescue.org/WorldRefugeeDay. 

When millions fled Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia after the fall of Saigon, the IRC was there to help them start anew in the U.S.

  Fariba, who left Afghanistan as a child, creates beautiful bags and jewelry from materials other refugees brought with them on boats to Greece. Now she's using her skills to start a business.

As the war in Ukraine escalated in 2022, Alisa had one priority: to protect her family by starting a life elsewhere.

Actor and activist Mandy Patinkin recently witnessed first­hand the refugee crisis engulfing Europe. Alongside International Rescue Committee aid workers in Greece, he met families who had fled Syria and other war­torn countries in hopes of finding a better life for their children in Europe. “Standing with them, I did not see strangers to be feared but the faces and stories of my own family.

Uganda has received its millionth refugee from South Sudan, its neighbor consumed by civil war. Uganda could have tried to keep the refugees out, regarding them as a potential burden on a still-developing country. Instead, Uganda embraced the refugees as brothers and sisters who need help and a chance to start a new life somewhere safe.

As part of the International Rescue Committee(IRC)'s 2022 Global Virtual Event, world famous cellist and IRC Luminary Yo-Yo Ma met with Zarlasht and Shir Zad Sarbaz,  Afghan refugees who moved to the United States in December of 2021.

Over 65 million people have been forcibly displaced from their homes: 21 million of them are refugees who have crossed borders to seek safety. Where are most of these refugees going? The answer may surprise you.

Did you know more than 60 percent of refugees live in an urban area or city—not in a refugee camp? Here are the facts you need to know about where refugees live.