World Refugee Day: let’s create a new story of hope

This World Refugee Day, you’ll see lots of statistics flying around.

You might have seen the news that the UN now estimates that 65.3 million people were either refugees, asylum seekers or internally displaced at the end of 2015.

That’s an increase of five million in a year.

To put that in perspective, as of the 2011 census, the UK population was just over 63.1 million people.

Or perhaps you’ve seen a statistic that we at Save the Children have been highlighting over the past weeks – that 3.5 million refugee children are now out of school.

Uncertain futures

These statistics make for grim reading and they’re hard to fully comprehend.

How can it be that we live in a world which has made so many amazing advances in recent decades, and yet we still see so many people – more than ever before – forced from their homes? And millions of children out of school, their futures in the balance?

The international community’s response to the growing crisis has been sluggish at best.

Short-term agreements have failed to put the lives of vulnerable people first, inflicting more pain on people who have already gone through more than many of us can even imagine.

Let’s create a story of hope

This World Refugee Day we need to change the story to one which gives hope to the millions of people seeking sanctuary.

We believe that there must be a new deal for refugees – one which gets child refugees back in school within a month of being forced from their homes.

It’s a challenge – but with a concerted effort, we know the world can do it.

Join our campaign today.

Names have been changed to protect people’s identities.