News & Resources

IRAP Board Chair in The Huffington Post: We Cannot Forget Stranded Refugees

Today, IRAP Board Chair, Walt Cooper, published a blog post on The Huffington Post making the case for why we must show leadership in our response to the refugee crisis.

“Refugees — Syrian, Sudanese and others — need sustained support,” writes Cooper. “Five years into the Syrian conflict, the risk is that the international community will forget Syrian refugees in the way that it has forgotten Iraqis.” Cooper makes a strong argument for why we must do better.

“Countries like the United States must continue to lead in the response to the refugee crisis. Resettlement of the most vulnerable refugees sends a signal to host countries that we will also help with the refugee crisis. Allowing refugees into our fold shows that, years after a conflict has started, we understand that people are still displaced and continue to suffer. And it means that after years of living as a refugee fleeing from civil war — whether in Syria, Iraq, Sudan, Yemen, or Somalia — an individual can still build a new life.”

You can read the full piece here.