Political Quotes

“this year, we celebrate the 60th anniversary of the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees. I am pleased that today, June 20, the international community is celebrating World Refugee Day, an important opportunity to recognize the continuing plight of the millions of refugees around the world who deserve our protection. It is also a moment to celebrate the accomplishments of refugees who have been resettled and are building new lives in the countries that welcomed them. The theme of World Refugee Day 2011 is ``Real People, Real Needs.'' This theme reminds us that each individual refugee has a story to tell. Every refugee has experienced persecution, causing him or her to flee a home, a community, and a nation, because the circumstances are so dire that flight is the only option. Conflicts around the world are displacing persons, such that the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees now counts over 43 million persons who have been forced from their homes, which include refugees, internally displaced, and stateless persons. For many of the world's 15.4 million refugees, resettlement is the only hope they have of rebuilding a stable life and home. The United States has long been committed to resettling refugees, but our resettlement program was strengthened by the enactment of the 1980 Refugee Act. Over the past 30 years, more than 2.6 million refugees and asylum seekers have found safety in the United States.…”