[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 12]
[Senate]
[Pages 16419-16421]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                 MIDDLE EAST REFUGEE CRISIS AND UKRAINE

  Mrs. SHAHEEN. Mr. President, 2 weeks ago, I left for Greece with a 
Senate delegation that included Dick Durbin from Illinois, Amy 
Klobuchar from Minnesota, and Elizabeth Warren from Massachusetts. In 
my capacity as lead Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations 
Subcommittee on Europe and Regional Security Cooperation, I was honored 
to head our delegation. We were there to witness firsthand the plight 
of refugees arriving by sea on the island of Lesbos. In Greece and 
later in Germany, we received indepth briefings on the refugee crisis 
and Europe's response to it. In Kiev, we conferred with the Ukrainian 
Prime Minister and President about their country's struggle to create a 
stable democracy in the face of ongoing Russian aggression.
  Nearly a quarter of a million Syrians have been killed during the 
current conflict in the Middle East. An estimated 8 million Syrians 
have been displaced internally. Another 4 million have left the 
country. They are fleeing hunger, unspeakable violence, and a land that 
no longer offers any hope for their children. They have endured barrel 
bombs, chemical attacks, indiscriminate shelling, the barbarity of 
ISIS, and now a military offensive sponsored by Russia and Iran.
  To reach Europe, these refugees have been preyed upon by traffickers 
and other criminals, some selling refugee children for sex, for 
slavery, or for organs. The refugees have risked drowning at sea and 
suffocation in locked vans, and they will soon confront the freezing 
temperatures and snows of winter.
  While we were traveling, we heard accounts from the refugees of 
paying smugglers thousands of dollars to get on small boats with motors 
that barely work, boats built for a few but loaded with 40 to 50 
refugees. I use the term ``boats'' loosely. What I am talking about are 
rubber rafts that were built to hold maybe 10 to 15 people and were 
loaded with 40 to 50 refugees. The Greek Coast Guard told us that 
refugees pay exorbitant prices for life preservers that are more like 
the children's inflatables that you see at swimming pools. When 
refugees set off from Turkey across the Aegean to Lesbos, they are 
instructed by the smugglers to puncture their raft with a knife if they 
encounter the Greek Coast Guard so that the Greeks will be forced to 
rescue them.
  I was profoundly moved by my conversations with refugees from Syria 
and other conflict zones in the Middle East. It is one thing to hear 
about millions of Syrian refugees fleeing the war; it is something else 
entirely to actually meet and talk with individual refugees, including 
children who have been separated from their parents.
  I was struck by the fact that many of these refugees have endured 
extreme hardship for weeks, if not years. Their future is filled with 
extreme uncertainty. Yet so many of them were filled with optimism and 
hope. In Athens, we met a 6-year-old Afghan boy who had

