Samir Habiby

Samir Jamil Habiby (born April 18, 1933) is a Palestinian American Episcopal pastor, military chaplain, and humanitarian. He served as the director of the St. Anselm's Indochinese Community Center from 1976 to 1977, assisting Vietnamese refugees in the US. From 1977 to 2004, he served as the executive director of the Presiding Bishop's Fund for World Relief, later called the Episcopal Relief & Development.

Born in Haifa, Habiby later emigrated to the United States in 1954. After becoming an Episcopal priest, he later served a military chaplain from 1965 to 1970 during the Vietnam War. Afterwards, he worked on assisting Vietnamese refugees in Orange County, California after the fall of Saigon. He also completed humanitarian work on behalf of the Episcopal Church.

Biography Early life Habiby was born on April 18, 1933, in Haifa, Mandatory Palestine. His father, Jamil, served as a high judge. Habiby had six siblings; he and his family were Arab Anglican Palestinians. Due to attacks from the terrorist group Irgun Zvei Leumi, the Anglican school Habiby attended was closed, and he lived with his uncle to attend an Anglican school in Cairo, Egypt. and worked with him to establish the Federation of Palestinian Students at Egyptian Universities. While he initially intended to become a doctor of medicine to best help others, he later instead set his mind on becoming a priest. During the Watts riots, he met with Martin Luther King Jr. to assist in a dispute between landlords and tenants. rector.

In 1976, Habiby formed St. Anselm's Indochinese Community Center to assist Vietnamese refugees. After several years in Connecticut and Georgia, he moved to Lausanne, Switzerland, due to its proximity to the United Nations hub in Geneva. and had three children; they later separated while Habiby was in Vietnam. In 1972, he was married to Kathryn Sophia Ganitch by Francis Eric Bloy and has two stepdaughters with her.