Remarks from Senator Bob Dole at the 6th Annual Women in Development Awards Luncheon

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c019_058_010_002.txt

Transcription (Scripto)

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Extent (Dublin Core)

34 Pages

File Name (Dublin Core)

c019_058_010_002

Title (Dublin Core)

Remarks from Senator Bob Dole at the 6th Annual Women in Development Awards Luncheon

Date (Dublin Core)

1990-06-13

Date Created (Dublin Core)

1990-06-13

Congress (Dublin Core)

101st (1989-1991)

Topics (Dublin Core)

See all items with this valueEconomic development projects

See all items with this valueRefugees

See all items with this valueWomen

Policy Area (Curation)

International Affairs

Creator (Dublin Core)

Dole, Robert J., 1923-2021

Record Type (Dublin Core)

speeches (documents)

Names (Dublin Core)

See all items with this valueOverseas Education Fund

Rights (Dublin Core)

http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/CNE/1.0/

Language (Dublin Core)

eng

Collection Finding Aid (Dublin Core)

https://dolearchivecollections.ku.edu/index.php?p=collections/controlcard&id=52&q=

Physical Location (Dublin Core)

Collection 019, Box 58, Folder 10

Institution (Dublin Core)

Robert J. Dole Institute of Politics, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS

Archival Collection (Dublin Core)

Robert J. Dole Speeches Collection, 1958-1996

Full Text (Extract Text)

REMARKS OF SENATOR BOB DOLE
OVERSEAS EDUCATION FUND LUNCHEON
JUNE 13, 1990

IT'S A PLEASURE TO BE HERE TODAY. IN READING THE MATERIAL SENT TO ME ON O.E.F., I NOTE THAT ITS CENTRAL FOCUS IS TO PROMOTE THE, QUOTE, EMPOWERMENT OF WOMEN, UNQUOTE.

I MUST SAY:
- WHEN YOU HAVE A WIFE LIKE MINE,
- AND A SENATE COLLEAGUE LIKE MINE,
- AND YOU SIT AT A HEAD TABLE WITH WOMEN LIKE THESE -- YOU START TO THINK ABOUT MAYBE FORMING AN ORGANIZATION TO WORK FOR

THE EMPOWERMENT OF SOME OF US.

BUT THE FACT IS, OF COURSE, IN THAT REAL WORLD OUT THERE -- THERE IS STILL LOTS OF REAL WORK TO DO, TO MAKE SURE THAT WOMEN ARE ABLE TO PLAY THE ROLES -- AND THAT WORD IS PLURAL, JUST LIKE IT IS FOR

MEN -- THE ROLES THEY OUGHT TO PLAY, IN DEVELOPMENT AND IN SO MANY OTHER AREAS OF LIFE.

THIS LUNCH IS PRIMARILY TO HONOR INDIVIDUALS -- AND I WILL BE SPEAKING ABOUT ONE OF THEM IN A MOMENT. BUT I THINK EACH OF THOSE INDIVIDUAL HONOREES WOULD AGREE THAT ALL OF US ARE

HERE, TOO, IN ORDER TO HONOR O.E.F. AND THE GREAT WORK IT HAS BEEN DOING FOR FOUR DECADES.

MAKING WOMEN SECOND CLASS CITIZENS ANYWHERE ROBS THEM OF THEIR RIGHTS, AND THE SOCIETY THEY INHABIT OF THE CONTRIBUTIONS THEY COULD BE MAKING.

KEEPING WOMEN AS

SECOND CLASS CITIZENS IN THE THIRD WORLD MEANS THE PERMANENT IMPOVERISHMENT - - FINANCIAL AND SOCIAL - -OF THE MANY DEVELOPING NATIONS AROUND THE GLOBE. IT IS THE CHALLENGE OF CREATING THE CONDITIONS TO END THAT IMPOVERISHMENT THAT O.E.F. HAS TAKEN UP. I THINK ALL OF US JOIN IN

SAYING: KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK.

