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

Up to 300,000 refugees and migrants from Syria, Afghanistan and other war-torn lands have fled to Europe this year, and most have landed on Greece’s eastern islands. Aid workers with the International Rescue Committee have been providing critical aid and services on Lesbos which has struggled to cope with the massive influx of up to 3,000 refugees arriving daily.

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.

Over 600,000 Syrian refugees are currently in Jordan, 80% of whom live in urban areas among Jordanian neighbors.  In February the International Rescue Committee organized a two-week social-therapy workshop at our women's center in the city of Irbid that brought together Syrian refugee teenagers and their Jordanian counterparts.

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.

Muhammed Ali was just five days old when he and his family fled their home in war-torn Aleppo, Syria. Like many families, they had to split up to find safety. The four-year-old is now living in a camp in northern Greece with his mother and two of his siblings. His father and sister Noora are in Germany.

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.