Sir, - The international community must accept the reality of the situation if the famine which has engulfed southern Sudan is to be brought under control. Expecting the aid agencies, the UN and NGOs to stem the flow of death and ease the plight of two million people is outrageously far fetched. The efforts of the aid community in this terrible tragedy have been praiseworthy. But history has told us that agencies alone inevitably fail to cope with prodigious catastrophes, especially when a civil war is the root cause.
Unless the international community is prepared to mount a massive Dunkirk-like logistical operation and in addition deploy an armed force to protect the vulnerable women and children from the ravages of the Arab militias, the death toll in southern Sudan will become horrendous.
As aid workers on the ground, we know that unless such support and action is forthcoming our endeavours will count for little. - Yours, etc., John O'Shea, Director, GOAL,
Dun Laoghaire, Co Dublin.