Speeches by Secretary Elaine L. Chao

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U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao
Media Briefing with Women Officials of the
Iraqi Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs on their
Fact Finding Trip to Washington, D.C.
Monday, October 20, 2003

I am delighted to introduce three courageous women officials from the Iraqi Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs—Sawson Mahdi Al-Dawad, Fatin Ouda Al-Seada and Evelyn Michael Rosho.

These women stepped forward—at great personal risk to themselves—after the fall of the Saddam Hussein regime and asked to help rebuild their country.

They hope for a democratic Iraq, at peace with their neighbors, and they are seeking ways to help get their people back to work.

They are part of the new, pro-democratic leadership that understands—as we do—the importance of a steady employment situation in building a stable democracy in Iraq.

They have traveled a great distance—from Baghdad to Washington—to see how America and the U.S. Department of Labor puts people back to work.

Their mission at the Labor Ministry is a challenging one because Iraq previously had no Ministry of Labor that helped people get back to work.

These women leaders want to help thousands of unemployed Iraqis integrate themselves back into the economy through education, training and employment.

As they will explain, a national employment and training program did not exist in Iraq under the previous regime.

So creating a new program that provides unemployed Iraqis with marketable skills is a top priority of the Coalition Provisional Authority and the ministry.

These women are leading the way in opening up employment and training centers throughout Iraq.

The Department of Labor—through our International Labor Affairs Bureau—has provided $5 million to register 500,000 former Iraq soldiers as part of this effort. We are also providing two DOL employees as interim staff for the Labor and Social Affairs Ministry, and of course—our Assistant Secretary for Policy, Chris Spear, spent four months in Iraq.

This delegation is here for about 10 days to learn how to shape opportunities for workers in their country and more about our public workforce system.

We have a very busy schedule set up for them. They will be spending the next few days touring employment and training centers, including one in Baltimore and another in Northern Virginia.

They will meet with Department of Labor staff to learn about our employment and training services.

They will also have the opportunity to visit with other government officials, including Senator Enzi and Senator Talent, while they’re here.

And I also want to extend a warm welcome to Col. Jim Otwell, an Army Reservist and career firefighter from West Seneca, New York, who is currently serving with the Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq and is escorting this delegation on its U.S. tour.

I’m delighted to welcome them to the Labor Department and to their very first visit to Washington, D.C.

We are pleased that they can share their knowledge of Iraq with us and that we can help them learn how to create opportunities in Iraq.

Our hearts go with them as they try to create a new, democratic society in Iraq. We are here to help them as they seek freedom, opportunity and democracy.

Now I’d like to ask each of our very special guests to briefly share their thoughts on their visit and what they hope to accomplish.

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