Speaker. by the similarities between the plight of the Palestinians and the people I represent In Congress who live in the heart of Appalachia. For decades both have had to struggle against their oppressors. under similar living conditions. In Appalachia. coal mining families in the past struggled against oppressive coal moguls and have had to live In dirty. povertystricken coal campsmuch like the Palestinian refugee camps In Lebanon and In Jordanbecause they owned nothing. not even the ground that produced their livelihoodAppalachian coal. They had no control over their destinies. no selfdetermination concerning where or how they would live. but were kept pressed beneath the heel of coal operators who owned the underground mineral rights to the black gold they were paid a pittance for too many years to dig out. And if they lost their lives doing so. if not to mine disasters. then to rampant occupational disease. they were buried in nearby potters fields. their families cast off coal company property. ousted from the pitiful shacks they called homefor now their man was no longer alive and digging in the pits.