Lois Frankel: “I thank my colleague and the leaders of our comittee for their bipartisan efforts. It is very appreciated. Mr. Speaker…”

“I thank my colleague and the leaders of our comittee for their bipartisan efforts. It is very appreciated. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this bipartisan legislation that directs the State Department and USAID to support programs and educate displaced children, with a special focus on girls. When you look at the horrors of the world, from South Sudan to Burma, to Syria, think about the fact that there are 55 million displaced children, 28 million refugee children that have been uprooted from their homes due to violence and poverty, and making up half of all the refugees. Here is the thing. What happens when a young person has no hope, no education, no future potential of a good job to one day take care of their family? Will they become victims of trafficking or vibrant members of society? Will these millions of children become our friends or foes? Will the communities they live in be our trading partners or havens for terrorists? Around the world, only a quarter of refugee children are enrolled in secondary school, and the number, as my colleagues have pointed out, is even worse for girls. Just seven girls for every ten refugee boys are enrolled in secondary school. We are talking about a lost generation. In Syria alone, over 5,000 schools have been destroyed. Just ask a young lady named Muzoon. She is known as the Malala of Syria. At age 15, she fled her besieged home in Syria.…”