Angels Action Alert: Thank you/Keep it up letter to Bush

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Sherry Darling

New Yorker
Joined
Sep 5, 2001
Messages
2,857
Location
Virginia
President George W. Bush
1600 Pennsylvania Ave.
Washington, DC 20500

Jan 29, 2003

Dear Mr. President:

Congratulations on your bold announcement at the State of the Union Address on a commitment of $15 billion dollars to fight the scourge of AIDS in Africa. Mr. President, this was the humane and compassionate decision to make. It was also a wise decision for our national security and the security of the world; nations in the grip of such an emergency as the AIDS plague in Africa represents are vulnerable to terrorists who would exploit and recruit them. Millions of Americans (and people worldwide) are grateful, excited, and hopeful that this bill will be passed into law as soon as possible. Please be assured that our Congressmen and women will hear from us!

However, I also feel that for your important initiative to be effective, complete debt relief must be offered to the world?s poorest nations as they fight AIDS. Our neighbor Haiti repays one-fifth of every aid dollar in debt service; impoverished nations such as Angola and Benin repay over TWICE what they receive in foreign assistance. In order for nations to make as effective a use of the funds that you propose as possible, they must be freed from the debt they owe to the world?s wealthiest nations. This is debt that in many cases is odious, incurred during corrupt dictatorships for the purpose of oppression, and illegitimate! Nations freed from this debt will be able to direct those funds towards combating AIDS, TB, malaria and other diseases, obtaining safe water, building clinics and educating their citizens about AIDS prevention. The world cannot afford to lose the millions of human lives that it will lose if the war on AIDS is lost; we must drop the debt now if your proposal is to have as much impact as possible.

It is still a fact that 45% of the world?s people live in poverty! I look forward to our nation?s continued commitment to battling AIDS and relieving the debt of the world?s most impoverished nations. Only then will a significant reduction in global poverty be realized. Again, congratulations and thank you for recognizing the crucial nature of this issue!

Sincerely,

SD

(Forgive the non-global nature of this. If any non US-Angel wants to post a letter, or adapt mine, I'd love it. This is a global issue!)
 
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