United States should
be helping Myanmar
I am disgusted by the actions of the current administration and Secretary of State Marco Rubio for refusing to send humanitarian aid to help those devastated by the Myanmar earthquake.
Worse, they even fired U.S aid workers who traveled to Myanmar to assess the situation (“Trump administration fires US aid workers in Myanmar,” April 6). Have those in this administration no shame?
Myanmar is a country with many challenges. I understand not embracing the military junta that seized power from the elected government four years ago. Still, innocent people are starving and dying. They need help, which is beyond the scope of what Myanmar can provide.
Refusing to help is not in keeping with the American tradition of providing humanitarian aid in disasters like this. The U.S. government comes off as mean-spirited and callous.
Even if the decision-makers in the administration and at the Department of State truly don’t care about those suffering in the aftermath of this earthquake, they should consider how failing to act affects U.S. stature in the world.
Inaction damages U.S. standing as a dependable helping hand, leaving China, which is providing assistance, to reap the benefits of goodwill and “soft power.”
I really thought the secretary of state was smarter than this. Or perhaps, he’s just doing what he’s told.
I’m hoping he shows a bit more spine and pushes for this administration to do the right thing in Myanmar and future disasters.
Richard Leman
Honokaa
Trump administration’s
‘utter lack of humanity’
As a little girl, I had vague fears of distant regimes grabbing people in the night and permanently disappearing them at will.
And I always at least felt secure in the knowledge that such a horrible thing would never be committed by the U.S. government. I guess I’m “living the dream’” now, because the U.S. government is doing precisely that.
Every morning, I wake up troubled and sickened by the thought of innocent people being thrust into that hole in El Salvador.
The cruelty and utter lack of humanity of this administration is incomprehensible. Our president actually said about it, “I love it.”
That a fat, greedy, evil, psychopathic and sociopathic sack of refuse has so much influence and control over the world enrages me. It enrages me about as much as the U.S. Supreme Court does for granting him immunity from damn near everything.
Let’s get with it, people. Protest!
Mary Lee Knapstad
Volcano
