[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 6]
[Senate]
[Pages 8189-8190]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                                FREEDOM

  Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, this past weekend millions of Jews around 
the world celebrated the beginning of the Passover holiday. Gathered at 
Seder tables with family and friends, they commemorated the Israelites' 
exodus from Egypt almost 4,000 years ago.
  Jewish law dictates, however, that the Jewish people must do more on 
Passover than merely remember their ancestors' time in bondage. They 
must strive to reenact the experience.
  Using matzah and bitter herbs, the Seder is an endeavor to recreate 
the past. To literally taste the bitterness of slavery and the 
sweetness of freedom.
  It is also an opportunity to sharpen awareness of an alarming yet 
oft-overlooked truth: that millions of men, women and children around 
the world are still enslaved and have yet to know freedom.
  Ultimately the Passover Seder is a modern call to action. It reminds 
that until all people know the joy of freedom, none of us is truly 
free.
  Many Jews use the Seder not only to celebrate the value of freedom, 
but to call attention to regions of the world where the spirit of 
slavery lives on in places like Darfur, Sudan.
  For over 2 years now, the Darfur people have been terrorized by 
violence. Millions have been oppressed by threats of death and 
destruction. Meanwhile, untold numbers of refugees have fled across the 
scorched earth, seeking refuge from their taskmasters.
  The genocide that rages on in Darfur is a modern derivative of 
slavery. With the support of the Khartoum Government, Janjaweed militia 
groups commit mass looting, raping and violence inspired by ethnic 
hatred.
  A recent analysis by the coalition for International Justice 
indicates that nearly 400,000 civilians have died since the conflict 
began 2 years ago. Over 140,000 have been killed by Sudanese Government 
forces. And an estimated 250,000 Darfur civilians have perished from 
disease and starvation stemming from displacement.
  Recently, there has also been a disturbing trend of intimidation 
directed at aid workers in the region. The Red Cross reports that 
attacks on aid convoys in Darfur have increased in recent weeks. And 
last month, a USAID worker was intentionally shot point blank in an 
attempt to thwart humanitarian efforts and spread fear and 
intimidation.
  Having personally visited the refugee camps on the Chad-Sudan border 
and met with survivors, I know that millions of our brothers and 
sisters are still crushed under the yoke of slavery and fear. Millions 
of them still do not know what it means to be free.
  Nobel laureate Elie Wiesel recently commented that ``All are entitled 
to live with dignity and hope. All are entitled to live without fear 
and pain. Not to assist Sudan's victims today would for me be unworthy 
of what I have learned from my teachers, my ancestors and my friends, 
namely that God alone is alone: His creatures must not be.''
  We must reject this form of slavery by oppression. We must stop the

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killings. The death toll will only rise without immediate, convincing 
and unified intervention by the international community.
  It is our obligation as free people to bring hope and banish 
repression.
  And it is my belief that we should use the message shared by the 
Passover story, and, indeed, the wisdom of all traditions, to guide us 
wisely on our Journey.

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