Migrant Workers Camp in Bangkok: Source http://www.flickr.com /photos/12392252@N03/3528219760/
Not since World War II have there been more than fifty million refugees and displaced people in the world.
On 19 June 2014 the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees announced that this total had been exceeded in 2013.
Half of those displaced are children.The primary cause of this increase in human suffering are violent conflict in places such as Syria, South Sudan and the Central African Republic.
With fifty million refugees and displaced people in the world it is fair to call it a global crisis. yet the global response has been business as usual. Some countries have actually reduced their refugee quotas despite the global crisis.
Events moved quickly following the issue of the order for Bahá’u’lláh's exile from Adrianople and perpetual imprisonment in Akka. Bahá’u’lláh and his followers lived together in a house in Adrianople. One morning they awoke to find that their home had been surrounded by soldiers of the Sultan. Guards were posted and Bahá’u’lláh and his followers were told to prepare for…
What makes someone like Angelina Jolie take an interest in the lives of refugees? What makes anyone take interest? In this video Angelina visits refugees in Afghanistan. It's clear that there is no "foreignness" in how she relates to them. She sees them as people who are suffering, and to whom we should respond. Financially, we reward Angelina Jolie enormously…
In a world in which crimes are explicitly committed in the name of religion, a conversation about how best to respond to the problem is a necessity as difficult as it may be. Tragically this was how the 21st century begins. This article seeks to reflect on Bahá’u’lláh's writings, and the Baha'i teachings more broadly, that bear on this question.…
Update November 2016: Since this post back in 2015, Australia has announced a special humanitarian intake for Syrian refugees. According to information published by the Department of Border Protection, in the 2015-16 year, 17,555 humanitarian visas were issued including almost 3800 to Syrian refugees. In a discussion paper issued for the 2015-16 year, the Department estimates that the 2019 program…
