Speech #940058816

I join in expressing appreciation for the attitude of the chairman of the committee. as well as the ranking member. in this particular issue. It was my understanding. in the course of the development of the legislation. that this was clearly the intention of the legislation. I believe that the Senator from South Dakota. by this exchange in the development of the legislative history. will remind those in authority who are administering the program that it Is the desire of the Members of the Senate and the House of Representatives to afford an opportunity for expression by the refugees. as completely as possible. as to their futures. This is entirely consistent from a humanitarian point of view. and it is entirely consistent with our trying to alleviate the suffering and the anguish of these 150.000 refugees. In the course of the recent hearings before the Refugee Subcommittee. on the issue of resettling the refugees. we have seen that the early instances of those who desired to return to Vietnam seemed to be exceedingly few. since the first groups of refugees were more carefully selected than later groups. It is my very clear impression that this provision might be widely used. not just by the approximately 48 or 50 who have already indicated a desire to return. but by many more. in the hundreds perhaps or even thousands. Testimony before the Refugee Subcommittee on Tuesday by Ambassador Brown and others clearly supports this view. And voluntary repatriation. along with integration in initial reception areas and resettlement in other countries. have traditionally been one of the options available to refugees who are sorting out their future. Mr. President. I hope we can urge those who are administering the refugee program to work with the UNHCR and other international and voluntary agencies in attempting to demonstrate to those who may be making the choice of returning to their countryand in many instances to their familiesthe question of their safety and their security when they return. The general information that these refugees have received in the camps is primarily based on broadcasts or upon what they have read in the newspapers. I firmly believe that with the help of international machinery -and their work is devoted primarily toward humanitarian purposesa great deal of the anguish and the apprehension that many of these refugees have. will be relieved. And this is an extremely important service in the cause of humanitarianism.