I welcome
Join the movement of people who welcome refugees
Join the I Welcome Community
Around the world, individuals are doing simple things to make newcomers feel welcome in their communities.
We live in a world where people have no option but to flee their homes and countries - and rely on the kindness of strangers to help them start again.
Our governments aren’t doing enough. Many are holding these refugees in unsafe camps on borders, and refusing help to millions of others.
But there is so much that we can still do
Join the movement of people uniting to welcome refugees in their own ways. Whether it’s by adding your voice to a petition, taking action locally, or something unique to you: we’d love to stay in touch about what we can do together.
Because together, we are powerful.
Add your voice. Together we are powerful.
Stop forcing people back to danger in Afghanistan
Right now, record numbers of people worldwide have been forced to flee their homes.
But instead of showing true leadership and protecting refugees, most countries are slamming their doors shut.
The world’s wealthiest nations are leaving a handful of countries to cope alone with nearly all the world’s 22 million refugees. Powerful media and politicians are manipulating reality and dehumanizing refugees, portraying them as illegal or faceless invaders who are a security threat.
The reality is that they’re ducking their responsibility to protect people fleeing violence, persecution and conflict. And every single day that goes by, their indecision and inaction continue to cause immense human suffering.
A chance to start again
A 2017 survey of young people’s attitudes across the world showed that 87% of them stand ready to welcome refugees into their countries, communities – even their own homes.
Even when the political environment can feel deeply hostile, Amnesty International remains a movement of people who believe that the things that unite us are far more powerful than those that divide us.
This is why we are promoting people-powered initiatives like community sponsorship. We don’t have to wait around while governments get their act together to share responsibility for other important solutions, like resettlement.
Because right now, individual people all over the world are coming together in their own right to welcome refugees - simply because they empathise with people who have lost everything, and want to create open, friendly communities to live in.
Now is the time
Worldwide, almost all of our leaders are turning their backs on refugees. In Mexico and the USA, they are detaining people fleeing extreme violence raging in Central America. In Kenya, they are forcing Somalis who have lived in exile for years, even decades, to go back to a dangerous conflict zone.
Many European countries are deporting people seeking asylum back to countries where they could face torture, rape – even death. Or they make dangerous deals that stop people coming at all,leaving thousands of people with no option but to risk death crossing the Mediterranean. And Australia is locking up people fleeing torture and persecution on remote islands, where they suffer terrible neglect and abuse.
All of this needs to change, now. And it’s up to each and every one of us.
Together, we can lead the way by doing something concrete right now – however small – to welcome refugees in our communities, from signing a petition to speaking your mind about refugees’ rights, or joining a community group that supports them.
What is Amnesty calling for?
All countries can help protect refugees through a solution called resettlement, and other safe and legal routes. Resettlement can protect those refugees who are most vulnerable – people who have been tortured, for example, or women at continued risk of abuse. Safe and legal routes are other “pathways” to safety that governments can open up in emergency situations, such as the Syrian refugee crisis. For example, they can offer:
· Opportunities for communities to sponsor refugees to come and live in their country.
· Family reunification – this means refugees can join close relatives already living abroad.
· Academic scholarships and study visas, allowing refugees to start or carry on studying.
· Medical visas, to help someone with a serious condition get life-saving treatment.
Opening up these opportunities for many more refugees will allow them to travel to new host countries in a safe, organized way.
By agreeing to share responsibility for protecting refugees, governments can show true leadership, invest in people’s lives and futures and bring out the very best in us all.
© Amnesty International
The refugee crisis in numbers
22.3 M
number of refugees worldwide as of August 2017
84%
of refugees live in developing regions
110,000
Number of refugees who are resettled yearly.
Learn more about refugees’ human rights
Our online learning course on refugee rightsTell Norway: Stop returning people to Afghanistan
1000s of students in Norway are doing everything they can to protect their classmate Taibeh from being deported to Afghanistan. Join them and defend all Afghan asylum seekers at risk of deportation from Norway.
Taibeh dreams of graduating from high school next summer and becoming a doctor, but right now she lives in fear of being deported to a country she has never even visited.
Like Taibeh, many other Afghans are at risk of being returned from Norway.
In the past years thousands of Afghans have been returned from Europe, despite evidence that they face serious harm in the country. Norway claims that Afghans can be returned as the country is safe, but 2016 was the deadliest year on record in Afghanistan. Returning people to Afghanistan right now is not only cruel, it is also reckless and illegal.
But people are starting to stand up for those at risk, like the 1000s of students who stand with Taibeh to stop her from being sent to Afghanistan.
Stand up for all the Afghan asylum seekers like Taibeh at risk of being returned to Afghanistan, sign the petition.
Call on the Norwegian government to stop returning people to Afghanistan until the country is stable enough to ensure the safety and dignity. Your voice on this petition will help us to show the Norwegian government that we stand with people at risk of being returned to Afghanistan in Norway.
