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R E S O L U T I O N
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WHEREAS, The year 2015 marks the centennial of the Near East |
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Foundation, established at the behest of President Woodrow Wilson |
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to save the lives of Armenians under attack during the violent |
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dissolution of the Ottoman Empire; and |
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WHEREAS, In September 1915, the United States ambassador to |
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Constantinople, Henry Morgenthau, sent a cablegram that alerted |
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President Wilson to the plight of Armenians threatened with |
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genocide in Turkey; a humanitarian committee was formed to aid |
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Armenians, Assyrians, Greeks, and other minorities in grave danger, |
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and after the group was incorporated by Congress, it became known as |
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Near East Relief, or NER; and |
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WHEREAS, The organization mobilized people across the |
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country and around the world, and between 1915 and 1930, it saved |
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the lives of more than 132,000 Armenian orphans and one million |
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refugees; during this period, it built orphanages, food and |
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clothing distribution centers, medical clinics, hospitals, and |
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schools throughout the Near East to assist survivors; more than |
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1,000 American volunteers traveled abroad to assist in this vast |
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undertaking, and many Texans were involved in related fund-raising, |
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relief work, and public education programs; and |
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WHEREAS, A humanitarian endeavor on an unprecedented scale, |
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involving close coordination with foreign governments and local |
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groups, the work of the NER served as a model for subsequent |
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philanthropic initiatives and organizations, including the Peace |
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Corps and USAID; the current name was adopted in 1930 to reflect a |
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shift in focus from immediate relief to more sustained involvement |
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in the development of the region, and today, the Near East |
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Foundation conducts numerous programs to improve the well-being of |
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people in the Middle East and Africa; and |
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WHEREAS, During one of the darkest chapters of the 20th |
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century, the Near East Foundation intervened to provide critical |
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aid to a population in peril, and its accomplishments remain a |
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source of instruction and inspiration alike; now, therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 84th Texas |
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Legislature hereby honor the Near East Foundation on the occasion |
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of its centennial and commend the organization for its |
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extraordinary contributions in behalf of disadvantaged people in |
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the countries it serves; and, be it further |
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RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be |
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prepared for the organization as an expression of high regard by the |
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Texas House of Representatives. |