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made the trip to Greece with his 13-year-old cousin. This boy proudly 
gave us all sticks of gum. In Germany, we met young men from Syria--a 
former English teacher, a Ph.D. student, and an engineer. One young man 
looked ahead to a brighter future and said one day he wanted to be the 
President of Syria. These refugees were weary and they were anxious, 
but they were also deeply grateful and hopeful about their future lives 
in a safe, secure Europe.
  Altogether, we met and talked with a couple dozen refugees. They are 
men, women, and children who are no different from loved ones in our 
own families and citizens in our own communities. They aspire to the 
very same things, including a decent life for their children. They told 
us about the desperation and despair they left behind in Syria, Iraq, 
and other conflict areas. Multiply these desperate stories by countless 
thousands of refugees--up to 10,000 entering Europe daily and more than 
1 million so far this year. It adds up to a humanitarian crisis of 
staggering dimensions.
  Now, to be sure, Europe is being challenged, but this crisis also 
challenges the United States and the world. At critical moments in 
history, the international community has faced similar challenges: Jews 
seeking refuge from persecution and later genocide in Nazi Germany; 
famine killing millions in Biafra in the late 1960s; the genocides in 
Cambodia, Rwanda, Darfur, and Bosnia. Faced with these crises, the 
world confronted a stark choice: to turn away or to engage.
  The United States cannot turn away from the refugee crisis unfolding 
in the Middle East and Europe. On Lesbos last week, we talked with 
Greeks who operate small businesses that depend on tourism, which has 
dried up because of the crisis. They said that the refugees must be 
their first priority, that Greeks must help people who are in need.
  In Athens, we visited a facility for refugee children run by a group 
called Praxis. Praxis workers told us about Afghan children being sold 
in Europe as sex slaves for as much as $10,000. Praxis and scores of 
similar organizations are doing everything possible, with very limited 
means, to meet the refugees' desperate needs.
  In Germany, we met with officials at the Finance Ministry and the 
Chancery, as well as people in and out of government who are rising to 
the challenge of the refugee crisis. Chancellor Angela Merkel has 
demonstrated extraordinary moral leadership in addressing this crisis. 
Millions of ordinary German citizens--indeed, people all across 
Europe--have mobilized to meet the needs of the refugees.
  However, it was clear to me and to the other Senators in our 
delegation that these noble efforts are not enough. The refugee crisis 
is too big; the scale of human suffering and needs is overwhelming.
  President Obama has offered to take in 10,000 refugees over the next 
year. But Germany is taking in as many as 10,000 refugees in a single 
day--day after day, week after week, with no end in sight. My State of 
New Hampshire has been welcoming to refugees fleeing conflict, as have 
other States. I think people are eager to do more across this country. 
Turkey needs to secure its borders, and it needs to crack down on 
smugglers and criminal gangs exploiting and trafficking in refugees. 
Frontline countries, including Greece and Italy, need more resources to 
help process and register refugees. In fact, the same is true of 
Turkey, Jordan, and Lebanon, which have taken in millions of refugees.
  As I said, Germany has earned our admiration for its leadership, 
offering to take in as many as 1 million refugees this year. But for 
all its resources, Germany can't do this alone. It is already reaching 
a point where its communities can't keep up with the influx.
  We are confronting the greatest humanitarian crisis of our time. 
Europe is responding. The European Union will use the coming winter 
months, when the flow of refugees will slow, to come up with a more 
effective plan to share the burden and address this challenge. However, 
European nations, Turkey, Jordan, and other frontline states, such as 
Lebanon, can't meet this challenge alone. The international community 
must give more generous support to humanitarian efforts by the World 
Food Program and others. By all means, the United States, as leader of 
the Atlantic Alliance, must play a more robust role in addressing the 
refugee crisis.
  I am heartened by the bipartisan bill that is sponsored by Senator 
Graham of South Carolina and Senator Leahy of Vermont, which would 
provide $1 billion in assistance to meeting the needs of refugees. The 
Obama administration has proposed taking in 10,000 Syrian refugees over 
the next year. That is a start. It is not enough given the scale of 
this crisis. We have the resources to safely vet and process more 
refugees for asylum in the United States, even as we need to do so more 
efficiently.
  As Senator Graham said recently, ``I don't see how you can lead the 
free world and turn your back on people who are seeking it.'' To turn 
away families fleeing violence, says Senator Graham, is to ``take the 
Statue of Liberty and tear it down . . . because we don't mean it 
anymore.''
  We also need to deal with the root of the problem, the violence in 
Syria. We must redouble our diplomatic efforts as well as our campaign 
against the Islamic State in both Syria and Iraq. Unfortunately, there 
is a new dimension to the chaos and conflict in Syria. In recent weeks, 
Russia has sent combat planes, heavy armor, and military personnel to 
support the regime of Bashar al-Assad. Russia is threatening to send 
thousands of so-called volunteer troops to Syria to fight on the 
frontline.
  A newly aggressive and reckless Russia is a problem not only in the 
Middle East but also in Ukraine, where our Senate delegation visited 
after leaving Greece. The Ukrainians are struggling to fight corruption 
and build a stable democracy. But those efforts have been severely 
undermined by Russian subversion and aggression. President Putin was 
not content to invade and annex Crimea. He has also sponsored the 
establishment of Russian-controlled provinces in eastern Ukraine. This 
conflict in the east of Ukraine is designed by Russia to destabilize 
democratic Ukraine and to drain its resources.
  While in Kiev, our delegation met with senior government officials, 
including Prime Minister Yatsenyuk and President Petro Poroshenko. We 
were briefed on Russia's efforts on many fronts to destabilize the 
country. We were also briefed on Ukraine's efforts to boost its economy 
and to root out corruption in the country's government and 
institutions.
  The European Union and the United States are standing by Ukraine, and 
this solidarity is making a difference. It appears to have moderated 
Russia's ambitions, at least for now. The countries of Western Europe 
and the United States have demanded that Russia fully implement the 
Minsk II agreement to contain the conflict, and we heard some 
encouraging signs. Elections in the breakaway provinces--elections that 
might have led to succession--have been delayed. Russia is redeploying 
light armor away from the region. But, of course, this is not adequate.
  Sanctions on Russia must remain in place until President Putin and 
the rebels he backs fulfill all of their obligations under the Minsk II 
agreement. I left Ukraine with a strong sense that despite living under 
an ever-present threat from Russia, this is a nation that continues to 
stand strong and move forward. It was an honor to personally reaffirm 
to Ukraine's leadership and citizens that the United States is an ally 
and partner and that we strongly support the government's agenda of 
reform and modernization.
  Our European allies are confronting an array of challenges 
unprecedented since the end of the Second World War: not only the 
refugee crisis but also rising threats from Russia, economies that 
continue to be held back by debt and austerity, and a resurgence of 
nationalistic and nativist political parties. However, our delegation 
witnessed firsthand a creative and resourceful Europe that is capable 
of meeting these challenges. Europe needs and deserves

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American support and partnership, beginning with a more robust U.S. 
response to the refugee crisis, which is the greatest humanitarian 
challenge of our time. I hope we in this Chamber and in Congress will 
rise in response to that challenge to do our part.
  I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. FRANKEN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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