Letter to the Editor
Here is a letter I just sent to my local newspapers. Please take a moment and send one to your local editors today, too. Feel free to cut and paste this one if you like:
Dear Editor,
April 6th marks the beginning of the Rwandan genocide 12 years ago when 800,000 people were murdered. We wring our hands and show great remorse for turning our backs as this holocaust occurred, ardently proclaiming, “Never again!”
Yet, over the past several years we have been silent bystanders to a conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo claiming a death toll of over 4 million, the highest since World War II. Half of these deaths are children under the age of five.
Although it has been named the “world’s deadliest emergency” by Jan Egeland, the UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, only six minutes were devoted to the issue on the three major US television networks’ nightly newscasts in 2005 according to a report by Doctors Without Borders.
There is no question that the issues around the crisis are complex. But what is NOT complicated is that over 1200 innocent lives are being lost daily and thousands of women and girls are suffering as systematic rape is used as a weapon of war.
As a citizen of the world, I refuse to stand by and allow atrocities of this magnitude go unnoticed.
Please cover the war in the Congo.
Dear Editor,
April 6th marks the beginning of the Rwandan genocide 12 years ago when 800,000 people were murdered. We wring our hands and show great remorse for turning our backs as this holocaust occurred, ardently proclaiming, “Never again!”
Yet, over the past several years we have been silent bystanders to a conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo claiming a death toll of over 4 million, the highest since World War II. Half of these deaths are children under the age of five.
Although it has been named the “world’s deadliest emergency” by Jan Egeland, the UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, only six minutes were devoted to the issue on the three major US television networks’ nightly newscasts in 2005 according to a report by Doctors Without Borders.
There is no question that the issues around the crisis are complex. But what is NOT complicated is that over 1200 innocent lives are being lost daily and thousands of women and girls are suffering as systematic rape is used as a weapon of war.
As a citizen of the world, I refuse to stand by and allow atrocities of this magnitude go unnoticed.
Please cover the war in the Congo.
posted by gypsy girl at 5:28 PM
2 Comments:
Tonya, this is a very good letter. I hope many will follow your example. I am taking a group of people to Congo in October 2006 and January 2007 to expose them to the lives that have suffered for the past decade because of greed and lust of power.
The only way Americans will be whole people is when we will take seriously the fact that we belong together wit the rest of the suffering world.
Keep up the good work Tonya. Pakisa
Thank you for connecting us with global issues. It disgusts me and wrenches my heart to know these things happen and nobody is taking it seriously and doing something.
My heart wishes I could do more - thanks for helping us see practical, small steps to take to gain awareness in our cities for global issues of horrific magnitude.
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