Overwhelmed: Syrian Refugee Crisis in Context

Video conference | Wednesday 27 January | 12 Noon (Eastern)

With Raed Jarrar, Giovanna Negretti, Layla Razavi

http://afsc.org/hangouts/overwhelmed-syrian-refugee-crisis-context

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Since 2011, more than 4 million people have fled Syria to escape war and violence, and millions more have been internally displaced.

The Syrian refugee crisis gained worldwide attention last year as European countries were forced to deal with the rising influx of refugees. In the United States, we’ve seen a rise in anti-refugee rhetoric in communities across the country, and many policymakers are still calling for xenophobic measures that would shut the door on Syrian refugees.

How did we get to this point, and what’s the way forward?

Join AFSC staff for a live-streamed conversation to learn about the root causes of the crisis, the people seeking refuge, and how we can work toward peaceful, inclusive solutions.

Panelists include:

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  Raed Jarrar, government relations manager at AFSC’s Office of Public Policy and Advocacy in Washington, D.C. Raed has worked on political and cultural issues pertaining to U.S. engagement in the Arab and Muslim worlds and is widely recognized as an expert on political, social, and economic developments in the Middle East.
  
  • Giovanna Negretti, AFSC’s Middle East regional director, based in Amman, Jordan. Giovanna has held leadership positions in a variety of U.S.-based NGOs and government commissions. In November, she joined a fact-finding mission led by the Nobel Women’s Initiative to learn about the experiences of women and families on the refugee trail from Syria to Germany.
  
  • Layla Razavi, director of Human Migration and Mobility, who coordinates AFSC’s immigrant rights programs across the U.S. Prior to joining AFSC, she served as advocacy and policy counsel at the ACLU where she researched the constitutionality of legislative proposals and developed integrated strategies to protect immigrants’ rights.