Sirs
Roger Mallett argues (letter 25 August 2014) that humanitarian aid should not be given to those suffering in Iraq – we need the money here at home.
He misses two points.
Firstly, he clearly has not seen Oxfam’s recent promotion entitled “Charity begins at home!” with a lovely satellite picture of our globe!
Secondly, it is in our own self interest to be addressing the problems of poverty, whatever the cause, in other parts of the world. The greater the disparity in wealth between ourselves and those living in other parts of the world, the greater the risk of conflict involving us all.
No one would deny there is poverty in the UK and that should be addressed, but there is an even greater poverty in other parts of our global village and that needs to be addressed too. It is not either / or but both / and.
Nick Maurice
Marlborough