Speech #860091764

Pakistan. and Tunisians of Italian ancestry in addition to many other groups. Finally. there are the multitudes of east Europeans who have fled beyond the Iron Curtain. In this total picture of refugees. it will be seen that they come from the diverse nations and languages. cultures -and religions of the earth and are scattered in vast numbers across the hemispheres. For one should recognize that beyond the frontiers of communism. there is also. in large sectiohs of the Western World. as Dawson notes. a movement in revolution. This results in a vast uprooting and dispossession of enormous numbers of people whose courage and fidelity. in many instances. move them from home into ai unknown land and a dark future. Why is this World Refugee Year? Unfortunately. what is out of sight is often also out of mind. The utterly miserable conditions of fellow humans who suffer because of their convictions or because of their race or religion or being out of step with tryannous regimes. affronts the human spirit. If an ancient Carthaginlan born Latinist. Terence of Rome. could properly declare that "nothing human is foreign to me." one may reasonably ask how can any informed person remain complacent today unless he abdicates his conscience. Unfortunately. very few Americans have actually witnessed the conditions of life -in a DP camp. or have actually worked with refugees. It is understandable that. being unaware of the plight of their fellow humans. so many seem Indifferent. It is a tragedy that many people are unmoved by worldwide poverty. hunger. and distress. The purpose of the World Refugee Year is to awaken interest in all people through widespread accounts of refugee problems which. actually. are the problems of all. What is often the problem of all becomes the problem of none. Hence the voluntary agencies of the land. Catholic. Protestant. and Jewish. are undertaking an extensive campaign In this matter. The World Council of Churches stated in a recent message that "We are convinced that in our day and generation our greatest human tragedy is that of the refugeehomeless people all around the world. The refugee and his family have. for more than a decade. been a challenge to our confession and compassion. and must be a first call on the ministry of those whose Lord had nowhere to lay His head." What can be done for refugees? The worldwide refugee problem is an International problem that requires an international solution. The United States. as a member of the family of nations. in addition to making funds available to help alleviate the conditions of misery. will be expected to admit a token number. its fair share. of the small number of refugees that have to be resettled. The vastly larger number of refugees will be indefinitely resettled in or near areas where they are now located. The refugee question is part of the larger question of contemporary demographic problems. The world population is expanding at a faster rate in the underdeveloped than in the industrial areas. If this continues without positive correlative increase at a more rapid rate in the production of food and fiber. of goods and services. it is already apparent that there impends the danger of widening and intensifying world poverty and misery.