MAR 12 '98 11:50 TIB(OOU) HK GOVT
SOURCE
INDOCHIN
ACTION
མསྶ༢༠
"P.7′
Indochina Resource Action Center
1118 Twenty Second Street,N.W..Sulte 300 Washington, D.C.20037 (202) 223-8866
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- has
"What I believe has happened is that a program that stands as a monument to U.S. generosity to refugees --a monument that to some small extent atones for America's tragic failure to do more to rescue the Jews of Europe from the Nazi Holocaust gone tired in its later years. But the problem remains: there are refugees in SEAsia for whom resettlement in the United States is as right and necessary today as it was ten years ago. And we should renew and revitalize our commitment to help them."
Senator Claiborne Pell (D-Rhode Island)
"This historic trip by the leadership of IRAC will provide us a novel perspective on the current refugee situation in SEAsia. Because of my association with Dr. Khoa and his colleagues, I am looking forward to learning of the findings from their trip." -- Senator Mark D. Hatfield (R-Oregon)
"Today, I applaud the efforts of the Indochina Resource Action Center. I hope the former refugees who visit the camps will return with information to help cut through the red tape surrounding the refugees still living in the camps. I thank them for their work.
"We must acknowledge the tragic reality that for more than a decade people who survived unbelievable brutality in their homelands, who managed to find their way to freedom through the jungles of Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam, have been subsisting in refugee camps in countries who welcomed them but who cannot afford to support them much longer.
"To stay in their homelands would have meant certain death at the hands of their conquerors. To attempt escape meant risking death by capture, starvation, land mines, or other perils. There was no choice, Escape held the hope of life, the possibility of freedom. Some escaped with a few members of their families, some gave birth along the way, and many lost their antire familles.
"It is in the best interests of everyone concerned the host countries, the United States, the refugees to unify these torn families. To refuse them entry to the United States will sentence them to death by starvation or murder if they are forced to move back to the border camps where they will be vulnerable to attack by the very enemies they escaped so many years ago. Let's get these people out. Let's bring them home to their families. Let the refugee camps close, so we can close this sad chapter in the world's history." Congresswoman Patricia Schroeder (D-Colorado)
"As ranking minority member of the Senate Subcommittee on East Asian and Pacific Affairs, I welcome the return from SEAsia of this delegation of Indochinese-American leaders. As we all know, the end of the war in Vietnam did not mean the end of the suffering of the Indochinese people. One of the most moving images of our times is that of the 'boat people' and other refugees who have risked their lives attempting to flee to freedom. These are among the inescapable consequences of the Communist victory in Vietnam.
"The United States has made extraordinary efforts to meet the moral challenge of these refugees. It has been rewarded by gaining some of the most productive, loyal citizens which this country of immigrants has ever had. But there remain many tens of thousands of refugees in SEAsia, and much more remains to be done. I welcome this fact-finding trip and hope it helps us better understand and find a way to deal with the plight of refugees in SEAsia." Senator Frank H. Murkowski (R-Alaska)
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