Asking for Support for Enes Kanter Freedom

Floor Speech

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Mrs. CAMMACK. Mr. Speaker, I thank my good friend and colleague from the great State of Utah, Mr. Burgess Owens, who also happens to be a Floridian by birth.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to add my name to the many of my colleagues who are here today to stand in support of our friend, Enes Kanter Freedom.

Enes has sacrificed his career and put his life on the line to pursue the noble and often dangerous path of fighting for human rights around the world.

In a time when it is easy to go with the flow, often at the expense of those in lands far away, he has made the decision to stand up and speak out.

As a result of his vocal opposition to the various human rights abuses happening around the world today, including the Chinese genocide of Muslim Uyghurs or the oppressive and often brutal regime in his homeland of Turkiye, he, as a human rights advocate, has had a bounty placed on his head of half a million dollars to anyone who will end his life to silence him from highlighting the atrocities that few dare to expose.

Inspired by the United States' example of liberty and justice for all, Enes became an American citizen--he even changed his last name to ``Freedom''--and chose to stand up for what is right even at the expense that cost him so much.

Enes embodies the American Dream and has repeatedly displayed the courage, grit, and work ethic necessary to change the world. He has become a friend not just to me but to several of my friends here in the House of Representatives on both sides of the political aisle. However, despite his best efforts here in the House of Representatives, his calls to meet with White House officials and, more pointedly, President Biden have fallen on deaf ears.

Mr. Speaker, you have to ask yourself: Why? Why would the White House refuse to meet with an individual as high profile as Enes Kanter Freedom? There is simply no good excuse--at least not one that we can discuss here today.

I thank my colleague from Utah for hosting this Special Order and encouraging this administration to step up and meet with Enes to discuss the horrific atrocities happening around the world--moreover, the atrocities that are occurring against Americans who speak out against those who commit these horrific acts.

Mr. Speaker, I encourage those who are watching here today: You can be a force for good. You can speak up. You can speak out.

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