We are a small Episcopal Church on the banks of the Rappahannock in Port Royal, Virginia. We acknowledge that we gather on the traditional land of the first people of Port Royal, the Nandtaughtacund, and we respect and honor with gratitude the land itself, the legacy of the ancestors, and the life of the Rappahannock Tribe. Our mission statement is to do God’s Will in all that we do.

World Refugee Day, June 20, 2022 – the Stats

UNHCR 2021 Global Trends Report – key data:

  • By May 2022, more than 100 million people were forcibly displaced worldwide by persecution, conflict, violence, human rights violations or events seriously disturbing public order.
  • At end 2021, the figure was 89.3 million, comprising:
    • 27.1 million refugees
      • 21.3 million refugees under UNHCR’s mandate
      • 5.8 million Palestine refugees under UNRWA’s mandate
    • 53.2 million internally displaced people
    • 4.6 million asylum seekers
    • 4.4 million Venezuelans displaced abroad
  • Among refugees and Venezuelans displaced abroad in 2021:
    • Low- and middle-income countries hosted 83 per cent
    • Least Developed Countries provided asylum to 27 per cent of the total.
    • More than two thirds (69 per cent) of refugees and Venezuelans displaced abroad came from just five countries: Syria (6.8 million), Venezuela (4.6 million), Afghanistan (2.7 million), South Sudan (2.4 million) and Myanmar (1.2 million).

Definitions

1. Internally displaced People are people who have been forced to leave or abandon their homes, and who have not crossed an internationally recognized border

People flee within their own countries for example to avoid the effects of armed conflict, situations of generalized violence, violations of human rights or natural- and human-made disasters. 

2. Asylum seekers

An asylum-seeker is someone whose request for sanctuary has yet to be processed. Every year, around one million people seek asylum.

3. Refugees

Refugees are people who have fled war, violence, conflict or persecution and have crossed an international border to find safety in another country.

They often have had to flee with little more than the clothes on their back, leaving behind homes, possessions, jobs and loved ones. 

Arrivals climbed in Uganda, Chad and Sudan among others.

Most refugees were, once again, hosted by neighboring countries with few resources.