ACTION ALERT: Write NYT Letter to the Editor on US involvement in Yemen

[Ali Naquvi]

Salaams all,

Please see below. This is a good opportunity to get our voices heard on the UN's recent famine warning in Yemen, by writing a Letter to the Editor in response to this recent NY Times article:
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/22/world/africa/why-20-million-people-are-on-brink-of-famine-in-a-world-of-plenty.html

This will draw more attention to the issue. Some suggested wording:

The biggest crisis is in Yemen, where a coalition led by Saudi Arabia and backed by the United States is battling ethnic Houthi rebels. More than seven million people need urgent food aid, according to the United Nations. Among them, 462,000 children face “severe acute malnutrition,” which means that even if they survive, they will probably [suffer] from developmental disabilities.

Write the letter to let...@nytimes.com. It should be 150-175 words maximum with your name, address and phone number (only city and state are published). Also refer to the title of the article they published as the subject of your email: "Re: Why 20 Million People Are on the Brink of Famine in a 'World of Plenty'"

May God give the people of Yemen strength and courage.

Jazakallah,

Mohammad Ali

----- Forwarded Message -----
From: Just Foreign Policy <in...@justforeignpolicy.org>
To: alin...@yahoo.com
Sent: Friday, February 24, 2017 4:33 PM
Subject: NYT has acknowledged UN Yemen famine warning; next steps

Dear Mohammad,

Earlier this week, we asked you to sign our petition to the New York Times, asking that they report the UN's famine warning for Yemen, and in doing so clearly note the U.S. role in the war producing the famine risk. So far more than five thousand people have signed. We did this petition because a key obstacle to trying to end the war is the lack of big media press coverage. In Washington, if big media isn't covering something, it's not really happening.

The NYT has now run an article [1] that acknowledges the UN warning. The coverage of Yemen is somewhat buried within the article, but it's an important start that we can reference, and the article did note the U.S. role in the war. The article is also a hook for letters to the New York Times that will draw more attention to the issue.

Letters to the New York Times should be addressed to let...@nytimes.com, should preferably be 150 to 175 words, should refer to the article, and must include the writer's address and phone numbers. More instructions are here [2] and tips from the NYT letters editor on getting your letter published are here. [3] Please blind copy your letter to in...@justforeignpolicy.org so we know you sent it.

Here are some highlights of the article concerning Yemen you may wish to reference in your letter:

The biggest crisis is in Yemen, where a coalition led by Saudi Arabia and backed by the United States is battling ethnic Houthi rebels. More than seven million people need urgent food aid, according to the United Nations. Among them, 462,000 children face “severe acute malnutrition,” which means that even if they survive, they will probably [suffer] from developmental disabilities.

We're still pressing the NYT for more prominent coverage of the Yemen crisis. If you haven't signed our petition yet, you can do that here.

Thanks for all you do to help make U.S. foreign policy more just,

Robert Naiman, Avram Reisman, and Sarah Burns
Just Foreign Policy

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References:
1. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/22/world/africa/why-20-million-people-are-on-brink-of-famine-in-a-world-of-plenty.html
2. https://www.nytimes.com/content/help/site/editorial/letters/letters.html
3. http://www.nytimes.com/2004/05/23/opinion/23READ.html

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