8/28/204

My Dear Friend & POTUS, JRB,

            Could you live off of $277.89 for the year? I know I spend more than that in a week.

            I ask because that’s the per person share of $275 million that the UN has requested to support the Rohingya refugees living in Bangladesh. The money will provide the 989,585 folks who are crammed into 35 camps with a minimal diet, insufficient health care & a very limited education. The UN has only received 41% of the funds even though 66% of 2024 has passed. Please see to it that we donate more than our share of the necessary funds.

            You might also read Umme Salma (US)’s call to Meta that they redress the harm they did by disseminating misinformation about the Rohingya throughout Burma in 2017 which culminated in the genocide that began on Aug 25 of that year.

Hundreds of people demonstrated on Sunday in Cox Bazar to call attention to the plight of the Rohingya & express their desires to return home. According to the AP, they were “carrying banners & festoons reading “Hope is Home” & “We Rohingya are the citizens of Myanmar,” defying the rain on a day that is marked as “Rohingya Genocide Day.” Please acknowledge this depressing anniversary.

            I am inspired by the resilience of individuals like 20-year-old Umme Salma, who arrived in Bangladesh at age 13 & started Literature & Handicap for Rohingya Women to help educate women & girls, teaching them to read & write, to know their rights, & inform them about gender-based violence. She’s amazing!

            As are the Gen Zers who started Tour to Save Democracy, who raised $200,000 & spent 28 days traveling to 15 districts across 11 states to flip red seats blue & drive change forward. They’ve been to Omaha, Bridgewater, NJ, San Antonio & beyond. They want to see an end to gun violence, climate change & abortion bans. Please give them a call & encourage them to keep on keeping on.

            BYBS,

            RCA