[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 18]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 24417]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




             LEARNING AN IMPORTANT LESSON FROM OUR CHILDREN

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. BERNARD SANDERS

                               of vermont

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, November 1, 2005

  Mr. SANDERS. Mr. Speaker, many thousands of American men and women 
are serving in Iraq under very dangerous conditions. Often, we at home 
go about our daily business and forget the deep loyalty and 
responsibility of our brave soldiers half a world away. And even more, 
we often forget what war means for the children in Iraq.
  I want to tell you, today, about a community of young people who have 
not forgotten that our soldiers are in Iraq, or that their mission is, 
ultimately, to build peace. These first, second and third graders at 
Elmore Lake School in Vermont not only remember the larger mission of 
our soldiers, they have sent packages to reach out to the children of 
Iraq, who like themselves are students in schools.
  These young students at Elmore Lake School also wrote letters to 
Iraqi schoolchildren, made pictures for them, and then put the letters 
and pictures into parcels filled with school supplies that the Elmore 
children packed and weighed for mailing. They were assisted by their 
teacher, Annamary Anderson and parent Sarah Southall, and by Vermont 
National Guard Captain Dave Matzo, who distributed the packages when he 
returned to Iraq from a home leave. The contents of the packages were 
provided by the school's children and their families. The Lamoille 
Valley Chamber of Commerce found kind sponsors who paid the cost of 
postage.
  The letters written by the children remind us, remind us all, that 
war is not something abstract, but a situation which involves human 
beings. Here is one example, a letter from a student named Sebastian 
that was reprinted in the News and Citizen of Morrisville. It is 
remarkably eloquent, not only in its ability to reach out across oceans 
and continents to children elsewhere, but in its reminder to all of us 
of just what war may mean to those who must live in its midst:

       Dear Children in Iraq, I feel bad for you because you are 
     probably scared because you have a war going on in your 
     country. I don't think it is right for kids to have to deal 
     with this. I don't even know why people are fighting! I would 
     definitely be very scared if I had a war going on close by! 
     So my class in school thought we should give you kids school 
     supplies. I hope the war stops soon, there is already enough 
     bad things going on in your country! I wish you good luck!
           Sincerely,
                                                    Sebastian L.W.

  I offer my deep respect, and that of my state and Nation, to these 
thoughtful and giving young students in Elmore, who have taught all of 
us to think deeply about war and about generosity.

                          ____________________