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Plus: Refugees describe what it's like to vote for the first time

IRC monthly update OCTOBER 2020

Behind the headlines this month The 2020 U.S. election is less than one week away. Find out what’s at stake for asylum seekers at the U.S.-Mexico border. “Your voice has so much power.” Refugees describe what it’s like to vote for the first time After the fire in Moria, Greece, the mental health of refugees continues to suffer

What’s at stake for asylum seekers in the U.S. election? In the run-up to the 2020 United States election—now less than one week away—the International Rescue Committee has called on candidates for office to address three key issues. One of those issues—the rights of asylum seekers at the U.S.-Mexico border—recently returned to the spotlight when Americans learned that the parents of over 500 children separated from their families at the border cannot be found. Seeking asylum is legal—even during a pandemic. Many asylum seekers at the U.S.border are fleeing countries in Central America that have some of the world’s highest rates of violence outside of war zones. Prior to COVID-19, asylum seekers at the border were already being forced to wait in dangerous conditions in Mexico while they made their case for protection. Then, after the virus spiked in the U.S. in March, they were turned away without even the opportunity to request sanctuary. Within the U.S., many are being held in detention centers with track records of neglect for sanitation, medical care, and personal safety—conditions ripe for the spread of the virus. All of these policies have at least one thing in common: they put asylum seekers in additional danger while doing nothing to make the American people safer. It doesn’t have to be this way: Find out the commitments the IRC is asking for from candidates and explore the other two issues we want them to address.

Rescue in action   Refugees describe voting for the first time For refugees in the U.S., voting is the culmination of a long journey to becoming full participants in American democracy. “I want to say to refugees, you can speak up,” says Shadi Ismail, a Syrian refugee voting in a general election for the first time. “I know [that] where you came from you might not have had a choice. But here, you do. You have your voice and your voice has so much power.” Meet Shadi and three other refugees voting for the first time. Breaking news on the IRC’s work Have you ever seen a story in the news and wondered how humanitarians were responding? The IRC is now providing live updates on our work helping people in crisis survive, recover, and gain control of their futures. Explore our updates on COVID-19’s impact on hunger, the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, and children still separated from their parents by U.S. immigration policies at the border. After the fire in Moria, the mental health of refugees continues to suffer In early September, Moria refugee camp on the Greek island of Lesbos went up in flames. Over 12,000 people had been living in the camp, including many refugees who were once again forced to flee because of a disaster. IRC psychologist Dukas Protogiros provides an inside look at the mental health crisis refugees are facing, and what the IRC is doing to help. A grocer starts over after the Beirut blast When an explosion destroyed much of the port of Beirut, Lebanon, in August, 59-year-old grocer Assad was away visiting his brother. When he returned, he hardly recognized the building where his home and shop had been. With the help of the IRC’s livelihood program, he is determined to repair the damage and restart his business. “I will rebuild my home,” he told us. Read Assad’s story.

One thing you can do   Exercise your right as a U.S. citizen by voting on November 3rd. Using the IRC’s online civic engagement center, you can check your registration status, find your polling place and local election rules, and more.

IRC in the news   Attacks on hospital must end Kelly Razzouk and Amanda Catanzano of the IRC’s Policy and Advocacy team took to the pages of Newsweek to call for an end to the targeting of hospitals in conflict zones, an issue that has taken on added urgency during the COVID-19 pandemic. In Syria, half of hospitals have been destroyed, damaged, or closed due to conflict and 70 percent of health workers have fled the country.

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