Talking Points: The Worst Humanitarian Crisis Of Our Time
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- A Minnesota organization that has been helping 2.5 million refugees a year for more than 30 years is warning that the Syrian refugee crisis could soon get worse.
The Minneapolis-based American Refugee Committee says conditions in Syria are reaching a tipping point and that hundreds of thousands of more people may try to flee the country.
Half of all Syrians have lost their homes as the country has fallen into civil war, and one in three is hungry.
Daniel Wordsworth, the CEO of the American Refugee Committee, says this is the worst humanitarian crisis of our time and that an immediate global response is needed.
"You are almost seeing the death of a country," he said on WCCO Sunday Morning. "You have over half the population have lost their homes, you are seeing six million people needing emergency food assistance, you see millions fleeing, crossing the border and living in surrounding countries. For us, it's a little like a humanitarian earthquake."
Wordsworth says he is limited as to what he can say about the specific nature of relief efforts inside Syria, because of the very dangerous conditions the American Refugee Committee and other aid workers are operating under.
He says people can help by donating to any organization that is working with refugees.
If you would like to donate to the American Refugee Committee, click here.