[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 171 (Saturday, November 22, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2409]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   H.R. 1813, THE TORTURE VICTIMS RELIEF REAUTHORIZATION ACT OF 2003

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. JOSEPH CROWLEY

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                       Friday, November 21, 2003

  Mr. CROWLEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 1813, the 
Torture Victims Relief Reauthorization Act of 2003.
  Torture is a horrible tool used in more than 150 countries to 
silence, intimidate and oppress people around the world. Many survivors 
of torture arrive in the United States every year. This legislation 
provides vital funding of support for victims of torture.
  Mr. Speaker, more than 500,000 survivors of torture live in the 
United States today. A significant number of these survivors live in 
New York City. These survivors need vital support in terms of 
rehabilitation, medical care and psychological care. Fleeing from their 
persecutors, most often leaving their families behind, they arrive with 
no documentary evidence to prove their persecution. All they have are 
their scarred bodies and their stories of horror.
  Once they arrive, the survivors are forced to face a culture and a 
system different from what they have known. They face numerous 
challenges in their effort to integrate into our society and become 
fully participating members. They have difficulty telling their stories 
to the immigration officers and even to their own attorneys because of 
the abuse they have endured by those in power in the past and thus are 
wary of authorities. Among the few they can turn to are the torture 
treatment programs. These programs, armed with experience and 
dedication, are instrumental in helping survivors document their 
stories of torture, providing them with clinical care and psychosocial 
support, and enabling them to embark on a new life.
  The life-saving work done by these torture treatment programs should 
be commended and appreciated by all Americans, for they open their 
doors, extend their hands, and offer shoulders to the most severely 
wounded new Americans. It is my pleasure today to commend the 
indispensable work of the Safe Horizon/Solace Program for Survivors of 
Torture and Refugee Trauma in my district. Solace is a program of Safe 
Horizon, which is the nation's leading victim assistance and advocacy 
organization. Solace is a decentralized, citywide program, with its 
main offices in Jackson Heights, Queens. Since 1997, Solace has 
provided an array of services on behalf of torture survivors from over 
70 different countries, including intensive case management, clinical, 
referral for medical and legal, social adjustment counseling, 
accompaniment, interpretation, information and referral, medical and 
psychological evaluations, expressive therapies such as visual 
and dramatic arts, dance, and somatic therapies such as massage, for 
survivors of torture seeking safe haven in the United States.

  Furthermore, Solace has pioneered a community development approach 
that involves creating social healing interventions at the familial and 
communal levels, particularly important since torture seeks to destroy 
the fabric of communities, as much as it seeks to destroy individuals.
  The Safe Horizon/Solace approach is also extremely cost effective, 
since Solace is the managing partner of the Metro Area Support for 
Survivors of Torture (MASST) Consortium, which includes Doctors of the 
World/USA, Refuge, Inc., and the International Institute of New Jersey 
as partners. This New York City and Northern New Jersey effort is all 
done on one grant from the Department of Health and Human Services, 
Office of Refugee Resettlement, and is the only such configuration in 
the United States. This past year, the MASST Consortium has reached 
thousands of people with a dizzying array of services.
  The funds provided by the Torture Victims Relief Reauthorization Act 
of 2003 will enable torture treatment programs like Safe Horizon/Solace 
and its MASST partners to continue to provide the crucial services 
needed by those who have been subjected to cruel and inhuman treatment 
in their own countries.
  Mr. Speaker, we may not have the opportunity to know when we meet the 
survivors of torture, to listen to first hand and understand their 
stories, or to appreciate the courage they exhibit in overcoming the 
consequences of the traumatic events they have experienced. But we do 
have the opportunity to assist them today. By supporting this important 
legislation, we can play an important part in providing care for this 
resilient group of people. We can give them hope for a better future. 
We will be instrumental in helping them break down the barriers that 
keep them from fully integrating into our society.
  I strongly encourage all my colleagues to join me in supporting this 
important legislation.

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