Today we observe World Refugee Day. It is a day to call to mind the women, children, and men who have been forced to flee their homes - and often their homelands - due to war, persecution and gross violations of human rights. We label them "refugees", "asylum seekers", and "internally displaced people". Taken together, we refer to them simply as forcibly displaced people.

As we consider the following realities, we dare not forget that these are our fellow humans.

Their number has nearly tripled in the last 14 years.

1 in every 69 people alive today is currently forcibly displaced.

It is quite eye opening to consider the ratio of forcibly displaced people to the global population. The above table shows how it has dramatically changed in the past 12 years.

The number of refugees has nearly tripled since 2009.

Refugees are outside of their country of origin, afraid to return, and protected from forced repatriation.

Less than 1% of the refugee population is resettled in any given year.

In any given year, less than 1% of the global refugee population is resettled from a temporary place of safety (like refugee camps) to another country. The US, Canada, and Australia receive the largest number of resettled refugees. The above table shows how the number of resettled refugees in any given year can dramatically change due to things like the Covid pandemic and political leaders opposed to helping resettle refugees.

The number of asylum seekers has increased seven times since 2009.

Like refugees, asylum seekers are outside of their country of origin and afraid to return. But their request for refuge and protection from forced repatriation has not yet been granted.

An Open Letter to the Church on World Refugee Day

Few would argue that forced migration is among the defining issues of the 21st century. In the past 14 years, the number of people forced to flee their homes, and often their homelands, has grown from 43 million to 117 million.

I wrote an Open Letter to the Church to clarify refugee realities, address misrepresentation and confusion, and off biblical perspective concerning this issue. You can download your copy of the letter below.

CLICK HERE to download your copy of An Open Letter to the Church on the Occasion of World Refugee Day.