A: A letter concerning the global problem of landmines
B: A letter addressing the continuing need to support refugees
Date:
President George W. Bush
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Ave., NW
Washington, DC 20500
Dear Mr. President,
One of the obstacles preventing refugees from returning to their former lives has been landmines. Not only in Bosnia, but also in Cambodia, Afghanistan, Mozambique, Rwanda and other countries, landmines have prevented the return of many refugees. The youngest, most desperate refugees are among the approximately 26,000 landmine casualties a year of which 30% are women and children. This appalling number, which will continue for years, makes it difficult to understand why the US opposes such a treaty. A way must be found to overcome the obstacles to a landmine treaty presented by our situations in Kuwait and Korea.
Because of the danger and enormous cost of removing landmines ($300-$1000 each), there is little hope that the 120 million landmines now planted around the world will be removed in our lifetime. More mines are being planted daily. The ease of making and distributing landmines makes them a weapon of choice for individuals, small groups, or large armies.
An international landmine treaty would only be a first step towards consolidating world opinion against landmines just as it has been consolidated opinion against chemical and biological weapons. The United States should find alternative methods of containing aggressors in Korea or Kuwait and sign the landmine treaty. This treaty is the result of an amazing grass-root effort by Americans and others to control the spread of this undiscriminating weapon with a perilously long life.
As the President of the United States, we look to you to provide courageous direction to a world impoverished by the lack of it. You have the chance to become a great President by acting boldly. Your hesitation to sign a multinational treaty banning landmines is a discouraging omen to Americans looking for courage and conviction in their leader. There are risks to everything, but do not pass up a chance to rid the world of landmines that continue to take lives indiscriminately decades after wars are over.
Sincerely, (Do not forget to sign the letter)
E-mail The President
Date:
President George W. Bush
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Ave., NW
Washington, DC 20500
Dear Mr. President,
As an American, I have been proud of the leadership role that our country has played in protecting and assisting refugees and displaced persons around the world, and in resettling a small number of these people in the US.
I was surprised, therefore, to learn recently that the conditions facing most refugee children are particularly grim. Their health is effected by the crowded, often insecure living conditions and poor diet. Also less than one third of their number have access to any type of education.
Fifty percent of the world's refugees are children. That means that 6.5 million children are now forced to live in exile, far from their homes, their communities, often separated from other members of their families, and deprived of a chance for formal education and vocational training. These children have been robbed of their childhoods, forced by war, ethnic and racial conflict, religious intolerance and serious human rights abuses to endure the loss of all that was familiar and comforting.
In refugee camps these children and their families face years of waiting, hoping for a chance to return home and resume more normal lives. I believe that our government and the international community should do more to help these children. Otherwise when the peace comes, without education or training, many of these children will face even more difficulties when they return home - ill equipped to undertake formal educational programs and lacking the skills to enter the productive work force.
US budget levels for refugee programs have actually declined since 1995, despite the impact of inflation, the increasing number of complex refugee situations, and the serious needs of refugees, particularly children in Africa, Eastern Europe, and Asia. I urge you to consider increasing the amount of funding the US provides for refugees to the $754 million recommended by the House International Relations Committee. These funds are urgently needed, particularly for the care and training of refugee children, many of whom have been traumatized by war, violence, and separation from their loved ones.
Sincerely, (Do not forget to sign the letter)
E-mail The President
