World Refugee Day - Celebrate With Us!
Today is World Refugee Day. In a report released just a few days ago, we learned that the number of forcibly displaced people across the globe increased to over 123 million by the end of 2024. That's 1 in 67 people on Earth, and an increase of 7 million people (or 6%) from the year before. These people were forced to leave everything that was home "due to persecution, conflict, violence, [or] human rights violations," (UNHCR Global Trends, 12 June 2025) and haven't been able to go back.
Globally, about one-third of those who have been forcibly displaced have crossed a border to find safety. These are the world's over 36 million refugees. And there, across the border from home, the vast majority wait. For what? A return home--maybe, but statistically improbable--or circumstances that would allow them to raise their children and their children's children in the country to which they fled, or the improbable referral for resettlement in a third country. About 1% of refugees get a referral, and only a fraction of that 1% will eventually become someone's new neighbor in a third country. -- From the nations to neighbors.
In Billings, we will observe World Refugee Day with a showing of Human Flow at the Art House Theater. In partnership with LFSRM, our local resettlement office, we invite you to join us for a brief review of what's happening in Billings right before the film. You can buy tickets in advance by clicking on the image below.
Here in Our Community
This weekend, a year after our giddy preparations to receive refugees into our community, we celebrate the anniversary of the first family to arrive since we welcomed Afghans in 2022. This family has become an important part of the community in a year's time, working hard at their jobs, cooking often for friends and strangers, learning more English, and saving up for a car. They've celebrated birthdays and graduation, lamented loss, and navigated challenges. Here's the wondrous thing: We have had the privilege of being in it with them.
We have spent hours and hours with their kids and others in summer and afterschool programming and one-on-one youth mentorship. We have tutored adults in English, nurtured a sense of belonging, and hosted cultural engagement events, like Breads of the World and Rec With Friends. We have equipped peer parents to empower our new neighbors to play an active role in their kids' educations. It's not that straightforward when the language and the systems are unfamiliar.
Thank you, because we have been able to do every bit of this because of your involvement and support.
Lately, I have been reflecting on how it could even be possible that one year ago, none of us yet knew the 50+ people who have resettled in Billings in the last year, but that now we can't imagine life without them. I'm so grateful. The biggest way I will celebrate World Refugee Day 2025 is with gratitude -- not just for what we have been able to do for and with them, but for how they have changed me.
Keeping Up
There have been so many recent changes to refugee resettlement in the US that it can be dizzying to keep up. I recommend subscribing to The Forum Daily by the National Immigration Forum by clicking here. The Forum does a great job of summarizing and sourcing decisions with implications for refugees and immigrants.
With gratitude,
Nancy Van Maren