On July 1, 2016, on the Greek island of Lesvos, HIAS launched its newest international office in order to provide assistance to refugees and asylum-seekers facing an unfamiliar and daunting legal bureaucracy. “For those who survive the harrowing journey, landing on Lesvos is only the beginning,” said Rachel Levitan. “HIAS Greece was established to meet the urgent need people have for legal assistance and guidance on the island.”
Before they were raising funds from donors and corporate foundations in support of refugees, they were colleagues in the financial world. Greg Sharenow and Hussein Allidina founded the Interfaith Refugee Project as a way for their peers in the financial industry to join a united, interfaith response to the global refugee crisis.
Ahead of this week's refugee summits, HIAS President and CEO Mark Hetfield took to the pages of USA Today to argue that, “now is the time for the world to recommit to the ideals and promises of the Refugee Convention.”
More than 65 million people were displaced by war and persecution by the end of 2015, according to a report released on World Refugee Day by the U.N. refugee agency. Here’s what you need to know.
