​July 27, 1979 –​ Mailgram from World Airways

​president Edward J. Daly to Congressman Peter W. Rodino

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The violence and destruction of the Vietnam War and subsequent political upheaval across Southeast Asia left millions of people displaced from their homes, many of them unable or afraid to return. In the media, they were often referred to as “Indochinese refugees,” or as “boat people” because many fled and died at sea in crudely constructed, overcrowded boats. It was a humanitarian crisis on a massive scale.

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On July 27, 1979, Edward J. Daly, Chairman and President of World Airways, Inc. sent this Mailgram to Peter W. Rodino, a Democratic congressman from New Jersey serving as chairman of the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on the Judiciary (“House Judiciary Committee”). (Mailgrams were a form of communication used for urgent messages. The sender transmitted his message electronically to a post office, and then the message was printed and delivered to the recipient by mail.) At the time Mr. Daly sent this Mailgram, World Airways operated flights evacuating people from Southeast Asia under contract by the Intergovernment Committee for European Migration (now called the International Organization for Migration) and paid for by the U.S. government. In his Mailgram, Mr. Daly expresses deep concern regarding in-flight medical treatment of evacuees and affirms that “World’s position remains that a medical team should be made mandatory on all planeload charters.” He quotes a medical report from a recent flight during which evacuees, including children and infants, suffered from fever, dehydration, skin lesions, abscesses, infections, nausea, and vomiting. His Mailgram offers a glimpse of the human rights emergency at hand when Congress drafted the Refugee Act of 1980.

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The Endres Papers contain many documents providing background information on legislation being considered by the House Judiciary Committee, including newspaper clippings, academic journal articles, judicial decisions, and reports by the U.S. government, international organizations, and non-governmental organizations. Many of these background documents have handwritten notes by Mr. Endres and his colleagues.

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Sources:

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Associated Press. “Struck Line’s Managers Vow to Continue Airlift.” Washington Post, 5 August 1979: A14.

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International Organization for Migration. “History.” Web. Accessed March 25, 2013. <http://www.iom.int/cms/en/sites/iom/home/about-iom-1/history.html>

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United States House of Representatives. A History of the Committee on the Judiciary 1813-2006. Washington, DC: GPO, 2006. Web. Accessed March 25, 2013. <http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/GPO-CDOC-109hdoc153/content-detail.html>