| Good morning, President Bush. You rise late, for, in the twilight, barefoot women in Ethiopia and Somalia have walked worn paths in search of water. Yes, that place you fund to wage war with Somalia. Something you want in Somalia? Some women have returned balancing water sitting high on their heads. Sifting the wheat and grinding the coffee beans, the women look to the sun in the far west where other women and small children have already sat for an hour or more at a WIC office, wishing for coffee, waiting for bread, milk, sugar -- the usual food staples. Hope you are having the best Ethiopian coffee with Eggs Benedict or French toast or whatever it is you want. But sad to write that these mothers are fortunate, for another left her rural home this morning to meet the plane carrying the flag-draped coffin of her beloved, her daughter or son. She's not thinking about the coffin before her, if you are wondering. She remembers a toothless smiling baby trying to say "mommy." Many of these women have passed homeless men. Some Vietnam vets. They will soon to be joined by the young Iraqi War vets who believed you, Sir. Now they believe their outcry, their injuries will receive your attention, tweak your conscience. But by noon, we hear you are considering sending more troops to Iraq. You call it a "surge." A surge is already underway in Baghdad, do you know? Have you heard? Mothers there are fleeing with their children for safety, fleeing from an occupation that left them without adequate food and water. And you can't send children to school with all the sectarian bombings happening everywhere and anywhere because the bombers are trying to send you a message: "We are surging, too! Surging!" Remember those waters in August of 2005? This elderly woman wants to remain in the home she had for 40 years. Her insurance says, "No help." FEMA says, "We are working on it." She sits in that water-ruined home -- waiting! Hope your steak lunch is going down well. No lunch for this young Black or Latino kid waiting to sign forms for a high-interest rate financial aid package for college. Yes, but what can he do? You see, he has this plan to major in International Studies, Conflict Resolution, to be specific. He wants to contribute to peace -- not war. But it is difficult. Listen to the Army recruiter in school who tells him to join the Army. But we know that mangled bodies and severely brain-damaged youth return needing peace of mind as they practice working with artificial limbs or reciting the alphabets all over again. Sorry. You are off to an important meeting? Decisions. You are the decision maker, yes! And it is hard work -- not to see how discouraged the young people are here in the United States. I am sure you are glad to see that law and order is dealing effectively with the young Black and Latino youths in the prison industrial complex. Treated well? What, Mr. President? Why are so many of this nation's young Black citizens end up in prison? Why are so many young people tuning out, consuming crystal meth and indulging in sex as anesthesia for a pain they can't articulate? Why are they spending so much time at Internet games? They "chat" but not about the state of the country or world, Sir. No need to worry, you think? Snow in Malibu and no snow in the Midwest! They need to know that the fishing industry is worried -- more than worried! "We'll have deserts where some water springs. You say why should they bother anyway? So it's fine if the seemingly "innocent" space out while the seemingly "guilty" report to their parole officers? What of those struggling to think again with foreign limbs? They are physically and mentally wasting away, quietly. Dinner, now! I forget. You operate on artificial time. Hope your Thai Chicken Curry is tasty. It's not so eatable in the prisons, I hear. Soon, it'll be time for you to sleep like the young adult citizens anesthetized too. Women are carrying empty buckets in search of more water -- this late! That mother who was at the airport this morning, she is sitting in her darkened living room, in another time, wondering why. Not today for the mothers in need of WIC, so the evening is long and hard. They wonder why. Waiting, the elder woman sits up this night and wonders why. The high school senior will toss and turn because he's signed a college loan to the amount of -- you don't want to know. Just back from Iraq, those young folks with the missing limbs -- Wide awake! That question "why, Mr. President!" Okay. Hope you sleep well. Someone should. |
| Voices/Dr. Jean Daniels A letter to President Bush |
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