Syrian refugees to visit Gobin UMC on Sunday

Syrian refugee families will visit Greencastle this Sunday to share a meal, meet local families and share their stories.

The event will take place from noon-2 p.m. at Gobin Memorial United Methodist Church, 307 Simpson St.

The event is sponsored by the Karam Foundation, Syrian-American Council of Indiana and Gobin UMC.

Syrian families have had to flee their comfortable homes and apartments to escape war and violent persecution, some spending years living in tents in refugee camps along the Syrian border and others crowding into nearby cities in Turkey, Lebanon and other countries.

The plight of Syrian refugees is part of the largest refugee crisis since the horrors of World War II. At this event, Syrian refugees will share their stories, provide background information on the humanitarian crisis and ask the community to support refugee food assistance through the Karam Foundation.

The families will provide a lunch of Syrian food as a thank you for the Hoosier hospitality they have received since arriving in Indiana.

More than 4.8 million Syrian refugees are registered with the United Nations. Another seven million have had to flee their homes inside Syria to move in with friends or family in safer parts of the country.

More than half of the entire population of the country has been uprooted since 2011. Approximately 75 percent of Syrian refugees are women or children under age 18.

All are welcome to attend.