Demoralizing Relief

Although there are still 10 months to go, my candidate for most demoralizing story of the year is the recent account of U.N. famine relief officials in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone refusing to distribute food to starving families unless their children consented to having sex with them (Feb. 28).

The notion of starving, desperate adolescent girls being coerced to perform sex acts in exchange for food is horrendous enough, but for the men involved to be part of an official United Nations humanitarian mission is almost incomprehensible.

Dave Macaray

Rowland Heights