Refugees International Remembers Founder Sue Morton
Statement from Refugees International:
“Refugees International mourns the loss of our founder, Sue Morton, a compassionate trailblazer whose vision and dedication transformed the lives of displaced people around the world.
Sue founded Refugees International in 1979 as a citizen’s movement to protect the rights and safety of people fleeing Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos. She was known for traveling to some of the world’s most challenging crises, often putting herself in harm’s way to work with displaced communities. She was inspired to found Refugees International while volunteering on the Thai-Cambodia border 1979, where she witnessed soldiers pushing refugees back into the mine fields across the border. Pushbacks of refugees were occurring all over southeast Asia, and she recognized that these problems needed not just aid but also global attention, advocacy, and policy solutions.
Refugees International emerged from that insight.
45 years on, in another era of widespread global displacement, we continue to act on that insight, working to advance refugee rights and protection through political advocacy and public engagement. Sue Morton’s legacy is alive every day in the work of the Refugees International team. We remain guided by her vision and the example she set for compassionate humanitarianism.
As we extend our deepest condolences to her family, we have compiled tributes to her from many members of the Refugees International family who had the privilege of knowing Sue:
“Sue was a relentless advocate, always positive and persuasive. Working with her to build on her dream was a special privilege. Refugees around the world have benefited from Sue Morton and her vision for Refugees International.”
Lionel Rosenblatt, former president of Refugees International
“I don’t believe there would be a Refugees International at all if it weren’t for Sue Morton. I might never have known about Refugees International if it weren’t for ‘the two Susans,’ Sue Morton and Susan Goodwillie, who explained to me at an event in Boston, in 1985, when “The Killing Fields” was opening in the U.S., that, because of what I knew from making that movie, I needed to work on behalf of refugees and with Refugees International specifically, for a long time to come. Boy, were they right. The movie changed me, and, then, those two wonderful women changed me all over again. Sue Morton embodied a long list of beautiful virtues: friendliness, open-hearted and cheerful determination, warm energy by the truckload, perseverance, empathy, and just plain old goodness. God give her rest and peace.”Sam Waterston, former Refugees International board member
“Sue Morton saw injustice and decided to act, persuading President Jimmy Carter and policymakers to open U.S. borders to refugees fleeing Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos. That was in 1979 when the so-called “boat people” were being shunned by many countries and often perished in pursuit of safety. On the night of July 19, 1979, Morton, and the likes of singer Joan Baez and then Senator Paul Simon, led a candlelit march from the Lincoln Memorial to the north side of the White House. Singing Amazing Grace, they never expected what happened next: President Carter came out and addressed the crowd, saying that he had just ordered the U.S. 7th fleet to pick up all refugees on boats who were fleeing for freedom from Southeast Asia. What began as a citizens’ movement led to the founding of Refugees International, a singular, independent advocacy organization based in Washington, DC, that now protects the rights of displaced people around the globe and strives for solutions to displacement crises. As Margaret Meade said, “Never doubt that a small group of powerful, committed individuals can change the world. It is the only thing that ever has.” Morton proved her point.”
Eileen Shields West, former board chair of Refugees International
“Our beloved friend, Sue Morton, lit up the world with her vision, her courage, her determination to make life better for millions of refugees and their families.
When the Vietnamese invaded Cambodia in 1979, pushing thousands of people into Thailand, Sue had already been working with refugees. She and Charlie had adopted their Cambodian son Peter, and she knew that refugees were stripped of everything except suffering. After the Vietnamese invasion of Cambodia, she fearlessly asked world leaders at the G-7 summit in Tokyo to raise their quotas for refugees and implored both Congress and President Jimmy Carter to deploy the Seventh Fleet to rescue refugees at sea. Their responses were positive and Refugees International was born.
Though small in stature, Sue was powerful. When she and I met in Boston a few years later, she asked me to become Executive Director of RI. Like those world leaders, I found her deep, loving commitment to refugees irresistible. And like a benign tornado, she lifted up my life—and those of so many others who joined our team. Gently, but firmly, she goaded, guided, and inspired us to advocacy action we could not have otherwise imagined. She made us more than we could have dreamt of becoming.
I miss Sue’s understanding of truth…of what matters, of what is good. I miss her inherent wisdom, her generosity, her joy…her grit and grace. It was a privilege to have been part of her loving, luminous life.”
Susan Goodwillie Stedman, first Executive Director of Refugees International
“Sue was an inspiration to all of us on the Refugees International Board. Sue always reminded us of the importance of the work and how it was inspired by what took place in Cambodia and Vietnam. She kept us grounded on our mission and was always supportive and a kind and caring advocate for refugees.”
Mike Hawkins, former Refugees International board member
“It was dear Sheppie who led me to Lionel who then led me to Sue. When Sue and I met up out West, RI was in its infancy. I was a novice in the world of refugee issues and policy, just in the beginnings of research for my book Disposable People?: The Plight of Refugees. During that drive, with laser focus, Sue recounted her story of her life in Thailand, her growing awareness of the perils the Khmer people faced as they fled the defeated Khmer Rouge under whose brutality they had lived for years, and her persistent advocacy on behalf of those in flight. Then Ambassador Mort Abramowitz and Lionel Rosenblatt listened and acted. At the end of her story, Sue, there and then, invited me to join the young RI Board. How could I not, when it was tenacious and courageous RI Founder Sue inviting me?
Some years later, thanks again to Sue’s invitation, I witnessed a profound family reunion. After many years of loss and separation, the grandmother of Sue and Charlie’s adopted Cambodian daughter was located in Site 2 Camp on the Thai/Cambodian border. When we approached the grass hut dwelling of the grandmother, her granddaughter slowly stepped inside. Just to her left an elderly woman rose from her rope-constructed bed and very simply and warmly asked: “Is this my granddaughter?” Years of separation melted in a moment as they embraced. A scene preciously and forever held in memory. Rest in peace, dear Sue.”
Judy Mayotte, former Refugees International board member
“If one did not know Sue, if they simply saw her in passing, her small demeanor would not have hinted at the formidable, fiercely determined, advocate for the displaced she was throughout her life. Her story was extraordinary, a demonstration of someone in meaningful motion, who saw suffering and enormous vulnerability and decided to act. Sue never gave in to the question, ‘but, what can one person do?’ She could not occupy herself with doubt when the needs of refugees fleeing Cambodia were breathtaking. Breathtaking for Sue, who possessed deep, life affirming humanity. Taking to writing of what she witnessed, she gave birth to Refugees International and, in the process, inspired so many of us who had the privilege of knowing her to raise our voices. Sue did this by example, with a tone that never registered in high volume, rather one of indefatigable commitment towards alleviating the suffering of people who fled all they had known, seeking safety. Her knowledge, her intelligence, her heart she gave to lifting awareness out of complacency to making a difference.
I will always remember Sue’s kindness, her genuine interest in what others thought about humanitarian crises and RI’s direction. Her warmth was palpable, her smile embracing, her energy boundless. She was curious in a way that expressed her desire to grow in understandings and, simultaneously, held to the clarity of her vision of what Refugees International was capable of doing. This petite woman was larger than life, her generosity of spirt something rare.”
Jan Weil, Refugees International board emeriti