AS I SAID, I WILL SHORTLY BE INTRODUCING LIV ULLMANN. I HAVE BEEN ASKED TO MAKE THAT INTRODUCTION, I THINK, BECAUSE SHE AND I SHARE A PARTICULAR INTEREST: THE PLIGHT OF THE WORLD'S REFUGEES.

WE ALL KNOW OF THE BOOK MAN WITHOUT A COUNTRY. THERE IS, IN FACT, A GREAT NATION OF PEOPLE - - MEN, WOMEN AND CHILDREN -- WHO ARE TRULY 'WITHOUT A COUNTRY.' THEY ARE THE WORLD'S REFUGEES.

IT IS A GLOBAL NATION -- ENCOMPASSING EVERY CONTINENT, EVERY COLOR OF

SKIN, EVERY RELIGION, EVERY POLITICAL OPINION. BUT IN SOME WAYS IT IS A HOMOGENOUS NATION -- THE SAME IN ITS POVERTY, ITS RECURRING HOPELESSNESS, ITS GROWING DESPERATION.

I'VE VISITED SOME OF THE SMALL 'CITIES' -- THE POPULATION CENTERS -- OF THIS DISPERSED AND

DISADVANTAGED NATION. I'VE SPOKEN TO MANY OF ITS 'CITIZENS' -- MEN, WOMEN AND CHILDREN.

THEY SPEAK MANY DIFFERENT LANGUAGES -- BUT THEIR MESSAGE IS ALWAYS THE SAME: THEY WANT A HOME - - STABLE, SECURE, WHERE THERE IS FREEDOM AND OPPORTUNITY. IN SHORT, THEY WANT WHAT WE

WANT; WHAT ALL HUMAN BEINGS WANT.

THAT'S ALL.


I'VE VISITED THEM, AS I'VE SAID, IN HONDURAS, IN THAILAND, IN ARMENIA.

I'VE SEEN LITTLE CHILDREN IN HONDURAS -- THEIR FATHERS AND BROTHERS ENGAGED IN A CIVIL WAR;

THEIR MOTHERS AND SISTERS LEFT BEHIND TO COPE WITH THE HARDSHIP AND FEAR.

I'VE SEEN FAMILY FRAGMENTS IN THAILAND OLD PEOPLE, WITHOUT THEIR CHILDREN AND FRIENDS; ORPHANS, 8 OR 9 OR 10 YEARS OLD, ALONE, TOTALLY ALONE, IN THE SQUALOR OF A REFUGEE CAMP, FACING A TERRIFYING

REFUGEE CAMP, FACING A TERRIFYING FUTURE WITHOUT FAMILY OR EVEN GUARDIANS; MEN AND WOMEN WHO HAVE LOST THEIR SPOUSES OR CHILDREN OR PARENTS, LEFT BEHIND IN VIETNAM AND CAMBODIA AND LAOS, OR LOST AT SEA OR DURING A TREACHEROUS TRIP OVERLAND.

AND I'VE SEEN THOUSANDS

ARMENIA -- VICTIMS OF A NEW GENOCIDE IN AZERBAIJAN, OF EARTHQUAKE AT HOME -- HOMELESS, HELPLESS, REFUGEES IN THEIR OWN LAND.

ON THE WALL OF MY OFFICE, I HAVE A PICTURE OF ELIZABETH AND I WITH A FEW OF THE CHILDREN OF ARMENIA -- NEAR A SMALL

TOWN CALLED SPITAK. SPITAK WAS THE TOWN CLOSEST TO THE EPICENTER OF THE ARMENIAN EARTHQUAKE OF DECEMBER 1988.

YOU DON'T HAVE TO SPEND MUCH TIME THERE TO UNDERSTAND -- TO FEEL IN YOUR HEART -- ALL OF THE ISSUES THAT ARE OF CONCERN TO O.E.F. AND TO ALL OF US

GATHERED HERE TODAY.
-- HOUSING -- A HALF MILLION WITHOUT HOMES.

