In March. 2 months ago. when we voted to help the victims of one of the worst natural disasters in the recorded history of this hemisphere. we made a similar commitment in Central America. one we are duty bound to fulfill now. There is no reason why we should treat the victims of a manmade disaster any different than we would treat those who are victims of a natural disaster. The supplemental funding for Kosovo that the House passed last week included $566 million in humanitarian aid for refugees from Kosovo. Yet. the Congress is still saying that it needs offsets to provide the assistance to the Central American countries that have more than a million refugees waiting for that humanitarian assistance that the President said would be forthcoming at the end of last year and that this Congress in March said it would send as. well. In Kosovo. we see some 700.000 refugees. people who have been displaced. uprooted from their homes. Hurricane Mitch. when it hit Central America at the end of October. cost the lives of at least 9.000 people. There are still some 9.000 to 10.000 Central Americans who are missing and at this point now. after 6 months. are presumed dead.
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refugees