Readers write: Solutions for conflict, and defending freedom

Letters to the editor for the March 16, 2020 weekly magazine. Readers discuss the best way to restore trust and preserve national sovereignty. 

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Staff

Solutions for conflict

Ryan Lenora Brown’s report on and extended interview with anthropologist Julienne Anoko – “Amid distrust of Ebola responders, she leads by quiet example” in the Jan. 13 Monitor Weekly – is no less than a revelation. Respecting and listening to the people involved in a crisis are not responsibilities to simply add on to responders’ duties.

Instead, in this article, they are shown to be the substance of an effective treatment for a crisis (in this case, the Ebola epidemic in eastern Congo). That’s because, without mutual trust, experts from abroad are disbelieved, rejected, and even attacked – and their efforts to help undermined. So it’s heartening to read how Dr. Anoko’s insight into and practical grasp of a current situation can lead to resolution, one village at a time. In the article, she says “we need to feel what they are feeling.” Isn’t that the way out of any conflict? 

This article is the epitome of Monitor goals, as articulated in the recent recording of the 2020 Monitor Night Live question-and-answer session with editors and journalists. Thank you all!

Oliver Hirsh
Klippinge, Denmark

Defending freedom

Thank you for the excellent cover story “Estonia’s cyber warriors” in the Feb. 10 Monitor Weekly. It seems that Estonians are experienced in defending their freedom.

A powerful 2006 film, “The Singing Revolution,” documents the time between 1987 and 1991, when tens of thousands of Estonians gathered to sing forbidden patriotic songs. It was their chosen method to free themselves from Russian occupation, and “The Singing Revolution” is a hugely inspirational film. 

As always, the Monitor shines the light on the best in human endeavors.

Lynn Roy
Boston

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