[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 83 (Thursday, June 20, 2002)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1110-E1111]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               THE PLIGHT OF HAITIAN AND AFRICAN REFUGEES

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. EDOLPHUS TOWNS

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, June 20, 2002

  Mr. TOWNS. Mr. Speaker, though the events of September 11 were a 
tragic and unbelievable experience for almost all of us in this 
country, some of the policies and security measures that we are 
creating and enforcing because of it go against the principles that we 
as a nation stand for. The freedoms that many countries deny their 
citizens, but we allow to ours, has been the reason that we have been 
able to shine as the great nation that we are. The responsibility that 
we have taken on by assisting victims of terror and oppression have 
separated us from other countries and again helped us to create a 
nation dedicated to the welfare of all peoples. However as a result of 
9-11, we have started to retract on these policies. And though they may 
be grounded in a fear that is all too real, retracting on our 
principles and ideals will not remove that fear, nor will it solve the 
problem. Two groups that have been affected the most by some of the new 
policies and/or security measures are two groups that need it the most. 
Haitian and African refugees are suffering in their homelands and are 
turning to the U.S. for aid, nonetheless, we are turning them away and/
or allowing them to enter the U.S. and continue their suffering in 
detainment centers. Will we allow ourselves to succumb to the laws of 
other countries that deny people their rights and ability to live as 
free civilized peoples?
  In December, the Administration initiated a policy, which detains all 
Haitians seeking asylum in Miami. This policy is unmistakably 
discriminatory: 91 percent of refugees from other nations are given 
parole in American communities while they seek asylum, while Haitians 
who have been granted asylum often remain in detention. The policy's 
objective, to deter Haitians from risking their lives to come to the 
U.S. by boat, has not been successful. Many Haitians are not aware of 
this new policy and some choose to face detainment here rather than 
face terrorism at home. In fact, approximately 97 percent of Haitians 
seeking asylum are detained. For a country that was built on a 
historical acceptance of refugees, does it make logical sense that we 
treat refugees in this manner? Most Americans' ancestors came here 
escaping problems in their homelands as well, yet were not treated with 
the same disdain. Yet this goes beyond disdain, these people lack the 
basic rights that we as a country preach that everyone should have. 
These people are detained in facilities that have surpassed their 
maximum limit. They are not given ample time to obtain legal assistance 
or prepare and file their claim of asylum. They are not given 
sufficient medical care. Their children are denied educational services 
and are not allowed recreational time outdoors. They are housed with 
criminal prisoners even though they themselves are not. Their human 
rights are being violated. It is important that we ensure the due 
process and equal protection to Haitians asylum seekers as they turn to 
us for help.
  The treatment of African refugees is equally problematic. According 
to the Interaction's Committee on Migration and Refugee Affairs, almost 
50 percent of the world's 25 million internally displaced persons are 
in Africa, yet we only allow 31 percent of all refugees admitted to the 
U.S. are African. And, because the Department of State has consistently 
not processed refugees, we have not been able to reached our refugee 
allocations throughout the 1980s and 90s. For the Fiscal Year 2002, the 
allocation for Africa was 22,000 yet only 891 African refugees were 
admitted into the country. In 1999, $120 was spent on a refugee from 
Yugoslavia, whereas $35 was spent on one refugee from Africa. If 
African refugees are in greater need why are their needs being 
neglected?

[[Page E1111]]

  Witness the case of Melrose Coker, an African refugee from Sierra 
Leone, who has languished in two different refugee camps since 1999. 
She and her children have been subjected to hazardous labor 
exploitation, physical abuse, denial of education, sexual violence and 
exploitation. While trying to survive hardships in one of these camps, 
Melrose was able to make contact with her family in the United States. 
Her mother was deeply troubled and saddened by the hardships Melrose 
and her family suffered in Guinea. She could not sit back and watch 
while her daughter and grandchildren suffered. She therefore petitioned 
for Melrose and her family to be provided with visas to travel to the 
United States, for purposes of family reunification and resettlement. 
This petition was filed with a local refugee agency in New York City in 
1999. Several months passed and no feed-back was received from the 
agency handling the petition. Several petitions have been filed by 
Melrose's family in the United States, with various agencies and UNECR, 
to resettle Melrose's family in the United States. Thus far, all of 
these efforts have been unsuccessful. Inquiries into the status of her 
case have all produced no information or response. Meanwhile, Melrose 
and her family continue to perish while putting their lives at risk 
everyday, living in fear, poverty and squalor. Melrose's voice is 
reaching out of the depths of darkness and misery and is crying out to 
us today. Not only has Melrose's family suffered some of the worst 
atrocities ever recorded in the world during the war in Sierra Leone, 
but they continue to remain at risk in the refugee camps in Guinea--
where they are supposed to find safety. I, therefore, appeal to you to 
listen to Melrose's voice calling from beyond the tents of refugee 
camps in Guinea. I urge you to take on the challenge to protect her and 
resettle and reunify her with her family in the United States.
  Finally, Haitian and African refugees are in dire need of our help 
and as we close our doors to their pleas or continue to allow them to 
be mistreated in our own nation, we join alliances with those that are 
for the inhumane treatment of human beings. Have we not dedicated 
ourselves to promoting the freedom of those deprived of rights that we 
believe are inherent to human life? The answer is yes. The United 
States has been a leader in the protection of refugees and as we 
decline in our dedication to those that need our aid so do the rest of 
the resettlement countries. We must remember the events of September 
11th and learn how to prevent them, but we cannot do so at the cost of 
the lives of others. We were attacked on that day because of our 
principles, if we retract on them, we our only allowing ourselves to 
lose in the war on terrorism. The Haitian and African refugees need our 
help; let us stand up for what we believe in and give them the rights 
that they deserve.

                          ____________________