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Irish Independent
7 days ago
- Politics
- Irish Independent
Letters: Mass starvation, multiple child amputees, and still, US politicians stay silent
On Tuesday, it reported the UN saying Gaza is 'hell on earth', with doctors fainting from hunger and snipers shooting civilians in Gaza like it is a 'licence to kill'. Jordan's King Abdullah II, speaking at the UN last September, said: 'This Israeli government has killed more children, more journalists, more aid workers and more medical personnel than any other war in recent memory.' He said Israel's assault in Gaza had led to one of the fastest rates of starvation caused by a war. The king added that the largest cohort of child amputees from a war are in Gaza. He said Jordan and countries around the world condemned Hamas's attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, but Israel's response is unprecedented. I hope for the war to end this year and Hamas to return all Israeli hostages. The US is still not strongly pressing Israel's government to end the war in Gaza on women, men, elderly and children weakened from hunger. It has echoes of the US-Vietnam 1964 to 1975 war when Americans went on marches for years to end a war that dragged on until the US left. That war was to stop communist north Vietnam taking over the south. Vietnam was unified after the war. In Vietnam they call it 'The American War'. Few US politicians speak out against the inhumanity of the war in Gaza. The late Tip O'Neill Jr, Speaker of the House in Washington in the 1980s, was fearless in this regard. Mary Sullivan, College Road, Cork It's a sorry state of affairs when political correctness is valued over morality Thanks to modern technology we all see what is happening on a daily basis in Gaza and the West Bank. Politicians are required to make decisions on moral and ethical standards or political correctness. My personal experience while with the United Nations is that politicians in general follow the political correctness route. Michael Moriarty, Rochestown, Cork Gaelic football aristocrats Kerry go again with push for 39th All-Ireland title On Sunday, Kerry will be seeking their 39th All-Ireland title. Despite the dominance of the Dubs in recent times, Kerry are still the aristocrats of Gaelic football. This weekend, Jack O'Connor will be looking for his fifth All-Ireland – quite an achievement. I believe he is about to join Mick O'Dwyer in the Kerry managerial hall of fame. An O'Connor trait I have admired is that he knows how to wield the stick and when to offer the carrot. He has also shown he has the bottle to make the tough calls. Thomas Garvey, Co Mayo They said abortions would be 'rare', but that's not the case if you look at the data Abortion is still a controversial topic in Ireland. A third of the people voted against it in 2018; more supported it only in certain very limited situations. But what has actually happened goes way beyond what was predicted by campaigners who said it would be 'rare'. Last year, well over 10,000 babies were aborted, according to the Government's latest annual report, including 258 babies in Co Wexford. Clearly, not enough is being done to proactively reduce the abortion rate by providing women in the middle of unplanned pregnancies with the supports they need. It's worth emphasising that unborn babies are completely innocent and totally helpless to speak for themselves or defend themselves. Pat Fogarty, Cleariestown, Co Wexford A 'brutal' excuse by newly renamed planning board to keep airport structures An Bord Pleanála is now An Coimisúin Pleanála (ACP) – one of the first provisions of the Planning and Development Act 2024. Unfortunately, the 'change' of title and, indeed, the new act when it is fully commenced will do little to prevent bizarre determinations like that to refuse the demolition of a set of redundant concrete car park ramps in Dublin Airport. In upholding the decision of Fingal County Council, ACP stated that, notwithstanding the fact that the spirals were not a protected structure, they are of technical and architectural merit by virtue of their brutalist design, associated concrete construction and their unique form and shape, which reflect a distinctive feature next to the Terminal 1 building. They were built in 1972 to serve a facility that no longer exists. And yes, of concrete – a basic, commonplace construction material. As acknowledged by ACP, they are not protected structures. Nevertheless, it found a planning rationale to refuse their demolition. I'm not inclined to go overboard with odious hypothetical comparisons, but consider this: If the same view was taken of the 'brutalist' form of the Ballymun towers and Hawkins House, we would doubtless be celebrating the retention of icons of the 1960s. Larry Dunne, Rosslare Harbour, Co Wexford While cringing is a part of life, at least my moments of shame didn't go online Catherine Prasifka is right to suggest 'cringe' is the tax we pay for trying, but she has a rich future of it ahead ('We're terrified of being labelled 'cringe', but I'd rather embrace it than live in fear', Irish Independent, July 24). Middle age brings its own species of horror. I regularly drive along and am blindsided by a memory – something I said in 1994 about Tyrone football or people who consume low-fat yoghurt – and groan aloud. The only consolation is that my sins were spoken, not posted online. Enda Cullen, Tullysaran Road, Armagh Corruption in governance will prosper when good people turn a blind eye Corrupt governments didn't start with one party controlling the media and taking charge of the message or where one party decided what is truth. Corrupt administrations did not start with one party censoring speech and silencing opposition or where we have one party dividing into 'us' and 'them' and where one party calls on their supporters to harass them. In the final analysis, corrupt governments started when good people turned a blind eye and let it happen.
