Dear IRAP Community,
In my first letter to you since becoming the President of the International Refugee Assistance Project (IRAP) in July 2023, I am proud and deeply humbled to reflect on the challenges and progress of the past year, and look ahead with unwavering determination to building a brighter, more just and welcoming world.
As a father, a son of immigrants, a lawyer, and a humanitarian, I deeply connect with IRAP’s mission to create a world where refugees and all people seeking safety are empowered to claim their right to freedom of movement and a path to lasting refuge. For more than a decade, I traveled the country and world helping vulnerable communities build better lives for themselves, responding to crises and disasters, and providing emergency aid to those who needed it most. It's been an honor to bring those lessons learned and experiences to IRAP, and join our team of lawyers and advocates in standing side-by-side with displaced people striving for innovative and sustainable solutions to complex migration issues facing our world today.
At IRAP, we believe that families deserve to be together. Yet for every family that we help to reunite, another is being torn apart. Conflict, persecution, climate change, and other factors have led to more than 122 million people being forced from their homes, according to the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR)’s most recent estimate. In the face of this staggering number, IRAP supports people whose lives are uprooted because of circumstances out of their control so that they can know and understand their options as they navigate their journey to safety. We do this by delivering direct legal services to individual clients based on the goals they share with us, and by advocating for systemic change in partnership with client advocates, refugee leaders, and refugee-led and community-based organizations around the globe.
Through our collective advocacy efforts, we are pushing governments to uphold the rights of all refugees and trying to close the gap between what people believe about refugees and the multifaceted realities of their lives. Especially as we approach a critical presidential election in the United States, in a political environment which heavily politicizes refugees and issues impacting them, the disconnect between public perception and reality gives me great urgency. This year and always, we share a responsibility to stand with displaced people and follow their lead in changing public narratives about their experiences.
This year has also reinforced the necessity of IRAP’s impactful work, as we bear witness to mass displacement around the world, including in Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Venezuela, and Palestine. Over the last year, Palestinians have continued to experience severe violence and displacement in the Gaza Strip and West Bank, while the impact of the ongoing war in Gaza continues to ripple across the Middle East, including in Lebanon where IRAP has an office, staff, and clients. IRAP is steadfast in our belief that Palestinians deserve the same right to safety and security as all other refugees, including the right to stay safely in their homes and the ability to seek safe resettlement, should they choose. We remain committed to providing a safe, supportive environment for our team members in Lebanon and around the globe as they continue to take care of themselves, their families, and their clients.
To further our ambitious strategies and champion our staff who help us realize them every day, we have dedicated meaningful time over the past year to address unique challenges in our work, build upon our existing strengths to ensure long-term sustainability after years of transformative growth and impact, and establish more effective infrastructure to better support our dynamic, resilient organization that will grow its presence as an innovative changemaker for years to come.
Thank you for sharing our belief that all people deserve a safe place to call home, and for supporting us on the journey to make that vision a reality.
With gratitude and appreciation,
As a father, a son of immigrants, a lawyer, and a humanitarian, I deeply connect with IRAP’s mission to create a world where refugees and all people seeking safety are empowered to claim their right to freedom of movement and a path to lasting refuge. For more than a decade, I traveled the country and world helping vulnerable communities build better lives for themselves, responding to crises and disasters, and providing emergency aid to those who needed it most. It's been an honor to bring those lessons learned and experiences to IRAP, and join our team of lawyers and advocates in standing side-by-side with displaced people striving for innovative and sustainable solutions to complex migration issues facing our world today.
At IRAP, we believe that families deserve to be together. Yet for every family that we help to reunite, another is being torn apart. Conflict, persecution, climate change, and other factors have led to more than 122 million people being forced from their homes, according to the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR)’s most recent estimate. In the face of this staggering number, IRAP supports people whose lives are uprooted because of circumstances out of their control so that they can know and understand their options as they navigate their journey to safety. We do this by delivering direct legal services to individual clients based on the goals they share with us, and by advocating for systemic change in partnership with client advocates, refugee leaders, and refugee-led and community-based organizations around the globe.
Through our collective advocacy efforts, we are pushing governments to uphold the rights of all refugees and trying to close the gap between what people believe about refugees and the multifaceted realities of their lives. Especially as we approach a critical presidential election in the United States, in a political environment which heavily politicizes refugees and issues impacting them, the disconnect between public perception and reality gives me great urgency. This year and always, we share a responsibility to stand with displaced people and follow their lead in changing public narratives about their experiences.
This year has also reinforced the necessity of IRAP’s impactful work, as we bear witness to mass displacement around the world, including in Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Venezuela, and Palestine. Over the last year, Palestinians have continued to experience severe violence and displacement in the Gaza Strip and West Bank, while the impact of the ongoing war in Gaza continues to ripple across the Middle East, including in Lebanon where IRAP has an office, staff, and clients. IRAP is steadfast in our belief that Palestinians deserve the same right to safety and security as all other refugees, including the right to stay safely in their homes and the ability to seek safe resettlement, should they choose. We remain committed to providing a safe, supportive environment for our team members in Lebanon and around the globe as they continue to take care of themselves, their families, and their clients.
To further our ambitious strategies and champion our staff who help us realize them every day, we have dedicated meaningful time over the past year to address unique challenges in our work, build upon our existing strengths to ensure long-term sustainability after years of transformative growth and impact, and establish more effective infrastructure to better support our dynamic, resilient organization that will grow its presence as an innovative changemaker for years to come.
Thank you for sharing our belief that all people deserve a safe place to call home, and for supporting us on the journey to make that vision a reality.
With gratitude and appreciation,
Sharif Aly
