Speech #1140057584

Darfur. and Bosnia. Faced with these crises. the world confronted a stark choice: to turn away or to engage. The United States cannot turn away from the refugee crisis unfolding in the Middle East and Europe. On Lesbos last week. we talked with Greeks who operate small businesses that depend on tourism. which has dried up because of the crisis. They said that the refugees must be their first priority. that Greeks must help people who are in need. In Athens. we visited a facility for refugee children run by a group called Praxis. Praxis workers told us about Afghan children being sold in Europe as sex slaves for as much as $10.000. Praxis and scores of similar organizations are doing everything possible. with very limited means. to meet the refugees desperate needs. In Germany. we met with officials at the Finance Ministry and the Chancery. as well as people in and out of government who are rising to the challenge of the refugee crisis. Chancellor Angela Merkel has demonstrated extraordinary moral leadership in addressing this crisis. Millions of ordinary German citizensindeed. people all across Europehave mobilized to meet the needs of the refugees. However. it was clear to me and to the other Senators in our delegation that these noble efforts are not enough. The refugee crisis is too big. the scale of human suffering and needs is overwhelming. President Obama has offered to take in 10.000 refugees over the next year. But Germany is taking in as many as 10.000 refugees in a single dayday after day. week after week. with no end in sight. My State of New Hampshire has been welcoming to refugees fleeing conflict. as have other States. I think people are eager to do more across this country. Turkey needs to secure its borders. and it needs to crack down on smugglers and criminal gangs exploiting and trafficking in refugees. Frontline countries. including Greece and Italy. need more resources to help process and register refugees. In fact. the same is true of Turkey. Jordan. and Lebanon. which have taken in millions of refugees. As I said. Germany has earned our admiration for its leadership. offering to take in as many as 1 million refugees this year. But for all its resources. Germany cant do this alone.