On the recordOctober 10, 2017
As with any moment in the history of our Nation, in the world, there are tragedies and disasters which sear the conscience and call us to action not only because we are American, but because we are human. Some of these tragedies are man-made, others are the work of nature. Some hit close to home, such as the hurricanes that devastated Texas-- my home State--Florida, and Puerto Rico, taking many lives and inflicting billions of dollars in damage. Some are the work of one man, like the shooter in Las Vegas, who took 58 lives. {time} 2045 Like many in this Chamber, I have spoken up on these tragedies close to home. Tonight, I would like to speak to a humanitarian crisis far away from us; that is, the ethnic cleansing of the Rohingya Muslims in Burma. Since late August, 500,000 Rohingya have been forced out of their nation. The Rohingya, after being driven out of Burma, have sought refuge in Bangladesh, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, and India. Some have even come as far as the United States of America. These victims had been driven out of the country their ancestors have called home for hundreds of years through a systematic campaign of murder and rape and the destruction of entire villages and communities. It can be challenging for host governments to care for these displaced populations, which can lead to additional instability, especially in countries with low incomes or with governments already under stress to provide services to their citizens.…
