In this Medium series, Lucy Carrigan and Kathleen Prior from the IRC document the plight of refugees trapped by border closings along the Balkan route.

Right now some 60 million people around the world are living in limbo, having been forced to flee their homes by war, conflict and persecution. That's more lives uprooted than at any time since World War II.

Learn how the International Rescue Committee was founded at the call of physicist, humanitarian -- and refugee -- Albert Einstein.

Horrific attacks in cities like Orlando and Paris have sparked a dangerous backlash against refugees in Europe and the United States — particularly against Syrians, 13 million of whom have been uprooted by nearly five years of terror at home.

Meet some of the well-known artists, ambassadors, CEOs and other luminaries who were once refugees.

Little is known about the young boys fleeing by themselves to Europe from crisis zones like Afghanistan

Born to parents who fled violence in Congo, Patrick and George became the first of their family to attend college. They are working to counter negative rhetoric about refugees in the United States and inspire other refugees to pursue their dreams.

As unusually severe winter weather grips Greece, the International Rescue Committee has been doing everything within our power to ensure that people staying in the refugee sites where we work are warm and safe.

As thousands of refugees are stranded or risking their lives trying to transit through Bulgaria, Serbia and Hungary in extremely cold weather, the IRC and its partners in Serbia are providing winter relief, including clothing, medicine and other emergency aid in some of the most challenging locations.

Growing up in exile, Mulu Bahre found his place in the world when he became an American citizen. He is now eager to give back to the country that accepted him and his family.