In this regard I wish to call the attention of my colleagues to section 16 of the bill which authorizes this Government to participate in an international conference to discuss the urgent matter of the millions of persons of German ethnic origin who have been expelled from the land of their birth and are now residing in Germany or Austria. But it should not be supposed that these German expellees are the only people whose plight demands international attention and assistance. The New York Times on May 29 in a dispatch from Geneva reported at length on the new refugees from eastern Europe who are fleeing the suppression of Communist dictatorship. This disturbing article claimed that a failure of western powers to deal adequately with this problem "threatens to cause a catastrophe of major political importance." Bitterness and disillusionment has been seen in the return recently of many hundreds of these refugees to the eastern European countries from which they had fled in the hope of permanent asylum in democratic lands. An additional problem is presented by the plight of refugees in the Italian area known as Venezia Guilia. The Senate approved an amendment calling for the admission of 5.000 of these refugees from Communist oppression. Our conference committee. acting in the absence of sufficient information. reduced that number to 2.000. The sad plight of these people. too. could and should be considered by an international conference called to weigh the problem presented by the wandering and uprooted refugees of Europe. Italy. itself. presents a vast demographic problem in overpopulation. which calls for the concerted attention and consideration by the free nations of the world. Nor have I gone through the entire list of the problems of this kind confronting us not only in Europe but in Asia. too.
Keywords matched
refugees