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| 4 | 5 | | R E S O L U T I O N |
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| 5 | 6 | | WHEREAS, The year 2015 marks the centennial of the Near East |
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| 6 | 7 | | Foundation, established at the behest of President Woodrow Wilson |
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| 7 | 8 | | to save the lives of Armenians under attack during the violent |
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| 8 | 9 | | dissolution of the Ottoman Empire; and |
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| 9 | 10 | | WHEREAS, In September 1915, the United States ambassador to |
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| 10 | 11 | | Constantinople, Henry Morgenthau, sent a cablegram that alerted |
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| 11 | 12 | | President Wilson to the plight of Armenians threatened with |
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| 12 | 13 | | genocide in Turkey; a humanitarian committee was formed to aid |
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| 13 | 14 | | Armenians, Assyrians, Greeks, and other minorities in grave danger, |
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| 14 | 15 | | and after the group was incorporated by Congress, it became known as |
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| 15 | 16 | | Near East Relief, or NER; and |
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| 16 | 17 | | WHEREAS, The organization mobilized people across the |
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| 17 | 18 | | country and around the world, and between 1915 and 1930, it saved |
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| 18 | 19 | | the lives of more than 132,000 Armenian orphans and one million |
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| 19 | 20 | | refugees; during this period, it built orphanages, food and |
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| 20 | 21 | | clothing distribution centers, medical clinics, hospitals, and |
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| 21 | 22 | | schools throughout the Near East to assist survivors; more than |
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| 22 | 23 | | 1,000 American volunteers traveled abroad to assist in this vast |
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| 23 | 24 | | undertaking, and many Texans were involved in related fund-raising, |
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| 24 | 25 | | relief work, and public education programs; and |
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| 25 | 26 | | WHEREAS, A humanitarian endeavor on an unprecedented scale, |
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| 26 | 27 | | involving close coordination with foreign governments and local |
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| 27 | 28 | | groups, the work of the NER served as a model for subsequent |
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| 28 | 29 | | philanthropic initiatives and organizations, including the Peace |
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| 29 | 30 | | Corps and USAID; the current name was adopted in 1930 to reflect a |
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| 30 | 31 | | shift in focus from immediate relief to more sustained involvement |
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| 31 | 32 | | in the development of the region, and today, the Near East |
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| 32 | 33 | | Foundation conducts numerous programs to improve the well-being of |
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| 33 | 34 | | people in the Middle East and Africa; and |
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| 34 | 35 | | WHEREAS, During one of the darkest chapters of the 20th |
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| 35 | 36 | | century, the Near East Foundation intervened to provide critical |
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| 36 | 37 | | aid to a population in peril, and its accomplishments remain a |
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| 37 | 38 | | source of instruction and inspiration alike; now, therefore, be it |
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| 38 | 39 | | RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 84th Texas |
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| 39 | 40 | | Legislature hereby honor the Near East Foundation on the occasion |
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| 40 | 41 | | of its centennial and commend the organization for its |
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| 41 | 42 | | extraordinary contributions in behalf of disadvantaged people in |
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| 42 | 43 | | the countries it serves; and, be it further |
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| 43 | 44 | | RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be |
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| 44 | 45 | | prepared for the organization as an expression of high regard by the |
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| 45 | 46 | | Texas House of Representatives. |
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