Mr. Speaker. much attention has been given recently by the Carter administration to the plight of refugees from Cuba. and I commend the President for his humanitarian concern. Unfortunately. the administrations concern for Cubans has overshadowed another. equally tragic. drama: the exodus from Haiti of thousands of persons seeking economic. and in some cases. political asylum in the United States. Their desperate condition. according to news reports. has largely been ignored by the administration. though their need is at least equal to that of the Cubans. Ironically. the United States. in my judgment. has a far greater obligation to the Haitian refugees than it does (if any) to the Cubans. It is a moral obitgation to a country and a people who have virtually been our satellite for 65 years. since the outset of the U.S. occupation of Haiti in 1915. Haitis currency. the gourde. is tied to the dollar. the U.S. is the principal market for their main exports. sugar and coffee. and U.S. investors have had a major influence on Haitis domestic economy.
Keywords matched
refugees