December 10, 2008 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — HOUSE H10947 

They long to return to Colombia even 

as they describe the terror that forced 

them to seek safe haven in Ecuador. 

b 2115 

They spoke of the need for community development projects but have no 

one to turn to to help them help bring 

their modest ideas into reality. The 

United Nations High Commissioner for 

Refugees, UNHCR, is nearly the lone 

partner with the Ecuadorian government in dealing with the largest refugee crisis in the hemisphere, with 

some aid from the World Food Programme and the IOM. Where are the 

other NGOs and U.N. agencies that 

would normally be involved in a crisis 

of this magnitude? 

These crises are not of the making of 

the government of President Rafael 

Correa. Ecuador needs and deserves the 

support of the international community and Congress to address these 

challenges. They cannot be allowed to 

remain invisible. 

Mr. Speaker, I was deeply moved by 

my visit to Ecuador, and I will never 

forget the courageous people, Ecuadorians and Colombians, who told me 

their stories and asked for my help. 

They deserve to live a much better life. 

In the weeks ahead, I hope I can count 

on my House colleagues to help these 

communities in this effort. 

[From the Christian Science Monitor, June 

24, 2008] 

TACKLING ECUADOR’S REFUGEE BUILDUP

LAGO AGRIO, Ecuador.—Less than a month 

ago, Rosalba Agredo Gonza ́lez was given only 

a few minutes to leave her house in Colombia. She was woken up in the middle of the 

night by armed men who threatened her and 

took away her neighbor. 

‘‘They told me they wouldn’t do anything 

to me because of my children. Otherwise 

they would have killed me,’’ she says. 

Agredo now lives with her elderly father 

and her three children in Lago Agrio, a small 

city in northern Ecuador, 15 miles from the 

Colombian border. They’ve made their temporary home alongside one wall of a small 

wooden house, with only a tin roof, concrete 

floor, and plastic sheets for walls. She 

doesn’t have a job but sometimes prepares a 

local pastry at a neighbor’s house which her 

eldest son sells on the street. Despite her 

precarious situation, she is happy to be in 

Ecuador. ‘‘I don’t want to go back to Colombia, even if I have to maintain myself by 

selling empanadas,’’ she says. ‘‘I feel very 

happy here because even if I don’t own anything I know my children are safe.’’ Agredo’s 

story is not uncommon. Ecuador has more 

refugees than any other Latin American 

country—a consequence of the longstanding 

conflict in Colombia, which has received little international attention. Five to 10 refugees arrive in Ecuador every day, according 

to the United Nations High Commissioner 

for Refugees (UNHCR), mainly, from two 

southern Colombian provinces bordering Ecuador, Putumayo and Narin ̃ o. Given the 

buildup of refugees, the Ecuadorean government and a few humanitarian agencies are 

taking measures to provide asylum and assistance. But the challenges remain large. Of 

the estimated 180,000 who have entered Ecuador escaping violence, 16,500 have received a 

refugee visa and 22,000 are awaiting a response. 

TROUBLE SECURING ASYLUM

The remaining 80 percent have yet to 

apply—some fear becoming vulnerable to 

further persecution, while others are unaware they might qualify for asylum. Asylum seekers are granted access to public 

health and education from the moment they 

set foot in Ecuador. However they often have 

trouble affording decent housing and supporting their families, as they are not allowed to work until granted a refugee visa. 

‘‘Legalizing refugees is very important so 

that they come out of their invisibility, otherwise they can’t get legal jobs and become 

very vulnerable,’’ says Alfonso Morales, who 

heads the department for refugees at Ecuador’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. ‘‘They become easy prey to illegal networks and often 

end up participating in illegal activities.’’ 

On June 20, to coincide with World Refugee 

Day, the Ecuadorean Ministry of Foreign Affairs inaugurated a new office in Lago Agrio, 

an important step toward improving refugee 

registration. The new office will make registration faster for applicants, as documents 

will be processed directly instead of being 

sent to Quito, Ecuador’s capital. Another 

new measure is an enhanced registration 

process that will start in September and will 

make it possible for refugees to apply for and 

receive their visas in one day. Right now the 

registration process takes about four months 

if applicants can go to Quito and between 18 

and 24 months if they can’t leave the north. 

ISOLATED, POOR COMMUNITIES

But registration is just an initial step in 

the process of providing better living conditions for refugees. The northern province of 

Sucumbı ́os, of of which Lago Agrio is the 

capital, faces the largest influx of refugees. 

