“The United States has always been a leader in welcoming people fleeing global persecution and the arrival on Monday of the 10,000 Syrian refugee is a further expression of this leadership”, said UNHCR Regional Representative in the United States, Shelly Pitterman.
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Charleston is still in the running to become one of the Episcopal Migration Ministries “resettlement communities”.
The 10,000 Syrian refugees resettled in the US this previous year are a small part of the almost five million Syrians pushed out of their home country by the civil war. In a statement, National Security Adviser Susan Rice thanked “the many generous communities throughout our country that have continued to open their arms to these new neighbors, demonstrating the values that have made our nation great”.
To address the humanitarian crisis in Syria, “President Obama will host the Leaders’ Summit on Refugees… to increase humanitarian assistance and create more long-term, durable opportunities for refugees”, Kerry said.
The conflict in Syria has run for over five years and is not expected to end any time soon, having been estimated to have caused nearly half a million deaths.
The bloody civil war in Syria has displaced millions of people, with hundreds of thousands seeking safe passage to European countries. “The administration should capitalize on the momentum they’ve built in recent months to speed up the admissions process by significantly increasing the target number of Syrian refugee admissions for the year ahead”.
“More than a number, meeting this pledge ensures that 10,000 Syrian refugees who have lost so much during almost five and a half years of conflict have a chance to start over”.
The refugees who have arrived from Syria since 2012 have been placed in 231 towns and cities.
USA admission of Syrian refugees has been a hot button issue in the 2016 race for the White House, with Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump warning that violent militants could enter the country posing as refugees.
His family is among a group that includes the 10-thousandth refugee admitted to the USA from Syria, in the one year period that will end on October first.
The United States admitted the 10,000th Syrian refugee in 2016 this week according to the White House.
She didn’t directly answer whether they determined West Virginia didn’t have enough people with family or personal ties to Syrians to accommodate 100 refugees.
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“We have committed to resettling 20,000 Syrian refugees through our Vulnerable Persons Resettlement (VPR) scheme over the course of this parliament – and have already provided refuge to more than 2,800 people in need of protection”.