-- EDUCATION -- HUNDREDS OF SCHOOLS DESTROYED. WE STOPPED AT ONE SITE, TO LAY A WREATH, WHERE A SCHOOL COLLAPSED, AND MORE THAN 400 CHILDREN WERE KILLED IN 40 SECONDS.

-- HOPE -- RENEWAL,

RECONSTRUCTION, DEVELOPMENT. THE CRYING NEED OF ARMENIA, AND OF SO MANY OTHER PLACES AROUND THE WORLD.

OUR NATION -- OUR GOVERNMENT AND OUR PEOPLE -- HAVE BEEN EXTRAORDINARILY GENEROUS IN RESPONDING TO THE NEEDS OF REFUGEES, AND OTHER

DISADVANTAGED PEOPLE AROUND THE WORLD.

IN JUST THE PAST 15 YEARS, WE HAVE PROVIDED NEW HOMES AND NEW LIVES, IN OUR MIDST, TO MORE THAN A MILLION REFUGEES FROM SOUTHEAST ASIA, FROM THE SOVIET UNION AND EASTERN EUROPE, FROM LATIN AMERICA -- FROM EVERY

CORNER OF THE EARTH.
WE HAVE PROVIDED -- IN PUBLIC AND PRIVATE EXPENDITURES -- BILLIONS OF DOLLARS IN ASSISTANCE. JUST WITHIN THE PAST FEW WEEKS, WE IN THE CONGRESS HAVE APPROVED A NEW PROGRAM TO ASSIST THE GOVERNMENT OF ISRAEL IN THE RESETTLEMENT OF UP TO A MILLION JEWS FROM

THE SOVIET UNION OVER THE NEXT FIVE YEARS.

YET THE PROBLEMS CONTINUE TO GROW -- WHILE OUR FEDERAL BUDGET DOESN'T.

WHEN YOU READ ABOUT IT IN THE WASHINGTON POST, IT SOUNDS LIKE A TECHNICAL ISSUE; A BOOK-KEEPING ISSUE.

BUT HUMAN LIVES ARE AT STAKE.

THIS YEAR, WE FACED THE SHAMEFUL SITUATION WHERE THE ADMINISTRATION WAS FORCED TO CUT SEVERAL MILLION DOLLARS FROM THE REFUGEE PROGRAM -- BECAUSE CONGRESS 'EARMARKED' SO MUCH OF THE FOREIGN AID BUDGET; THAT IS, DIRECTED THE ADMINISTRATION TO SPEND THE MONEY IN PROGRAMS THAT

WENT BEYOND THE PRESIDENT'S FOREIGN AID REQUESTS.

THE POINT IS NOT THAT THE PRESIDENT WAS WRONG, OR THE CONGRESS WAS WRONG, OR THAT THE PROGRAMS WHICH DID RECEIVE THE MONEY WERE NOT WORTHY. THE POINT IS THAT WE ARE RUNNING OUT OF MONEY, AND TRAGICALLY -- ALL TOO OFTEN --

EXTRAORDINARILY WORTHY PROGRAMS, WITHOUT LARGE DOMESTIC CONSTITUENCIES, CAN SUFFER; WHILE PROGRAMS PUSHED BY SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS AND HIGH-PRICED LOBBYISTS WILL CONTINUE TO FLOURISH.

THAT'S WHERE O.E.F., AND EACH OF YOU, HAS A KEY

ROLE TO PLAY. YOU MUST BE THE CONSTITUENCY FOR TRULY WORTHWHILE PROGRAMS LIKE OUR REFUGEE PROGRAM.

YOU MUST REPRESENT -- YOU MUST ENFRANCHISE -- THOSE WHO HAVE NO EXISTING FRANCHISE IN OUR SYSTEM. I'M NOT TELLING YOU ANYTHING NEW. YOU KNOW THE TASK, AND YOU ARE DOING

REMARKABLE WORK IN ACCOMPLISHING IT.

