Europe marks 1 million refugees
A daunting humanitarian crisis has gripped the world: 2015 draws to a close with the news that one million refugees and migrants from countries like Syria and Iraq that are experiencing relentless conflicts have fled to Europe for safety and a new start.
Every day, thousands of refugees are making the short, yet dangerous crossing of the Mediterranean and Aegean seas to southern Europe in inflatable rafts packed beyond capacity. The vast majority are landing on the islands of Greece.
Click on any of the photos below to read refugees’ stories from Greece that reflect a year full of suffering — but at the same time reveal resilience, strength and survival.
“We tell our children we’re going to a place where there is no sound of war, no need to be afraid of death.”
“We just want to live in a peaceful land.”
The number of people globally who have been torn from their homes and daily lives is likely to far surpass 60 million this year, says the United Nations refugee agency. That’s some 42,500 on the move every day — the biggest upheaval of human beings since World War II.
Photos taken by Tyler Jump, Kulsoom Rizvi and Tara Todras-Whitehill for the International Rescue Committee
Refugee Crisis: How the IRC helps
The International Rescue Committee is providing relief to millions of uprooted people inside Syria; in neighboring Iraq, Lebanon, Turkey and Jordan; in Afghanistan; on the shores of Greece; and in our 26 resettlement offices in the United States. Donate now. Learn more about the IRC’s response to the refugee crisis and how you can help.
Nearly 60 million people have been forced to flee their homes by war, conflict and persecution — more lives uprooted than at any time since World War II. Produced by the International Rescue Committee, “Uprooted” keeps the spotlight on the individual human beings behind the tragic numbers in this global refugee crisis.
