"Challenges & Solutions to the Crises Affecting Syrian Refugees": Lecture by Dr. Neil Boothby

The Central Coast Chapter of the American Red Cross and the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey are co-sponsoring a lecture on February 20 by Dr. Neil Boothby, an expert on the effects of armed conflict and violence on children.

Dr. Boothby is the Director of Mailman School of Forced Migration and Public Health at Columbia University. He served as the special adviser for children in adversity for President Obama’s administration and was UNHCR’s senior adviser for children for several years.

Dr. Boothby will discuss challenges faced by humanitarian organizations and innovative efforts to overcome them in regards to the Middle East and the plight of refugees. The world is witnessing higher levels of displacement than ever before. Statistics tell the story: Today, an unprecedented 65 million people (including 21 million refugees) are displaced from their homes. Since the start of the Syrian crisis in 2011, 5 million people have fled to Turkey, Lebanon, Iraq, and Jordan. Refugees now spend an average of 10 years away from their countries.

Equally striking as the scale of the crisis are the consequences of an inadequate response. Individual lives hang in the balance and refugees are struggling to rebuild their lives, find jobs, and send their children to school. Developing countries that are hosting the overwhelming majority of refugees, and at the same time trying to meet the needs of their own citizens, are shouldering unsustainable costs. We are seeing global stability and hard-won human rights and development gains threatened.