Sir, - The international community rightly acknowledged the courage and generosity of the firefighters, police and rescue workers who responded so immediately to the atrocities of September 11th in New York and Washington. We in Ireland are rightly proud of the Irish-Americans who formed a large part of this human response to inhuman barbarism.
I have no doubt that when the US and UK launched their attacks on Afghanistan on Sunday evening, many Afghans similarly came to the aid of their friends and neighbours. We know how real human beings react in such circumstances; such mutually supportive behaviour is one of the universal features of our species.
However, CNN will not be covering their desperate rescue efforts. We will not be shown pictures of exhausted rescue workers in Kandahar or Kabul, or of distraught relatives burying their loved ones.
If we are to show real fellow-feeling to the already downtrodden and starving people of Afghanistan, we need to acknowledge the additional suffering that is now being inflicted on them. - Yours, etc.,
Ronan Scaife, Cherrymount Park, Dublin 7.