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Points of View November 7, 2001 Guest Column © 2001 Scott Rutherford Published with Permission

Letter: Afghanistan threatened with mass starvation

Two weeks ago, I submitted the letter that follows to the Daily Mining Gazette for publication. The Gazette has so far refused to publish it – something that Keweenaw Now has graciously agreed to do.

Humanitarian catastrophe threatened

In recent years, the Afghan people have been pillaged by civil war, human rights abuses, and drought. According to the United States Commission on Refugees, more than 3.0 million have fled the country, taking refuge in Iran and Pakistan. A vast internal migration has also occurred. Prior to September 11, five million Afghans were dependent on foreign supplies of food. This number has certainly grown since the U.S. intervention.

Aid agencies have virtually suspended food shipments into Afghanistan because of the U.S. bombing. If they are not resumed in a matter of days, according to Oxfam International, the consequences will be "catastrophic." As many as two million Afghans lack enough food to last the winter and are in danger of starving. Of these, 500,000 live in mountainous areas that will become inaccessible with the onset of winter, only weeks away.

President Bush rebuffed a request by aid agencies to suspend the bombing so food could be delivered to the neediest areas of the country, blaming the Taliban for the disruption in food deliveries.

The U.S. has pledged $320 million in humanitarian aid for Afghanistan, which, presumably, will become available when the fighting is over. Let's pray this is soon.

The prospect of our having responsibility for bringing about a humanitarian disaster in Afghanistan raises many questions:

• How many Afghan lives equal one American life? If 7,000 people died in the tragic events of September 11, how many Afghans should die in reprisal? One hundred times as many, which is approximately the number who may die if food aid is not resumed? Are we really worth that much more, they that much less? Isn't all human life equally sacred?
   
• Why did the President choose the path of violent retaliation for the September 11 attacks, knowing full well that if he ratcheted up the cycle of retribution and violence, he would place more American lives at risk? There were alternatives. He could have taken--and could still take--steps to reduce the amount of violence that we and our allies are inflicting on the Arab world, like lifting the sanctions on Iraq that have killed 500,000 children. Isn't a world in which the people of all nations live together harmoniously with mutual respect and support ultimately our best protection from terror?

May our nation find a more nonviolent path to follow in the difficult days ahead.

Scott Rutherford

Update

In the two weeks since I sent the letter to the Gazette, the food situation has grown more dire.

The BBC website on November 6, provided this thumbnail description of the crisis:

• Six million will be dependent on aid in winter.
• Two million have fled Afghanistan.
• Many more are stuck in makeshift camps or unable to leave.
• 10,000 children could die unless food reaches them in the next six weeks.

Recently, the Taliban asked the United Nations to increase food deliveries, warning of the humanitarian disaster that is about to befall the country. Peter Kessler of the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) refused, saying that the Taliban has been interfering with food deliveries by the UN and other aid agencies by stealing vehicles, taking over offices and beating up drivers.

It seems abundantly clear that the United States gave no consideration to the terrible plight of the Afghan people and the likelihood of precipitating a humanitarian disaster when it made its decision to intervene militarily in Afghanistan. There should be no question about where ultimate responsibility must rest for the suffering and starvation of possibly hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of Afghan people.

The U.S. media have had scarcely anything to say about the crisis. If you would like to learn more about it, the following websites are a source of good information:

http://www.oxfam.org.uk/atwork/emerg/afghanprogramme.htm 

http://www.guardian.co.uk/

http://news.bbc.co.uk

Learn more about the author of this guest column, Scott Rutherford.

Visit the Keweenaw Now discussion forums to comment on this article.

Editor's note, Nov. 8: In this guest column, published November 7, Scott Rutherford said The Daily Mining Gazette had refused to publish his letter concerning the likelihood of famine in Afghanistan. Rutherford was contacted by Bruce Heisel, the Gazette's managing editor, who had seen the letter on the Keweenaw Now website. He advised Rutherford that the Gazette never received the letter. Heisel said that if the letter were resubmitted it would be published soon.

Note: Views expressed by our guest columnists are not necessarily the views of Keweenaw Now.