Speeches Shim
Last updated: February 04, 2022
Thank you, Cory, for that introduction. For those of you who don’t know, Cory used to bring his talents to our speechwriting team before heading over to supercharge our legislative affairs work.
Good morning Chairman Menendez, Ranking Member Risch, and distinguished members of the committee. Thank you for inviting me to testify today on USAID’s assistance to the people of Sudan, and our response to the devastating setback to Sudan’s democratic transition since October 25, when the military detained civilian leaders, disrupted communications networks, and began killing protesters in the streets—returning to the contemptible practices of failed past Sudanese regimes.
We are at Tuskegee to sign a historic MOU today because together, we hope to provide answers to the impoverished and marginalized farmers of our generation, just as Washington and Carver did in theirs. The faculty and students here at Tuskegee have the expertise to help hundreds of millions of smallholder farmers, most of them women and most of them African, who currently toil, to escape the grips of hunger and poverty. Because we at USAID understand what has long helped fuel the mission on this campus: growth in agriculture is nearly four times more effective in reducing poverty than growth in other sectors.
Ken devoted decades of his life to public service; yet when we came calling, he decided he still had more left to give, and agreed to step in as interim Counselor. Ken’s colleagues have been awed by how much time and energy he gives to his family, so we know, to give up time he could be spending with his grandchildren is no small favor. I asked Ken to take on this role not only because of his years of institutional knowledge and indispensable experience, but because every person I spoke with celebrated his leadership, character, and warmth.
As many have said today, human trafficking—the second largest criminal industry in the world, after the drug trade—affects 25 million people each year. But today I want to start by talking about one person, who has given us permission to share his story: Saiful Islam.
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