"REFUGEE RESETTLEMENT: FAITH COMMUNITIES MAKING A DIFFERENCE," a CBS religion special about refugees who resettle in the United States, will be broadcast Sunday, September 25, on the CBS Television Network.  Please check your local station for exact time.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees estimates that in 2010 more than 43 million people were forcibly displaced by conflicts.  Many seek sanctuary in neighboring countries living in cities or refugee camps until it is safe to return home. Those fleeing persecution can apply to live elsewhere in the world, but must undergo an extensive screening process and prove they are living with a well-founded fear of persecution.  Only one-half of one percent of those who apply will be resettled in a new country.

The United States currently admits 70,000 refugees in a given year. Many of these are assisted by national faith-based humanitarian agencies like the Church World Service (CWS), which since 1946 has assisted in the resettlement of 500,000 refugees throughout the US. "REFUGEE RESETTLEMENT: FAITH COMMUNITIES MAKING A DIFFERENCE" interviews Erol Kekic, Director of Immigration and Refugee Program for CWS, as well as Vincent Cochetel, Regional Representative for The UN High Commissioner for Refugees, who speak about the issue.

Recently Church World Service celebrated its 65^th anniversary at the City Museum of New York. On hand were members of the faith community who have been instrumental in the resettlement of refugees helped by the organization.  Among them was Hlwan Kip Tlem, an ethnic Chin from Burma, who came to live in Indianapolis four years ago and knew only a few words of English. She recently graduated from Southport High School and won a fully paid four year scholarship to the University of Evansville. She talks about her experience adjusting to a new life in a new land. 

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Since it was originally founded, CWS has worked with local affiliates across the country securing sponsors from the local faith community.  One of their affiliates is the Minnesota Council of Churches (MCC), which has resettled refugees in the Minneapolis / St. Paul area since 1985. Rachele King, Director of MCC Refugee Services, talks about their ongoing work and how this interfaith organization plays a vital role in providing refugees a sense of community. 

Last year MCC created the TAKING ROOT program, which pairs Christian and Muslim volunteers to co-sponsor a new refugee who has no ties to friends or family in the US.  "There are other methodologies but this one helps us bring people together in a really deep way...they really get to know each other over four months of working together," Gail Anderson, Director of Unity and Relationships for MCC, tells CBS.

"Refugee Resettlement" also interviews volunteers from the interfaith co-sponsorship teams, as well as refugees from Eritrea and Somalia, who are adjusting with the help of their new friends, many of whom are now like family. The recent reports of overcrowded refugee camps in Kenya and Ethiopia, due to the drought and an ongoing civil war in Somalia, remind the world that finding a lasting solution for refugees is not an easy task.  "There's simply no solution in resettlement alone," Erol Kekic, Director of Immigration and Refugee Program for CWS, tells CBS. "Resettlement needs to be seen as a part of the solution, not the only solution, that we can offer the complex humanitarian emergencies such as the one in Somalia and the Horn of Africa at large."

John P. Blessington is the Executive Producer; and Liz Kineke is the Producer.  The special is produced in cooperation with the National Council of Churches, Consortium of Roman Catholic organizations, The Islamic Society of North America, The Union of Reform Judaism and the New York Board of Rabbis.

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Press Contact:

Jeremy Murphy            212-975-4577             jeremymurphy@cbs.com