Eight-year-old twin sisters from Afghanistan recount harrowing tales of the fearful journey they endured as they made their escape to Europe. They are just two of the more than one million refugees from countries experiencing relentless conflicts who have fled to Europe for safety and a new start. "The smugglers had sticks and they beat us, and wouldn’t let us stop even for five minutes," one of the girls said.

The story of 13‐year‐old Zain Younus, originally from Pakistan and now a student at the International Rescue Committee’s Refugee Youth Summer Academy. Read Zain's story.

As the war in Syria hits its 4­year mark on March 15, humanitarian needs have never been greater. Satellite images show that 83 percent of the lights have gone out in Syria since the conflict began, plunging streets, homes and hospitals into darkness. Stand with the IRC and #withSyria to turn the lights back on.

International Rescue Committee president, David Miliband, witnesses first­hand the refugee crisis on the Greek island of Lesbos where up to 3,000 refugees are arriving daily. “Lesbos is the eye of the storm for the European refugee crisis,” he said. “And the IRC is the leading aid agency  providing the most basic welcome.”

Thousands of refugees fleeing Syria and other conflict­-ridden countries are continuing to risk a dangerous sea journey to the Greek island of Lesbos in small boats, even as cold weather approaches.

Meet Mustapha and his wife Safaa, who risked their lives in hope of finding safety for their young children in Europe. The family of four fled from the war­ravaged city of Aleppo to Turkey and then took the dangerous boat journey to the Greek island of Lesbos. Mustafa is aware of the backlash against refugees that has engulfed Europe since the Nov.

With the help of the International Rescue Committee’s dedicated staff in Baltimore, a refugee mother from Myanmar reunites with her son after spending 10 years apart. This was the Mother’s Day gift she had been dreaming of for a decade. Watch the moment when they finally meet again.

Nearly 60 million people have been forced to flee their homes by war, conflict and persecution — more lives upended than at any time in history. The International Rescue Committee joins the United Nations on World Refugee Day (June 20) in raising awareness of this unprecedented humanitarian crisis, urging global leaders to act, and saluting the courage of refugees who are trying to rebuild their lives far from home. Why is commem

A Syrian mother stopping with her family on the island of Lesbos, Greece — one of more than half a million desperate people who have fled to Europe this year from countries in chaos.

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.