Letters to the Editor: Human suffering can often get lost in the language of war
Suffering can get lost in the language of war
The US and Israel’s latest so‑called pre‑emptive strike on Iran shows once again how language is used to frame acts of war as acts of defence.
Explosions were reported across Tehran as Israeli forces struck Iranian military sites. Israeli officials described the operation as necessary to remove “imminent threats”, but for many in the Global South, it reads as yet another display of power backed by Western allies.
Conflicts like this rarely exist in isolation. While the media focuses on the dramatic headlines, other stories fade, such as political scandals or ongoing humanitarian crises.
Each new crisis can shift public attention, whether intentionally or not, and the suffering of ordinary people is often pushed out of view.
This does not mean every military action is launched as a deliberate distraction. However, it is reasonable to ask who benefits when attention shifts and whose stories are no longer being told.
Iran condemned the strikes and warned of retaliation, raising the spectre of a wider regional conflict. Calling such attacks “pre‑emptive” does not make them any less real or any less devastating for civilians caught in the crossfire.
Dana A. Patterson, Waiheke Island.
President’s motives
The head of the United States Government is Donald Trump, a convicted felon.
The head of Israel’s Government is Benjamin Netanyahu, who has an arrest warrant to his name over claims of genocide.
Trump said he had an idea of a suitable person to lead Iran – beware, Trump’s only criterium is subordination and loyalty to Trump.
Trump’s goals are to enrich himself and his wealthy friends even further and to seek immortality by requesting his name be used for any and all public buildings or assets.
No morals, no honesty, no ethics – a real low point.
Was this current war a way to distract attention from the Epstein files?
Frank Olsson, Freemans Bay.
Trump’s trash talk
President Donald Trump has always cast himself as “a peacemaker and unifier”. This has now been revealed as just so much fatuous, cynical “trash talk”.
His massive Middle Eastern military operation is given the quite contradictory and warlike title of “Epic Fury” – totally the opposite to his earlier (though idle) “peace-promotional” boasts.
Trump is setting Iran ablaze while waging a total war that will inevitably lead to the deaths of thousands of innocent Iranian civilians.
All prospects and the chance now for a peaceful settlement arising from the “peace” talks – that until recent days were still in progress – have been cast aside.
The American President’s foreign policies are now proven to be the polar opposite to his self-promotional BS, hype and bald-faced lies, which he had disseminated solely to promote himself to get re-elected.
Any “trust in Trump” has now become a hollow, deeply ironic and meaningless oxymoron.
Larry N. Mitchell, Rothesay Bay.
Mid-term madness
I imagine Donald Trump has concluded that the only way to avoid annihilation at the mid-term elections is to trigger WWIII.
And the pity of it is he’s probably right!
God help us!
Paul Phillips, Cambridge.
Cost-of-living crisis
Foodbanks tell us that there is record demand for their services. Indeed, they are saying that families in fulltime work who have never needed this sort of help before are among their regular clients.
Yet, reading Bruce Cotterill’s piece on Saturday (February 28), I find that the reason we are in a cost-of-living crisis and Mr Cotterill has to pay $7 for a coffee, instead of $5, is that we are paying these people too much.
John O’Neill, Dargaville.
Dealing with ADHD
The story about Auckland mother Natasya Jones (February 25) navigating her family’s life stresses, school bullying and burnout reflects a reality many families face – not just those diagnosed with ADHD. But it also highlights how narrow our national conversation about ADHD is becoming.
The causes of ADHD are more complex than the medicalised narrative we often default to. Its prevalence is frequently overstated, developmental differences are sometimes pathologised and medication is not the only – nor the best – response. People’s distress cannot be understood in isolation from their environments: past trauma, relationships, school culture and money pressures all matter.
The solution to these pressures, which all come from outside a person, not inside them, should not begin and end with a diagnosis. Families deserve support that looks at the whole picture – including bullying, unmet learning needs and the pressures placed on parents – rather than assuming the problem is in the child’s brain.
If we want better outcomes, we need a broader, more honest public conversation about ADHD – one that includes better support and understanding, not just medication.
Jeltsje Keizer and Giselle Bahr, Excellence in Mind.
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