The International Rescue Committee responds to the world’s worst humanitarian crises and helps people to survive and rebuild their lives. Founded in 1933 at the request of Albert Einstein, the IRC offers lifesaving care and life-changing assistance to refugees forced to flee from war or disaster.
At work today in over 40 countries and in 22 U.S. cities, the IRC restores safety, dignity and hope to millions who are uprooted and struggling to endure. The IRC leads the way from harm to home.
Veterans for American Ideals, a Human Rights Watch First project, is a nonpartisan group of veterans who share the belief that America is strongest when its policies and actions match its ideals.
We dedicated our lives to our country as citizen-soldiers, and we believe that honor, courage, commitment, duty, and country are not just words, but values worth defending. After taking off the uniform, we seek to continue serving our country by advocating for policies that are consistent with the ideals that motivated us to serve in the first place. Our current campaigns are focused on saving the Special Immigrant Visa program for interpreters and translators who served with the U.S. military, protecting refugees, and countering Islamophobia.
The Center for Immigrant Protection LGBT Asylum Project is the only Bay Area non-profit program dedicated solely to offering pro-bono legal representation to vulnerable LGBT immigrants fleeing persecution abroad and seeking protection in the United States.
The mission of No One Left Behind is to help Afghan and Iraqi combat interpreters with Special Immigrant Visas (SIVs) resettle safely in the United States. We bridge the gap that exists between current State Department and NGO refugee relief programs, and provide assistance with housing, employment and cultural adaptation. We treat our clients as the heroic veterans they are.
AHWAA is a bilingual platform in Arabic and English where you can personally connect and engage in various debates on LGBTQ issues in the MENA region. As an open, anonymous space, users can explore and discuss a variety of LGBTQ topics and connect with other users in a safe space. As the largest LGBT community site in the Arab world, Ahwaa has 6,000 registered users and growing.
In order to build a safe space for the LGBT communities served by the platform, Ahwaa implements data encryption, filters users by helpfulness, and stresses the importance of security guidelines regarding the sharing of personal information.
Rainbow Street is dedicated to improving the lives of people living in the Arab World who experience discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender expression by connecting them to a network of support, providing them with necessary resources to find lasting stability, and assisting them in the realization of their long term goals.
Gay and Lesbian Arabic Society (GLAS), an international organization established in 1988 in the USA with worldwide chapters. GLAS serves as a networking organization for Gays and Lesbians of Arab descent or those living in Arab countries. We aim to promote positive images of Gays and Lesbians in Arab communities worldwide, in addition to combating negative portrayals of Arabs within the Gay and Lesbian community. We also provide a support network for our members while fighting for our human rights wherever they are oppressed. We are part of the global Gay and Lesbian movement seeking an end to injustice and discrimination based on sexual orientation.
Founded in 2008, ORAM is the only international organization devoted solely to advocating for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex (LGBTI) refugees fleeing brutalization due to sexual orientation or gender identity.
ORAM works within a paradox of persecution—where secrecy is crucial for safety, but protection requires revealing identity.
Drawing upon its deep roots and extensive ties within both the refugee and LGBTI arenas, ORAM influences institutional changes that help create a more responsive climate and humane policies for refugees on their complex path to safety. An official partner of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), ORAM has earned the trust of refugees and international colleagues alike.
