[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 63 (Thursday, April 19, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E794]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    COMMEMORATING HOLOCAUST REMEMBRANCE DAY AND REFLECTING UPON THE 
                           GENOCIDE IN DARFUR

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                     HON. DEBBIE WASSERMAN SCHULTZ

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, April 19, 2007

  Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ. Madam Speaker, last Sunday marked Holocaust 
Remembrance Day, which honors the memory of the six million Jews 
murdered in the Holocaust during World War II. We are now in the midst 
of the Days of Remembrance established by the United States Congress as 
our Nation's commemoration of these victims. We remember the Holocaust 
so that the lessons and responsibilities left from this tragedy are not 
lost.
  Always, but especially now, it is imperative that we remember and 
take action against the genocide that is currently taking place in 
Darfur. As we look to the past to remember those that perished at the 
hand of Nazi Germany, we must not forget the 2,500,000 Darfurian 
civilians targeted and displaced because of their ethnic or racial 
identity or the more than 300,000 people killed thus far. Tragically, 
over 1,600 villages have been destroyed by Sudanese government soldiers 
and government-backed militias. The growing number of destroyed homes 
and lives is a testament to the fact that simply remembering is not 
enough.
  Madam Speaker, as you know, children are among the most helpless 
victims of any genocide. One million of the six million Jews that were 
killed in the Holocaust were children. Jewish children were targeted by 
the Nazi regime, and now the children of Darfur suffer the brutal 
effects that burning villages, shootings, rapes, and the search for 
refuge have on the youngest victims of this tragedy.
  My heart is warmed by the work of grassroots organizations in South 
Florida and across the country that bring attention to the crisis in 
Darfur. We must heed the lessons of Holocaust Remembrance Day and make 
sure that another Holocaust never happens again. Racially inspired 
hatred has surfaced many times in the decades since the Holocaust, and 
it is our duty to stop the disaster in Darfur and make it the last 
genocide of the 21st century.

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