Readers React: Anecdotal evidence does not answer the question of how many refugees the U.S. should admit

To the editor: Helen Thorpe shares the story of Solomon and Methusella, two young refugee brothers from the Democratic Republic of Congo by way of a camp in Uganda. (“How America benefits from the refugees among us,” Opinion, Jan. 26)

Both are fine young men with a thirst for knowledge. They learned English quickly, play soccer and display unusual grace.

But this is an anecdotal representation of refugees. Of course there are fine people among the millions of refugees and immigrants here, just as I am sure there are people of poor character who have no interest in learning English or assimilating into our culture.

The concern is over how we admit the Solomons and Methusellas while keeping out others we do not want here. Thorpe might want to do some research on that issue.

Jim Kussman, Glendale

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To the editor: I applaud Thorpe for connecting the U.S. consumption of coltan and cobalt, the crisis in the Congo and the plight of refugees fleeing the country. I teach environmental engineering to high school students, and just recently I reminded them that when we “point a finger,” three are pointing back at us — in other words, that we must look at our own consumption as a main driver of many of these global resource problems.

As a student of the Cold War and its aftermath, I must add that it was the CIA-backed killing of the deposed nationalist prime minister Patrice Lumumba in 1961 that set the stage for decades of unrest in the Congo. How many coups did the U.S. support in the developing world in the name of anti-communism?

The global refugee crisis has roots in U.S. foreign policy. It is time the American public grew up and faced this dark legacy.

Rachel Bruhnke, San Pedro

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