The staff of MHEDS ask that you join us in acknowledging this important day for the over 34,000 people placed in the Commonwealth seeking a place of religious freedom, tolerance, and inclusion, who have been displaced, or sought refuge from violence and oppression. Read the text of Governor Shapiro’s proclamation below.
WHEREAS, violence, persecution, and death have forced more than 103 million people around the world to flee their homes; and
WHEREAS, World Refugee Day was established by the United Nations twenty-two years ago to commemorate the UN Convention regarding the status of refugees; and
WHEREAS, William Penn founded the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania as a place of religious freedom, tolerance, and inclusion; and
WHEREAS, when vulnerable and displaced individuals sought refuge from violence and oppression, Pennsylvania welcomed them; and
WHEREAS, in the last decade alone, the Department of Human Services’ Refugee Resettlement Program has served over 34,000 people placed in Pennsylvania seeking a safe, welcoming new home; and
WHEREAS, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania continues to embody the ideals of World Refugee Day and is dedicated to the 2023 theme by offering “Hope Away from Home” for the displaced; and
WHEREAS, over the past year especially, Pennsylvania’s refugee service contractors have worked tirelessly to prepare for and welcome people placed in Pennsylvania after being displaced from their homes in Afghanistan, Ukraine, Haiti, and other places experiencing violence and hardship; and
WHEREAS, the inclusion of refugees in our communities makes those communities stronger and shows the world that Pennsylvania is a beacon of hope and freedom for all who hope to achieve a better life.
THEREFORE, I, Josh Shapiro, Governor of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, do hereby proclaim June 20, 2023, as
WORLD REFUGEE DAY
to encourage all citizens, government agencies, public and private institutions, businesses, and schools to reiterate our Commonwealth’s commitment to always stand with and welcome refugees.
GIVEN under my hand and the Seal of the Governor, at the City of Harrisburg, this twelfth day of June two thousand twenty-three, the year of the Commonwealth the two hundred forty-seventh.
Governor Josh Shapiro
