The Foreign Service Journal, April 2016

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | APRIL 2016 37 We also regularly traveled overseas, often to dangerous locales, to assess the extent of refugee problems and recommend groups for consideration for resettlement in the United States. During a series of trips to the Middle East I took between 2007 and 2014, we found an increasingly horrific situation. We repeat- edly reported that refugee flows in the region would only mount until peace returned to the region. Sadly, our testimony largely fell on deaf ears. My team’s report following a trip to Bulgaria, Turkey and Greece in the fall of 2014 ( “Refuge and Hope in the Time of ISIS ”) described the unfolding crisis in stark terms: “The escalating Syrian conflict has created one of the worst refugee crises of our generation. When a Committee on Migra- tion delegation previously traveled to Jordan, Lebanon and Tur- key in October 2012, some 550,000 people had fled from Syria’s 18-month old conflict. According to UNHCR, with Syria now in its fourth year of conflict that number exceeds 3.8 million. Syrians now make up the world’s largest refugee population after the Palestinians. Half of Syrian refugees are chil- dren. Over 85 percent live outside of refugee camps in towns and villages of the host countries. “Besides producing high num- bers of refugees, Syria has some 7.6 million internally displaced people (IDP) and Iraq an esti- mated 1.9 million. An estimated 191,369 Syrians have been killed in the conflict. … Islamic State of Iraq and Syria has further worsened and expanded the crisis to involve Iraqis and growing numbers of ethnic and religious minorities. During the first several days of the Committee on Migration’s [current] assessment trip, over 130,000 Kurdish Syrians from Kobane and surrounding villages in northern Syria were forced by ISIS to flee into Turkey. Besides illustrating the escalating forced migration from Syria, the large influx of this ethnic minority illustrates the growing complexity of the conflict.” Turkey’s towns and cities were being overwhelmed, and its capacity for processing refugees and providing them protection and basic services challenged, the report notes. Explaining this, MRS went on to identify promising interventions and suggest practical solutions in the areas of increasing refugee registration capacity, disseminating informa- tion to refugees on processes and services, and opening opportu- nities for refugee schooling and work. Yet as grim as we found the situation at that time, we did not foresee the magnitude of the current Syrian refugee flow into Europe—much less the delayed, tepid U.S. response. Advocacy Work I also joined resettlement coali- tions and partners in a wide range of meetings and advocacy efforts. These centered on remaining true to our core principles: to protect refugees and give those allowed to resettle in the United States a second chance. These meetings involved coun- terparts, as well as senior officials, at the departments of State, Home- land Security and HHS, and even the White House. We also did a lot of advocacy on Capitol Hill. Regardless of how big or small the interaction, these meetings consistently focused on promoting the well-being of refugees and safeguarding the integrity of the refu- gee program. We took on such subjects as funding, the number of refugees allowed into our country, and the resolution of problems This January 2015 report assesses the unprecedented refugee crisis erupting from the Syria conflict. U.S.CONFERENCEOFCATHOLICBISHOPS During a series of trips to the Middle East I took between 2007 and 2014, we found an increasingly horrific situation.