Speech #880100361

X.) It is therefore recommended that an interdepartmental committee be established to study the allowances and privileges of U.S. personnel stationed abroad and to make recommendations for changes to insure that U.S. personnel stationed in the same location in the same country abroad be accorded the same privileges and allowances. N. The United States should exercise immediate leadership in and out of the United Nations to turn the Arab refugees into useful. productive citizens Findings Forty percent of the Arab refugees were not born in what is now Israel. Fifty percent of the total 1.1 million refugees are under the age of 18. Of the total of $38.5 million received by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency from governments in calendar year 1962. the United States contributed $24.7 million or over 70 percent. These are the basic three positive factors working in favor of a practical solution of the Arab refugee problem and of making them productive useful citizens. There are two negative factors working against such a solution. The first is the fact that many Arab leaders want to continue to use the Arab refugees as pawns in their continuing fight against the existence of Israel. The second factor mitigating against a practical solution of the problem is that of the total of 11.651 personnel employed by UNWRA. 11.469--over 99 percentare locally recruited persons who are themselves Arab refugees. Therefore. even if during all these years of its operation UNRWA had been in its top leadership dedicated to the concept of training the Arab refugees and settling them in Arab countries or other countries as useful. productive citizens. the vast majority of its employees were not and could not. because of their backgrounds. be dedicated to carrying out such a policy. These refugees have been placed in charge of teaching the young and therefore have been inculcating in them the belief that any resettlement in to the community will lessen the chances of their "return" to what they have been taught is their homeland. even though they have never been there. Such teachings cannot but continue to engender hate. unrest. and idleness. A new approach must be found so that these Arab refugees will no longer be a thorn In the flesh of the world but will lead useful. productive lives. (See ch. X.) It is therefore recommended that the United States should exercise immediate leadership in and out of the United Nations. offering. if necessary. to pay the total cost. but making every effort to have the cost shared. in proposing the following program: (a) The establishment of a United Nations Middle East Peace Corps. along the line of our own Peace Corps. composed of volunteers from countries other than the countries involved. to work with the refugees in a wellfinanced program to educate and train the refugees. to help them obtain employment in the Arab countries or elsewhere. to assist financially in their resettlement in their places of employment. including resettlement grants and the granting of Cooley loans and loans and grants from Public Law 480 proceeds. (b) Present localhired employees of UNRWA should be replaced by Peace Corps employees. who should be international public servants. as soon as these localhired employees of UNRWA can be retrained and placed in jobs elsewhere. being given training and resettlement grants. financial assistance in resettling their families. purchasing homes. etc. (See ch. IX.) 0. U.S. financial aid to Turkey should continue with certain conditions Findings The U.S. financial aid program to Turkey has not been as successful as It might have been If the United States had not been as profligate with its money. if it had insisted on tighter control of the money granted and loaned. and if it had insisted that the Turkish Government place its political house In order.