Speech #1000107022

And that path is strewn with risks and many pitfalls. Escape from their own country is dangerous. and often results in arrest and persecution. Once a refugee camp is reached. there is no guarantee that they will be allowed to enter that camp. let alone be resettled. The camps themselves suffer from inadequate supervision and blackmarketeering of humanitarian aid. Unscrupulous camp authorities demand bribes. Ban Vinai Camp in Thailand. for example. is now under both Thai and United States investigations for corruption. Many people here in the United States have to raise money for relatives in camps to enable them to leave or to stop the patrols from pushing their loved ones back into the country from which they escaped. Senator HATFIELs amendment will address these serious problems by asserting the right of third country resettlement for Indochinese refugees. It demands better protection for displaced Indochinese refugees along the Thai border. It will increase stability in the region through the recognition of a resettlement problem. not a repatriation or integration problem. The amendment does this by expressing the sense of Congress concerning floors for annual admission numbers for Indochinese. the Orderly Departure Program. and Humanitarian Parole from Southeast Asia during fiscal year 1988 to fiscal year 1990. It also suggests admission numbers to address the plight of those refugees who have been in camps for 3 years or morethe socalled longstayers that my friend from Wyoming spoke about. who have no chance for a new life. The amendment authorizes funds for educational programs for displaced persons living on the Thai border who will not be resettled. Thai village assistance. and training for Thai border protection rangers. It also expresses the sense of the Senate in favor of a 24hour presence of international relief personnel in the site 2 Cambodian border camp which has suffered terribly from present protection problems. We have a special relationship and a historic responsibility toward Southeast Asian refugees. Many of them are perhaps refugees even because of our actions. Last June. in a speech to the Association of South East Asian Nation countries. Secretary of State George Shultz reaffirmed that the United States will continue to provide refuge for substantial numbers of displaced persons. In response to the ASEAN countries growing impatience with the continuing stream of refugees. Secretary Schultz reassured them that U.S. commitment to resolving the Indochinese refugee problem is as strong today as it ever has been. This amendment is a step toward fulfilling these promises. As the only refugee in the U.S. Senate. Mr. President. I feel I have a special obligation to represent those who choose to make the United States their new home. I believe this amendment will pick up where weve left off in refugeerelated legislation and that it will make our present system more flexible and open. It deserves our serious attention and prompt consideration and. indeed. it deserves passage. I yield the floor.