Sam Brownback: “from the central highlands of Vietnam to the Darfur region of Sudan, and from the Tumen river dividing North Korea and…”

“from the central highlands of Vietnam to the Darfur region of Sudan, and from the Tumen river dividing North Korea and China to the roof of the world in Bhutan and Nepal, nearly 12 million people worldwide are refugees. Sunday, June 20, 2004 is World Refugee Day. This week, at events both in Washington and around the world, policymakers, advocates and concerned individuals will direct our attention to the plight of those who seek safety from persecution in their homelands. Refugees face the most difficult of circumstances. Their stories of escape from persecution are more dramatic than anything Hollywood could script and often too horrific for most of us to imagine. Stories of unspeakable brutality, long journeys, and family separation are not the exception but the rule. Often, refugees are alive only because of a faith in God and an unshakeable will to survive. Tragically, however, the plight of a refugee does not end with escape from persecution. Refugees frequently have nothing but their lives to bring into a new country. Most refugees would love to return to their homelands, but this is often impossible. Absent a dramatic change in conditions at home, refugees have few choices. I am proud that the United States leads the world in one of those choices: refugee resettlement. From its founding, America has been the dream destination for the world's oppressed peoples, and that dream endures today.”