[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 119 (Monday, July 27, 2015)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1125-E1126]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            SPECIAL ORDER ON INTERNATIONAL RELIGIOUS FREEDOM

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                           HON. ANNA G. ESHOO

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, July 23, 2015

  Ms. ESHOO. Mr. Speaker, I'm pleased to join my colleagues, 
Congressmen Vargas and Collins in this Special Order regarding 
international religious freedom.
   As the daughter of Assyrian and Armenian immigrants who fled the 
slaughter of Middle East Christians in the early 1900's, the importance 
of religious freedom is interwoven into the history of my family.

[[Page E1126]]

   I remember vividly the stories my parents, grandparents, aunts and 
uncles told me of what they faced; how they fled; about the family 
members murdered; of Churches being burned; and all because they were 
Christians. Tragically, we are witnessing history repeating itself 
today in the Middle East.
   Violence and instability has once again placed Christians and other 
religious minorities in the Middle East in exceptional peril, a 
population which has already dwindled considerably in Iraq and Syria.
   There is a systematic extermination of the world's oldest Christian 
communities taking place. First it was Al Qaeda when the U.S. invaded 
Iraq. Today it is the barbarians of ISIS who are responsible for 
horrific acts, including torture, murder and displacement of thousands, 
many with whom I share the same ethnic background.
   From the founding of our nation, religious freedom has been a pillar 
of our democracy and it remains a cornerstone of our democracy and a 
value we espouse to peoples around the world.
   The situation for religious minorities in the Middle East remains 
particularly desperate and many are losing hope. As a maelstrom of 
violence and religious persecution ravages this part of the world, we 
can and must lead.
   First, there is a desperate need for humanitarian aid for the 
displaced inside and outside established refugee camps.
   Second, the United States should provide adequate safety for the few 
remaining religious minority communities in Syria and Iraq.
   Third, we should ease the bureaucratic burdens which hold up 
immigration applications for religious minorities who wish to seek 
refuge in the United States. Today they are made to wait years due to 
our tedious refugee processing through the State Department and 
Department of Homeland Security.
   Religious leaders across ecumenical lines have come together and 
firmly stated their support for religious freedom. Pope Francis said in 
January, ``. . . Freedom of religion and freedom of expression are both 
fundamental human rights.''
   The United States must step up, lead by example, and make good on 
our belief that religious freedom is a precious one.

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