Posted on 10/08/2025 4:27:28 AM PDT by Oldeconomybuyer
MAE SOT, Thailand (AP) — Mohammed Taher clutched the lifeless body of his 2-year-old son and wept. Ever since his family’s food rations stopped arriving at their internment camp in Myanmar in April, the father had watched helplessly as his once-vibrant baby boy weakened, suffering from diarrhea and begging for food.
On May 21, exactly two weeks after Taher’s little boy died, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio sat before Congress and declared: “No one has died” because of his government’s decision to gut its foreign aid program. Rubio also insisted: “No children are dying on my watch.”
That, Taher says, “is a lie.”
“I lost my son because of the funding cuts,” he says. “And it is not only me — many more children in other camps have also died helplessly from hunger, malnutrition and no medical treatment.”
Taher’s grief is echoed in families across conflict-ravaged Myanmar, where the United Nations estimates 40% of the population needs humanitarian assistance and which once counted the U.S. as its largest humanitarian donor. Now, in Asia, it has become the epicenter of the suffering unleashed upon the world’s most vulnerable by President Donald Trump’s dismantling of the U.S. Agency for International Development.
And like Taher’s son, Mohammed Hashim, it is Myanmar’s children who have borne the brunt of the fallout. A study published in The Lancet journal in June said the U.S. funding cuts could result in more than 14 million deaths, including more than 4.5 million children under age 5, by 2030.
After their food rations evaporated, Taher’s family meals shrank from three a day to one. Taher, his wife and his five children grew so weak, there were days they could not walk.
(Excerpt) Read more at apnews.com ...
I hate their suffering but don’t believe we cause it and don’t believe the US AID programs will cure it. I think these programs overall spread destitution and corruption all over the globe. This is a general statement. I can’t doubt that at some times in some ways they have helped some.
Blame your parents and the adults in the room.
The child dies of starvation while the father does not starve. You know the father is a democrat.
Interesting. There was enough food to keep Mohammed Taher alive, but not his son.
The “helpless” have that oh so wealthy members of the U.N. - like all the Middle East oil countries - so why don’t they complain to them.
China or one of the muslim countries can pick up the aid support. The US has sent money long enough.
Bull S^^T!
I feel bad for these people... but why was it up to US to feed them?
IF YOU CONTINUE TO PRODUCE BABIES & ARE DEPENDING ON AID FROM ELSEWHERE-—YOU BASIC PREMISE IS WRONG FROM THE START.
THIS IS A MIND SET THAT TOO MANY OVER=POPULATED & UNDER EDUCATED COUNTRIES HAVE ASSUMED OVER THE PAST 50+++YEARS.
HIS STORY IS GUT-WRENCHING-—BUT IT IS NOT MY REQUIREMENT TO SUPPORT HIS REPRODUCTION HABITS.
I AM RESPONSIBLE FOR MY DECISIONS-—HAVE BEEN FOR A VERY LONG TIME.
Foreigners. I DO NOT CARE.
My country, the USA, has its own problems to address. It is why we have countries.
I saw Sam in a small venue just a few weeks before he died.
He was a bit toned down then, but still funny as ever.
Bearing children brings with them the responsibility to care for them. This is true in 1st World USA or in the poorest nation on earth.
AP doing AP things.
How dare they try to blame the US for their country’s failure to help their own people!
Since these refugees are Muslims, perhaps the rich Muslim oil countries could subsidize them.
America cannot be the savior of the whole world.
“”After their food rations evaporated, Taher’s family meals shrank from three a day to one. Taher, his wife and his five children grew so weak, there were days they could not walk.””
Oh puhleeeze! So alluva sudden... America is the ONLY nation on planet earth that is able to provide ‘aid’ to other nations? I thought that’s what the UN World Food Programme (WFP) was for. And the oh-so-wealthy Catholic Church charities. And hey... the European Union is always holier than thou and preaching against America for the sake of “humanity”. How about getting some $$$ for food from them for a very refreshing change? What’s that? None of those other entities will fork over the cash either?
Awwww...
I’m sure it’s allah’s fault.
Myanmar (then Burma) was previously prosperous in the early 20th century under British rule (1885-1948), becoming the richest country in Southeast Asia with a strong economy based on rice and teak (type of wood) exports. It was also prosperous after independence in 1948 before Ne Win’s socialist policies in 1962 isolated the country and led to economic decline.
That’s right. Socialism ruined their prosperous economy.
In 1988, when they officially abandoned socialism, they were taken over by their military. I think they’ve basically been a military state since.
Myanmar has been embroiled in armed conflict for almost 78 years, making it the world’s longest-running civil war. This does not help its economy either.
parents could always get a job, like the rest of us
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