There have been reports of people nearly starving in the camps for lack of arable land. while government officials take what relief food managed to make its way through the levels of corruption into the barbedwire compound. These activities. I note. suggest violations of article 11 of the Peace Accords. which guarantee refugees "freedom of movement. freedom of residence. and freedom of work." Two American AID officials recently resigned in protest to the way in which the United States and Saigon governments are handling the refugee problem. As indicated in an article by Daniel Southerland that appeared in the Christian Science Monitor in December. the text of which I request be printed at the conclusion of my remarks. the Saigon government is deliberately resettling refugees into areas too poor to lead to economic selfsufficiency. and is using refugees as political pawns in an effort to consolidate and expand its control over territories "insecure" or disputed. These refugee programs are almost entirely funded by U.S. taxpayers. In the words of one of the former AID officials. the programs are "a massive bonanza for the Government of Vietnam. a disaster for the refugees. and an insult" to the American people. Senator KENNEDYS Subcommittee on Refugees of the Senate Judiciary Committee has also turned up disturbing evidence of corruption in the refugee program and its failure to be of any real benefit to the refugees. A subcommittee "Study Mission Report." entitled. "Relief and Rehabilitation of War Victims in Indochina: 1 Year After the CeaseFire." released on January 1. 1974. contained memoranda from AID officials in Vietnam sharply critical of the refugee program. One such AID memorandum. dated July 9. 1973. contained the following: Although the Tu Chung hamlet population has been reported RTVd for two months (and have not been receiving incamp food distribution for this period) very little has been accomplished this far to develop a viable village. Only temporary shacks have been constructed and most people are not living in them.
Keywords matched
Refugees refugee refugees