Save the People

Posted on March 21, 2003 in Appeals and Goodwill War

When wilt thou save the People?
Oh God of Mercy, when?
The People, Lord the People
Not thrones and crowns, but men?

Stephen Schwartz, Godspell

When I went to Osijek, Croatia (more here) and saw, for the first time, the direct impact of the horrors of war, I learned the importance of not throwing my support to any government, liberation movement, or the armies that fought for them. I joined the civilian side.

Today, I call for people to respond in the same spirit that they responded to the calls on behalf of survivors and family of the World Trade Center Disaster. The number of civilians affected is much larger and their greatest enemies, as the United States takes down their infrastructure, are hunger and disease.

I am following the lead of Moveon in endorsing Oxfam, which is collecting money for Iraqi civilians. They’ve already been hard hit by United States policy. I urge you to give, either online or by mail:

Oxfam America

P.O. Box 1745

Boston, MA

02105-1745

Save the People with your gift. We gave.

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The following thoughts are my own and should not be represented as the views of Oxfam.

Our soldiers volunteered to join the army. While they are over there, taxpayer dollars are going into their entertainment, their feeding, medical attention, etc. They will be carrying guns to defend themselves.

They are not needy. They will be in harm’s way for a matter of weeks.

Contrast this with the situation of the Iraqi civilians. They were born to it. Their government does not have the money to see that they receive proper nutrition or medical attention. Two thirds of the country is starving.

They have been suffering like this since 1991.

Why, then, do some people insist on sending care packages to our soldiers who are, by comparison to the Iraqi civilians, fat and satsisfied?