Americans have. of course. been deeply divided on the subject of Vietnam. but we have been united in our humanitarian concern for the civilian victims of the long and brutal struggle there. In a country where 48 percent of the population is under the age of 15. it has been inevitable that a large proportion of those victims has been children. Fortunately. with the restoration of a measure of peace in Vietnam. the scenes of bewildered. maimed. and homeless refugees no longer haunt our TV screens. May they never do so again. But we must not let an attitude of outof -sight. outofmind make us forget the fact that today. despite great effort. there are still some one million Vietnamese refugees. at least half of whom are living in crowded emergency camps under deprived conditions. Children comprise more than 50 percent of the population of these camps. I was graphically reminded of this yet unhealed war wound. and the magnitude of treatment that it still requires. by a report by the special mission of the International Rescue Committee of New York that examined the refugee situation in Vietnam in April. The report. I believe. objectively describes the problem. measures the needs. and proposes means by which the IRC can make an even more effective contribution to a solution in the fields of resettlement. public health. and child care. especially of war orphans and sick and injured children.
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refugee refugees