Mr. Speaker. I rise in strong support of this legislation to provide desperately needed emergency assistance to the refugees fleeing Saddam Husseins brutality in Iraq. Approximately 850.000 Kurdish refugees are now stranded on the IraqiTurkey border. and more than 1.5 million Kurds have fled to areas along the border with Iran. In addition to these Kurdish refugees. there are also 100.000 Iraqi Shiltes who have fled southern Iraqmostly into Iran and the alliedcontrolled zones where they are being fed and sheltered by United States forces. Mr. Speaker. we have all seen the news reports about the desperate conditions under which these refugees are now living. Their situation is direthey face malnutrition. disease. and completely inadequate living conditions. Some reports indicate that thousands may be dying each day. This human tragedy demands a response from the international community and from the United States. This legislationof which I am proud to be an original cosponsorauthorizes over $400 million in emergency assistance to Iraqi refugees in and around Iraq. Most of this assistance is in the form of aid to United Nations relief agencies or for other International disaster relief activities. The bill also permits the transfer of additional food assistance from the Food for Peace Program to the refugee zones In and around Iraq. Mr. Speaker. this is not the first time these people have suffered as a result of Saddam Husseins tyranny. Over the last decade. they have felt political repression. egregious human rights abuses. and even chemical attacks by the Iraqi Government. These beleaguered refugees have suffered enough. I strongly support this legislation and urge my colleagues to join with me and the other cosponsors in approving this desperately needed relief.
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refugee refugees