"We were not eating. That’s why we made the decision [to leave Venezuela]." Julio is one of more than one million Venezuelans who felt they had no choice but to leave everything behind and start a new life in Colombia. Today he works as an ice cream vendor to support his family.

Anxhela is a refugee from Albania and, as a junior doctor with the UK's National Health Service, is one of the thousands of refugee essential workers helping respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. "When I tell people I came to this country as a refugee," she says, "I now say it quite proudly." Read more about the contributions of refugees like Dr. Anxhela—during COVID-19 and beyond.  

Who are refugees and displaced persons? They are men, women and children fleeing war, persecution and political upheaval. They are uprooted with little warning, enduring great hardship during their flight. They become refugees when they cross borders and seek safety in another country.

Meet Lilian Dawa, a South Sudanese refugee, and mother, who works with the International Rescue Committee to prevent violence against women and girls in Uganda's sprawling Bidi Bidi refugee camp. Watch Lilian’s powerful encounter with IRC ambassador and actor Mandy Patinkin. Update September 15, 2020: Join Lilian Dawa, IRC president David Miliband, and former U.S.