Mr. President. Id like to mention perhaps the most tragic of circumstances of some childrenthe plight of the refugee child. As the Iraq exodus continues. we have been acutely sensitized to the displaced and especially aware of the toll that it has taken on the children. But as one who has long been involved as a refugee advocate. I can attest to the numbing effect the sheer numbers of displaced people can cause at times. I have spoken many times about compassion fatigue many times and remain concerned that we not remove refugees from our priority list whenever we discuss our humanitarian programs. Indeed. the refugee disaster in northern Iraq among the Kurdish people is an atrocity that continues daily. and yet it is only a small percentage of the vast numbers of people displaced around the world. Children are especially vulnerable to disease and deaths which occur among refugee people. An estimated 7 million children are now growing up in refugee campsfer many of them it is the only home they have knownand we have got to offer them some hope for their futures. The difficulties facing children are seemingly endless. and yet we place our greatest optimism with our young. The World Summit for Children confirmed the value of the life of each and every child.
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refugee refugees