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“You’re Talking About Me”
Across the globe, 1 in 67 people has been forced to flee their home because of persecution, conflict and violence, according to the UN Refugee Agency.
And, a report by World Relief and Open Doors found that 1 of 7 Christians worldwide has experienced persecution or discrimination on account of their faith.
At the intersection of these statistics stands Durmomo Gary.
He has experienced both — religious persecution and displacement. “When you talk about the global crisis, persecution and resettlement, you’re talking about me,” said Durmomo, a Sudanese refugee who fled his homeland because of religious persecution and was resettled in the U.S. by World Relief.
Today, Durmomo serves as a pastor and a board member at World Relief, advocating for those who’ve been forced to flee their homes. And he juxtaposed the politicization of displacement with his personal experience during an event co-hosted by World Relief at Trinity Baptist Church, New York, during the 80th United Nations General Assembly.
The venue being a church was significant. Over 81 years ago, believers in Boston’s Park Street Church responded to the enormity of need in Europe in the wake of World War II by fasting, praying and putting aside savings in small glass jars to help people devastated by war. Faith in action is contagious. Other churches joined the effort and out of this groundswell of support, World Relief was born. Since then, as a Christian humanitarian aid organization, we’ve engaged in the world’s greatest crises in partnership with the church.
Today, the crisis devastating families across the globe is forced displacement.
The numbers are staggering. Over 123 million people have been forced to flee their home because of persecution, conflict and violence — 40% of them children. It’s a crisis that a group of United Nations officials, member state representatives and faith leaders convened at Trinity Baptist Church to highlight and to discuss coordinated, inclusive solutions.
Compounded Crises & Hope Kindled
The global displacement crisis is compounded by funding shortfalls. “Up to 11.6 million refugees and others forced to flee risk losing access to direct humanitarian assistance from UNHCR,” said UNHCR New York Director Sivanka Dhanapala. He called attention to the “second crisis” that families fleeing war and persecution now face — “the loss of support they rely on to survive after they have fled to survive.”
World Relief President and CEO Myal Greene highlighted “how desperate and dire the situation is today” — one that’s getting worse as resources for those displaced continue to shrink.
But in the midst of this storm, there’s hope.
That hope is kindled when faith-based actors and organizations step into the gap, offering aid and welcome.
“Faith-based organizations play a very fundamental role in the response, of course by welcoming refugees into communities, by providing direct assistance and raising awareness on who refugees are,” said Sivanka. He recognized the deep rootedness of faith-based actors in communities and their presence “before, during and after a disaster.”
Today, the need for such actors is even greater as other support systems crumble. Myal spoke of the encouragement he received on seeing faith communities stepping into the gap. During his 2024 visit to Goma, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, he was confronted by the enormity of displacement in the country. In the town center was a heavily populated displacement camp — but there was also something else. A unified response as religious leaders of the host community and displaced population came together to meet needs and build resilience. The spirit of welcome and of restoration is at the core of faith-based organizations and communities.
Welcome.US Vice President of Community Building + Engagement Krista Kartson has seen people of faith step up to welcome the displaced, both in the U.S. and overseas. She recalled witnessing people of different faith traditions care for displaced people in Iraq. “They stood up to care for their communities, not only for their own faith traditions but also for other faith traditions. And it was very important to them to represent their faith in their welcome and in their service to their communities … to say ‘my faith says to love’,” she said. In the United States, faith communities across the country have welcomed refugees through private sponsorships. An estimated 2 million Americans agreed to sponsor nearly 800,000 newcomers in three years. Welcome.US estimates that these individuals and communities leveraged over $7 billion in their resources and time to welcome newcomers.
Changing the Narrative
While the discussion highlighted the plight of refugees and other displaced communities it also recognized their inherent strength, dignity and ability to positively contribute to host communities.
“No human being should be forced to flee from their homes,” said Galen Carey, vice president of government relations at the National Association of Evangelicals. “And no human being should be turned away.” He highlighted the courage it takes to even flee and the positive results of welcoming refugees into a country. “Refugees are blessings not burdens,” he said, which struck a chord with members of the audience like Nina Dee Irizarry.
To Nina, the idea of refugees bringing value was a “beautiful reframing” of the narrative. “Reframing not only the human experience and determination that these people bring but [that] they bring such a value that would elevate a country rather than bring a country down … I think that’s an important, a great takeaway,” she said.
And it is the heart of welcome and the power of one person’s bold “yes,” that the discussion highlighted. As Brian Newby, lead pastor of Trinity Baptist Church said, “It is important for us to continue to amplify refugee voices. Do for the few what you wish you could do for the many.”
Today, World Relief remains committed to engaging this unprecedented crisis in partnership with the church.
Will you join us?
Shreya Shukla Thornton is the Senior Content Manager at World Relief. With over 15 years of experience in communication, she enjoys forging a connection through storytelling. She holds a master’s degree in English from the University of Calcutta and a master’s in strategic communication from Regent University.