A schoolboy and his father out for an outing together. A young couple, in love, enjoying the cool breeze and the peaceful sights of the harbor. And that statue with its torch held high, calmly and majestically lighting the way to freedom - all are taken for granted. After all, no foreign power has ever crossed the Atlantic or the Pacific to invade your country. The battle sounds of World War I and World War II never disturbed the quiet of your suburban streets. Yes, before that fateful day of September 11th, the death and dying for you as Americans, had always been far away—Midway Wake, Korea, Vietnam, Europe and the images of the brutalities of war had always been somewhat softened (holding up paper) on the pages of your newspapers and in your magazines.
 
But for some of us - those who fled to these shores from Russia, Bulgaria, East Germany, Romania and Czechoslovakia - the brutalities of war are distinct and horrible images, and the sounds of war are forever a part of our memories. And the things you consider to be the simple pleasures of life - free association with family and friends, freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom of religion, freedom to assemble peaceably - all of these are precious human rights that we, in our homelands, have had wrested away from us. And here at Ellis Island, the gateway through which millions have passed to freedom and safety, we, the beleaguered refugees of Eastern Europe and the USSR, have come to warn you Americans, that you are headed where we have been. It can happen here. And when it does, there will be...No place to flee!
 
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