BUT YOUR JOB IS GOING TO GET TOUGHER -- AND YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE TO GET EVEN TOUGHER IN DOING IT.

YOU HAVE MANY IMPORTANT ALLIES. ONE OF THEM IS SITTING HERE WITH ME -- MY COLLEAGUE AND


FRIEND FROM KANSAS, SENATOR KASSEBAUM. BUT SHE -- AND I, AND THE OTHERS WHO WANT TO DO ALL WE CAN -- WE WILL NEED EVEN MORE OF YOUR SUPPORT AND YOUR HELP.

AND WITH THAT 'SERMON TO THE CHOIR' COMPLETED - - LET ME END ON A HAPPIER NOTE.

AS I INDICATED, WE ARE HERE TO HONOR SOME REMARKABLE PEOPLE. AND ONE OF THE MOST REMARKABLE OF ALL IS LIV ULLMANN.

I SPOKE A MOMENT AGO ABOUT HIGH-PRICED LOBBYISTS.

WELL, LIV ULLMAN IS A LOBBYIST, ONE OF THE MOST DETERMINED AND EFFECTIVE AROUND THIS TOWN. BUT SHE

DOES HER WORK NOT FOR A PAYCHECK -- BUT FOR PEOPLE. I'LL BE FRANK WITH YOU. WE HAVE A LOT OF FAMOUS PEOPLE WHO SHOW UP ON CAPITOL HILL TO LOBBY, OR TESTIFY, OR ATTEND A RALLY, OR HOLD A PRESS CONFERENCE ON SOME ISSUE OR OTHER. AND SOMETIMES THEIR ENGAGEMENT WITH THE ISSUE

REALLY STARTS WHEN THEY SHOW UP AT THE HEARING OR EVENT -- AND ENDS WHEN THEY WALK OUT, AND THE CAMERAS TURN OFF.

LIV ULLMANN HAS SPENT A LOT MORE TIME IN HOT AND DUSTY REFUGEE CAMPS -- THAN SHE HAS IN THE WITNESS CHAIR OF CONGRESSIONAL HEARINGS.

SHE'S SPENT A LOT MORE TIME TALKING TO MOTHERS AND CHILDREN WHO ARE IN DESPERATE NEED OF HELP -- THAN LECTURING TO SENATORS AND CONGRESSMEN WITH AN EYE ON A GOOD SPOT WITH A FAMOUS ACTRESS ON THE EVENING NEWS.

LIV ULLMANN HAS CREDIBILITY -- AND SHE GOT

IT THE OLD FASHIONED WAY: SHE EARNED IT. WITH YEARS OF QUIET COMMITMENT AND HARD WORK. WITH VISITS TO MORE THAN 30 COUNTRIES, ON A VARIETY OF FACT-FINDING AND HOPE-BRINGING MISSIONS OVER A DECADE.

SHE HAS CREDIBILITY BECAUSE OF HER HARD WORK WITH THE UNITED NATIONS

CHILDREN'S FUND; WITH THE INTERNATIONAL RESCUE COMMITTEE; WITH THE WOMEN'S COMMISSION FOR REFUGEE WOMEN AND CHILDREN. SHE HAS CREDIBILITY BECAUSE SHE CARES, AND MANIFESTS HER CARING NOT JUST OCCASIONALLY ON CAPITOL HILL OR AT PRESS CONFERENCES -- BUT

THROUGH A LIFETIME OF REAL, HARD WORK.

LADIES AND GENTLEMEN: I AM PROUD TO SHARE THIS PLATFORM WITH A REMARKABLE WOMAN, A REMARKABLE PERSON. AND I ASK LIV ULLMANN TO JOIN ME AND O.E.F. PRESIDENT WILLIE CAMPBELL, FOR THE PRESENTATION OF A VERY

SPECIAL, AND VERY WELL DESERVED, AWARD.