Political Quotes

“Mr. President. Abraham Lincoln once spoke of our Nation as the last best hope on earth. On this World Refugee Day--the 11th of its kind and the 61st anniversary of the United Nations Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees--it is fitting that we give careful pause to remember that the responsibility attached to Lincoln's words does not end at our shores. Across the world, refugees need our assistance and our support. They look to America's voice and leadership to champion their plight--from the dusty plains of northern Kenya to the mountainous confines of Burma, Nepal and Southwest Asia. As we look around the world, there are, sadly, numerous refugee crises. In many cases, refugees exchange one set of dangerous conditions for overcrowded, unsanitary and even violent camps. Instability in Somalia is swelling the ranks of the world's largest refugee complex in Dadaab, Kenya, home to nearly 500,000 people. In the Sahel, more than 150,000 Malians have fled the conflict to neighboring countries, joining host communities that are already suffering from drought and hunger. To them, daily survival is a gamble. We also know that refugees and displaced populations can be the spark for large-scale violence, and today we face that very threat from the millions displaced from homes across the Middle East. Unspeakable violence in Syria has uprooted an estimated 500,000 people inside the country and driven tens of thousands more to Jordan, Turkey, Lebanon and Iraq.…”