Sir, - I am writing in response to comments made by the Minister for the Marine and Natural Resources, Mr Fahey, on the Pat Kenny Show. Regarding President Bush's decision to withdraw US support from the Kyoto Protocol, Mr Fahey said: "You would wonder what priorities the American people have."
I would beg Mr Fahey not to paint all Americans with the same brush. There are many of us who feel outraged and powerless in the face of recent events. As an American student who has spent the past three years in Ireland, I have watched things back home unfolding with a growing sense of unease. And if doesn't help that there is an enormous amount of hidden anti-American sentiment in Ireland. I feel alienated enough without feeling as though I must constantly apologise for my nationality.
I am devastated by what is happening at home. My mother feels the same way - she recently said she feels like applying for asylum to another country! If things look bad from over here, just imagine what it must feel like to be trapped in the middle of it.
I am lost at the moment: I want to find a place to live where the government isn't too corrupt, where I can raise emotionally healthy kids, where people care about the environment and are willing to make sacrifices for the greater good. If anyone knows of such a place, could they please let me know? - Yours, etc.,
Alissa Dunsky, Castlewhite Apartments, Western Road, Cork.