BRATTLEBORO — I have assisted the great work of Action Corps to advocate on issues related to Centre Congregational Church's “Just Peace Church” designation to our Vermont representatives in Congress.
I recently participated in a call to Sen. Bernie Sanders' office to encourage him to introduce another Yemen War Powers Resolution, which would pressure the Biden administration to insist to Saudi Arabia that it halt its war and naval and air blockade against Yemen.
Yemen is the largest humanitarian crisis in the world, with more than 24 million people, some 80 percent of the population, in need of humanitarian assistance, including 12 million children, according to UNICEF.
Far from just participating in an armed conflict to protect its national interests, Saudi Arabia is starving and disease-ing a nation to death. The Saudi-imposed blockade is preventing Yemenis from getting fuel, which is desperately needed for transporting food, pumping water, and powering hospitals.
The United Nations' World Food Program warns that 400,000 children could die from hunger in Yemen this year without urgent assistance, the equivalent of one child every 75 seconds.The blockade is starving the country and is a key driver of what remains the largest humanitarian crisis on Earth.
In speaking for more than one hour with Bernie Sanders' staff, we appreciated the senator's leadership in trying to end the United States' participation in the crisis through its military and diplomatic support of Saudi Arabia.