Public figures to amplify personal stories of the world’s refugees ahead of President Trump’s refugee determination
Today Oxfam America launches a social media takeover designed to amplify personal stories of the world’s most vulnerable refugees with some of Hollywood’s outspoken voices. The takeover features Aamito Lagum, Arjun Gupta, Daniel Gillies, Emily Robinson, Genevieve Gorder, Harry Lennix, Sean Maguire, and Sharon Carpenter sharing real-life stories of refugees from around the world who have been forced from their homes as they flee conflict, disaster, poverty, inequality, and the effects of climate change.
Reports indicate that the Trump administration is considering a shutdown of the refugee resettlement program - cutting the number of admitted refugees to nearly zero. Oxfam believes the move is an affront to American values and its legacy as a welcoming nation. This social media takeover project was conceived by Hollywood creators Carley Steiner, Dahvi Waller and Raphael Bob-Waksberg in partnership with Oxfam to lend public figures’ powerful platforms to refugees. Oxfam hopes to elevate their voices, create empathy, and show the human face behind the refugee crisis.
“Listening to the stories of people living while surrounded by conflict is the ultimate reminder of the resiliency of humans. If we turn our backs on refugees, we turn our backs on the American declaration that certain rights are unalienable,” said Emily Robinson, actress and Oxfam celebrity ambassador. “To turn our backs on refugees is to declare that liberty is not a right which should be endowed to all people in birth. People seeking refuge are merely people displaced, in need of what all people crave: safety, community, support, and opportunity. Refugees play a vital role in our society and economy, they simply crave a safer future.”
Oxfam is calling for people to stand together in support of refugees by demanding that every Presidential candidate pledges to resettle at least 125,000 refugees in their first Presidential Determination in 2021. As an anti-poverty organization which works to support refugees across the world, Oxfam believes we can make America a place that honors and protects all families, no exceptions. We can create a common-sense immigration process, one that makes our country stronger by respecting people’s rights and honoring our values. These public figures will be calling on supporters to sign the pledge at oxf.am/RefugeesWelcome2020