It is important that the work of Scottish Faiths Action for Refugees in Scotland is connected with the wider global context facing refugees.
The United Nations High Commission for Refugees now estimates there are over 110 million people around the world that have been forced to flee their homes. Global refugee emergencies are a reality of our planet, with a growing population putting pressures on land and resources, economic and political instability and climate change.
Faith groups are global networks that have local community roots. Scotland’s own story of religious diversity as well as in- and out- migration over the years gives our society unique insights into other places in the world as well as a commitment to stand in solidarity with those seeking and providing aid in other places.
Our member organisations have significant international connections, including:
- Membership of the Churches Commission for Migrants in Europe (CCME), a partnership of Christian Churches that work together to develop advocacy on a European wide level.
- Support for Mediterranean Hope, an agency of the Federation of Protestant Churches in Italy which, among other work, conducts search and rescue in the Mediterranean Sea.
- Work supporting the integration of people seeking sanctuary in Egypt and Italy, for example St. Andrew’s Refugee Service in Cairo.
- Calls for freedom of religion and belief especially in countries where there is discrimination or prejudice against minority religions
- Faith based organisations working in refugee emergency situations in and around the conflict in Syria and Sudan.