A jungle area separated from Colombia by 

two rivers, the area also presents many 

logistical and security challenges for humanitarian work. Border communities here are 

difficult to access and often lack basic infrastructure such as roads, drinking water, and 

health facilities. Though Sucumbı ́ous is rich 

in oil, the province is among the least developed in Ecuador, with high levels of unemployment and an informal economy that relies on illegal activity such as drug trafficking, weapons smuggling, and human trafficking. It was in this province that Colombia’s cross-border raid on March 1 took 

place, leaving FARC commander Raul 

Reyes—and another 25 people—dead and creating a regional diplomatic crisis. ‘‘In small 

communities the solidarity is amazing. They 

are willing to share everything, but it’s important to intervene quickly so as not to 

allow tensions to develop,’’ says Xavier 

Creach, head of the UNHCR field office in 

Lago Agrio. UNHCR has prioritized reaching 

those isolated communities along the border. 

‘‘We have serious economic and institutional limits when it comes to taking care of 

the huge quantity of Colombian refugees 

that have come to our country,’’ says Mr. 

Morales, the government official. ‘‘The 

international community hasn’t yet recognized the magnitude of the problem. We need 

foreign support.’’ 

[From UNHER—The UN Refugee Agency, 

June 24, 2008] 

ECUADOR OPENS FIRST REFUGEE OFFICE

ALONG BORDER WITH COLOMBIA

LAGO AGRIO.—Ecuador’s Directorate General for Refugees has just opened an office in 

the border province of Sucumbı ́ous, the first 

state-run facility of its kind to be established outside the national capital, Quito. 

President Rafael Correa presided over the 

opening ceremony in the provincial capital 

of Lago Agrio last Friday, World Refugee 

Day. Lago Agrio is located just a few 

kilometres from northeast Ecuador’s border 

with Colombia. 

Foreign Minister Maria Isabel Salvador 

told guests that the office would help Ecuador fulfill its obligations to refugees and others in need of international protection. 

Equador has the largest refugee population 

in Latin America, coming mostly from Colombia. 

‘‘This is in agreement with Ecuador’s commitment to all human rights, a commitment 

that calls us to welcome any person forced to 

leave their home country in search of safety 

and a secure life,’’ Salvador said, adding that 

the government hoped to soon open more refugee offices along the border. 

The new refugee office will provide advice 

and orientation to registered refugees and 

other people of concern. Its staff will also 

conduct interviews to assess the applications 

of asylum seekers as well as issue documentation. 

It will he fully operational as of next 

month, allowing the UN refugee agency to 

focus its activities on border monitoring and 

local integration of refugees, with projects 

that help both refugees and their host communities. 

f 

The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a 

previous order of the House, the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. WOLF) is 

recognized for 5 minutes. 

(Mr. WOLF addressed the House. His 

remarks will appear hereafter in the 

Extensions of Remarks.) 

f 

The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a 

previous order of the House, the gentlewoman from California (Ms. LEE) is 

recognized for 5 minutes. 

(Ms. LEE addressed the House. Her 

remarks will appear hereafter in the 

Extensions of Remarks.) 

f 

BRIDGE LOAN FOR THE 

AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRY 

The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a 

previous order of the House, the gentlewoman from Ohio (Ms. KAPTUR) is recognized for 5 minutes. 

Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, it’s a 

particular joy this evening to have 

Congressman NICK LAMPSON in the 

Chair as Speaker Pro Tem and thank 

him for his remarkable and exemplary 

service to the people of the United 

States. 

Tonight, I would like to address the 

subject of the fact that a majority of 

House Members today voted for a 

bridge loan, a very tightly structured 

bridge loan, to throw a lifeline to 

American workers, American communities, American manufacturing, to 

save American jobs, in fact, one of 

every 10 jobs in our country. They’re 

jobs not just in the so-called automotive assembly plants, but twice as 

many jobs in the automotive parts 

plants, the steel industry, the plastic 

industry, the semi-conductor industry, 

even the textile industry. Nearly half 

of that production is used in automotive products. It is simply staggering the way in which this integrated 

set of production occurs in our country. 

What was passed was a bridge loan to 

the auto industry, and I underline the 

word ‘‘loan.’’ It has to be paid back. It 

has to be paid back in 7 years, and it 

has to be paid back with interest, 5 percent interest over the first 5 years, and 

9 percent interest over the last 2 years.