LETTER: In support of a Select Board resolution on Gaza
June 15, 2024 | By Nicole Grenier Dear Waterbury community,
I’m writing to share my support for the call for the Waterbury Select Board to adopt a resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.
There has never been a war in history where 80% of a country has been destroyed, 100% of the population has been displaced, and 50% of the deaths have been children.
Most of us know, or should know, the infamous black + white photo of the 9-year-old Vietnamese girl, known as “the napalm girl,” running and screaming with her body severely burned from a napalm attack during the Vietnam War. This photo gave a face to the innocent victims of the war and moved Americans to protest and pressure the U.S. government to finally end the war in Vietnam.
How the photos and videos from Gaza have yet to compel us to end this war is baffling to me. These images will haunt me for the rest of my life, and when I hear that “this conflict is complicated,” it is these images that stand in opposition because there is literally nothing that will ever justify the killing of innocent children.
The children are all of our children all over the globe. All human life is precious. Members of our local community are absolutely affected and impacted by this war.
This ceasefire resolution may not fix anything right away, but don’t let us dare say that it doesn’t make a difference, it doesn’t matter, and it doesn’t have anything to do with us.
Civil rights, gay rights, women’s rights have all come to be because of people speaking up, not staying silent, and having the courage and endurance to keep speaking out long before policymakers would consider taking action.
Cities and towns are increasing pressure on Congress to finally act in the name of justice instead of power and profit, and each additional resolution that passes helps increase that pressure.
Let’s not act as though this discussion will keep us from focusing on other local issues.
Over 100 cities and towns have already passed ceasefire resolutions including at least a dozen in Vermont and none of their municipal functions have grinded to a halt.
Local government is our closest proximity to government power. The Vermont Legislature sent a letter to President Biden to call for a permanent ceasefire, which included all three of Waterbury's state senators, and both U.S. Sen. Peter Welch, and Rep. Becca Balint, have called for a ceasefire as well.
This is not about having all the answers, and it’s also not about taking the easy way out by claiming that this has nothing to do with us.
You say you want our select board to focus on local issues? Great! I want our tax dollars to fund local issues instead of funding the killing of children to the tune of $3.8 billion dollars every year on average, with another $14 billion on the table.
Those numbers break down to $5.8 million from Vermont, and $77,000 from Waterbury, all going to fund this war. What our state and our town could do for affordable housing, our schools, and our roads with that money instead!
There is a long history of cities passing resolutions to express where a community stands on certain issues, including Ukraine, South Africa, Iraq, Afghanistan, Vietnam and elswehere.
A resolution is not about jurisdiction or ability to solve war in the Middle East or anywhere else. We may not have much control or influence over this situation, but taking this action is not simply performative or useless. A ceasefire resolution is by no means the most or the best we can do--it is the least that we can do.
Please join me and others in calling for a resolution for an immediate and sustained humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza. Hundreds of thousands of more lives are at imminent risk if a cease fire is not achieved and humanitarian aid is not delivered.
If you are one of the many people who has found themselves horrified by the violence in Gaza, please sign the petition and call on our elected representatives to demand a ceasefire.
Thank you,
Nicole Grenier
Waterbury Center