Linda Rabin will speak on the current state of refugees in the world. This will include information on Syrian refugees, other refugees in Europe, Central American asylum seekers in Maryland, and local initiatives to help refugees and asylum seekers. Linda Rabben is an anthropologist, author, human rights activist, and associate research professor in the University of Maryland’s Anthropology Department. She did field research in Brazil over a 25-year period and worked for Amnesty International, the Rainforest Foundation, and other NGOs on human rights, environmental, and international development issues. In 2014 she coordinated an international conference at American University on Chico Mendes and the global grassroots environmental movement. Since the late 1990s she has published seven books about human rights, including Give Refuge to the Stranger: The Past, Present and Future of Sanctuary. The second edition, Sanctuary and Asylum: A Social and Political History, will be published by University of Washington Press in 2016. Questions or for more information call all 301-588-2724 or see takomaparkquaker.org.