Yahoo
26-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
From Agent Orange to 'Hanoi Jane,' traces of the Vietnam war remain
Vietnamese people are celebrating the unification of their country after the Vietnam war that left people and land alike deeply scarred - and divided. Some veterans and activists from the United States joined the parties, celebrations and parades, and spoke of their ongoing sense of guilt at their involvement. Bill from Florida was a peace activist back then and was imprisoned in his home country for it, he says. "It was very important to me to be here in Vietnam for the anniversary to honour the people of this country," he adds, tears coming to his eyes. The complex war, fought in bloody jungle battles, began shortly after Vietnam became independent from France, a Colonial power until 1954. After the mid-1960s, the US became heavily involved, supporting South Vietnamese troops in their attempt to prevent the spread of communism in Southeast Asia. Vietnamese people, looking back at the conflict, call it "The American War." The North Vietnamese fought as the National Front for the Liberation of South Vietnam – or "Vietcong" - backed by the former Soviet Union and led by Ho Chi Minh, affectionately known as "Uncle Ho." He is still revered in much of Vietnam today. And Saigon's official name became Ho Chi Minh City after the war. When the US withdrew in 1973, it had suffered the first major military defeat in its history and lost 58,000 soldiers. Deadly weapons - no match for the Vietnamese Despite the use of horrific weapons such as the incendiary agent napalm and Agent Orange – a highly toxic defoliant – the GIs ultimately had no chance against the sophisticated guerrilla tactics of the Viet Cong. The victorious communists remain in power and keep alive the memory of the war, estimated to have cost the lives of 2 to 5 million Vietnamese people, also for tourists. Directly behind the entrance to the impressive War Remnants Museum in Ho Chi Minh City, visitors see fighter jets and tanks and also Hui, 56, who lost both arms and one leg and is blind in one eye. "I was eight years old when I stepped on a mine from the war times in the Central Highlands," he says. Unable to work, he sells books in front of the museum and tells tourists his life story, over and over again. Inside, a room is dedicated to the US chemical weapon Agent Orange, showing photos of generations of Vietnamese people and documenting their torment and later suffering from tumours and deformation, causing many visitors to burst into tears. World famous photo Other photos have become burned into the collective memory - like the one in 1972 of a little girl who tore her burning clothes off after a napalm attack. Phan Thi Kim Phuc, known as the "Napalm Girl," still suffers from severe burns. The photo, credited to AP photographer Nick Ut, who was 21 at the time, won the Pulitzer Prize in 1973 - though who actually took the harrowing picture is in dispute. A documentary released this year raised doubts about the photographer, suggesting that it was more likely that a freelance AP employee captured the scene. He is said to have received $20 for the picture. The World Press Photo Foundation has suspended the author attribution for the iconic photograph. Not under dispute is that Ut drove the injured girl to a hospital in Saigon, where she received treatment for months - and they are still in touch. "Fifty years on from that fateful day, the pair are still in regular contact – and using their story to spread a message of peace," US broadcaster CNN reported in 2022. The Viet Cong tunnels Two hours' drive from Ho Chi Minh City are the Cu Chi tunnels, a legendary tunnel system extending more than 200 kilometres that contributed significantly to the Viet Cong's victory over US troops. Now a tourist attraction, the claustrophobic tunnels were far more than underground secret passages. People lived on three levels that housed accommodation, kitchens, schools, infirmaries and command centres. The tunnels were home not only to male Vietcong fighters, but also to many women and children who were also fighting against the enemy, as can be seen in the film "Dia Dao" ("Tunnel: Sun in the Dark") by director Bui Thac Chuyen. It is an epic released to mark the 50th anniversary and is breaking box office records in Vietnam. Meanwhile two hotels in Vietnam show you history up close. During the war, the Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi in the northern capital Hanoi not only accommodated many reporters and embassies, but also prominent US peace activists such as actress Jane Fonda. She caused a scandal in 1972 when she had her picture taken sitting astride a Vietcong fighter's cannon in North Vietnam, earning her the name "Hanoi Jane." Like folk singer Joan Baez, the Hollywood star sought shelter in the hotel's bunker during a bombing raid, as the hotel's historian Nguyen Thanh Tung recounts. Meanwhile at the Continental, visitors can stay in the room where British author Graham Greene once wrote his famous Vietnam novel "The Quiet American." The hotel also features prominently in the 2002 film of the same name starring Michael Caine. Vietnam has its own large café chain: Cong Caphe, with a trademark khaki-green exterior and waiters clad in Vietcong uniforms. "With our outfits we want to honour the soldiers that fought for our country in the past," says employee Duc Anh Lee. Behind the tables are tools from the war while the walls are adorned with camouflage helmets. For young Vietnamese people sipping hip coffee creations, this backdrop is part of daily life. The war is still omnipresent in Vietnam, told by its communist victors.
