[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 5]
[House]
[Page 7354]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                BRING OUR TROOPS HOME AND HELP IRAQ HEAL

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from California (Ms. Woolsey) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Ms. WOOLSEY. Mr. Speaker, today I joined Representatives Maxine 
Waters, Barbara Lee, and Alcee Hastings in hosting a remarkable photo 
exhibit reception focusing on the appalling refugee situation resulting 
from the occupation of Iraq.
  Renowned photographer, Gabriela Bulisova, traveled to Syria to 
document the plight of the millions of Iraqis who have been forced from 
their homes and from their homelands. The photos show the tragic human 
side of the international refugee crisis, and in the faces of the 
children, you see confusion and fear. How do you explain to a child why 
he must leave his home, her friends, his school? How do you explain 
where her father is, or why his neighborhood is riddled with concrete 
and burned-out hulls of cars?
  Nearly 5 million Iraqis have become refugees because of the 
occupation and civil war ravaging their nation. International relief 
organizations believe that 2 million of those 5 million refugees have 
fled their own nations and have sought safe haven in surrounding 
countries including Jordan, Syria, and Lebanon.
  The photos in the exhibit were taken in Damascus. They are a glimpse 
into the lives of the all-too-often nameless and faceless. How can we 
even think about what it means to have 5 million people without a 
permanent home? It would be the same as if the entire population of the 
State of Kentucky or Colorado or Minnesota was suddenly evacuated from 
its State. No homes, no jobs. A detachment from everything we take for 
granted: income, schooling, access to financial savings, being close to 
one's family doctor. Some people even lose the very land upon which 
their homes are built.
  The United States State Department made a commitment to assist in the 
voluntary resettlement, but despite a promise to take in 7,000 refugees 
in fiscal year 2007, only 1,600 were admitted into our country. In the 
last 6 months, State has only permitted an average of 400 people a 
month. At this pace, we're going to miss the target by a huge amount 
again.
  We owe the Iraqi people more, Mr. Speaker. Certainly more than broken 
promises and despair. We cannot solely rely on the good graces of 
Iraq's neighbors or the assistance of the United Nations. This is a 
problem that we started, and it is our moral obligation to help resolve 
it.
  The U.S., the United States of America, must end the occupation of 
Iraq and focus on the real needs of the Iraqi people. If we took even a 
fraction of what we are paying to occupy a nation in the middle of a 
civil war and put it towards the refugee crisis, we could change 
millions of lives and offer real hope for their future.
  Next week or the week after, the House may consider the Iraq spending 
bill. Instead of extending the administration's occupation of Iraq, 
let's reaffirm our commitment to the Iraqi people through humanitarian 
assistance. Let's bring our troops and military contractors home, and 
let's help Iraq begin to heal.

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