World Refugee Day was last month, yet, despite the awareness being raised on the issue, there are more than 65 million forcibly displaced people worldwide, the most since World War II, according to the United Nations.
Flicka Bateman, director of Carrboro’s Refugee Support Center, called the situation a global refugee crisis.
“It’s a terrible crisis,” said Bateman. “It’s a preventable crisis. These folks have been vetted; these folks have been through horrible, horrible things and deserve a chance.”
Due to factors including the Trump administration’s strict refugee policy and harsh vetting process, Bateman said Orange County has accepted a shockingly low number or refugees this year.
“Orange County this year has received an appalling 14 refugees as of May and 14 are now coming in in June,” said Bateman, “so there has been an acceleration.”
The Refugee Support Center serves a total of 1,200 refugees living in Orange County, most of which are from Burma.
Bateman said that besides providing pro bono legal council to help refugees with green card application, citizenship and family reunification, they also simply listen to the hardships that refugees face.
“Sometimes they just come in and cry,” said Bateman. “They talk about how hard it is. They say, ‘everywhere we go, we’re always low.’”
For more information on the Refugee Support Center, visit refugeesupportcenter.org.
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