[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 12]
[House]
[Page 16473]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                           WORLD REFUGEE DAY

  (Mr. PITTS asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. PITTS. Mr. Speaker, today is World Refugee Day, and I rise to 
draw the attention of this body to the plight of millions of refugees 
and internally displaced people around the world.
  As a beacon of hope and freedom, the United States has historically 
been a leader in raising awareness and providing assistance to the 
world's refugees, and the need is certainly great.
  Thousands, for instance, of Iraqis have been forced to flee their 
homeland and face a daily existence that denies them even the most 
basic protections. The military dictatorship in Burma has inflicted 
such horrific violence on the Burmese people that hundreds of thousands 
of people have been forced to flee just to save their own lives. These 
are just two examples. The list goes on.
  There are over 8 million refugees, nearly 24 million IDPs, internally 
displaced people, worldwide. Combined, that's nearly equal to the 
population of California.
  On this World Refugee Day, let us remember the plight of these 
people. Try to find ways that we can help and support them.

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