We must also insure that we are able to provide for the safety of those who have risked their lives supporting and assisting our efforts in this war. We cannot and should not try to escape our responsibilities to the South Vietnamese people. To date there are some 4 million refugees in South Vietnam. They are housed in inadequate refugee camps. jobless. homeless. suffering from improper health care. and inadequate food distribution. When this war ends. their problems will not. We have an obligation to provide assistance to these people. We must establish and support a South Vietnam refugee program. provide emergency relief services. health care. job training. education. and opportunity for resettlement. Furthermore. as the French after Dienbienphu. we should open our shores to those South Vietnamese who have supported the U.S.s endeavors through the years and want to leave Vietnam. When I was Secretary of the Department of Health. Education. and Welfare. we faced a similar problem with Cuban refugees fleeing oppression In Cuba. We were able to establish programs that not only provided assistance when these refugees reached our shores but gave them the necessary linguistic and educational tools to be assimilated quickly and usefully into our economy and our society. Obviously many details remain to be worked out. Immigration authorities together with representatives of the Armed Forces and perhaps the CIA will have to clear applicants for admission to the United States. Transportation will have to be provided. Federal assistance should be made available to those cities and States which provide services and education for the Vietnamese upon their arrival.
Keywords matched
Immigration refugee refugees