Mr. Speaker. since the Sandinista government took power in Nicaragua in 1979. thousands of Nicaraguan citizens have fled their country to seek refuge from the harsh policies of that totalitarian rule. It is right and proper for the United States April . 1985 to come to the aid of these refugees and to oppose the Sandinista government which has forced them from their homes. It is hard for the American people to conceive of a situation bad enough to make homeflight happen. We do not see much about it on television. and we do not have any personal experiences to draw on in trying to understand it. Consequently. I would like to read a short but poignant letter from Salvador Pierrot Armijo. who is president of the Civic Committee of Nicaraguan Emigrants. He wrote the letter on February 10. 1985. to the Jenkins family of Baton Rouge. Louisiana. thanking them for their refugee relief efforts through Friends of the Americas. a privately funded. nonprofit group they have formed. I understand this letter is typical of those received by Friends of the Americas in the course of their work with refugees. This is an English translation. of course. Mr.
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refugee Emigrants refugees