USAID MCH Advisor told "resign or be fired" after his presentation on child mortality in Palestine was abruptly cancelled.: Richard Hall / The Indpendent
Alexander Smith, who has worked as a contractor advisor on maternal child health for the past four years was forced to resign after preparing a slide presentation for an internal USAID meeting on mortality among Palestinian children. His offense seems to be that in one slide he mentions the violations of international law.
"Alexander Smith, a senior adviser on gender, maternal health, child health, and nutrition, told the Guardian he was given a choice of resigning or being fired after a presentation he was due to deliver on child mortality among Palestinians was cancelled by USAID leadership."
Click here for USAID official resigns over Gaza war in the Independent
See also :
Two more US officials resign in the Guardian
Excerpt:
"“I cannot do my job in an environment in which specific people cannot be acknowledged as fully human, or where gender and human rights principles apply to some, but not to others, depending on their race,” he wrote in the letter, according to the Guardian.
“USAID has always prided itself on our programs supporting democracy, human rights, and rule of law,” he continued. “In Ukraine, we call for legal redress when people are victimised, and name perpetrators of violence … We boldly state “Slava Ukraini” in peppy promotional videos.”
“When it comes to the Palestinians, however, we avoid saying anything about their right to statehood, the abuses they’re currently suffering, or which powers have been violating their basic rights to freedom, self-determination, livelihoods, and clean water,” he added."
".... at least 19 internal dissent memos (in USAID) have been sent since the start of the war by staff at USAID criticising US support for Israel’s war in Gaza.
"Smith is the second person to resign from USAID over the war, and the second US official this week. Stacy Gilbert, a career official who worked in the State Department’s Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration, resigned over a department report that claimed Israel was not impeding humanitarian assistance to Gaza."
Excerpt:
"“I cannot do my job in an environment in which specific people cannot be acknowledged as fully human, or where gender and human rights principles apply to some, but not to others, depending on their race,” he wrote in the letter, according to the Guardian.
“USAID has always prided itself on our programs supporting democracy, human rights, and rule of law,” he continued. “In Ukraine, we call for legal redress when people are victimised, and name perpetrators of violence … We boldly state “Slava Ukraini” in peppy promotional videos.”
“When it comes to the Palestinians, however, we avoid saying anything about their right to statehood, the abuses they’re currently suffering, or which powers have been violating their basic rights to freedom, self-determination, livelihoods, and clean water,” he added."
".... at least 19 internal dissent memos (in USAID) have been sent since the start of the war by staff at USAID criticising US support for Israel’s war in Gaza.
"Smith is the second person to resign from USAID over the war, and the second US official this week. Stacy Gilbert, a career official who worked in the State Department’s Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration, resigned over a department report that claimed Israel was not impeding humanitarian assistance to Gaza."
For more on this story, see "He Made a Powerpoint on Mothers Starving in Gaza, ...." in the Intercept.
ReplyDeleteThe article shows the actual slides that led to Smith being fired by USAID. It seems that his critical mistake was to mention international law, something that made his higher-ups very uncomfortable.
https://theintercept.com/2024/05/31/usaid-powerpoint-gaza-israel-resign/?utm_source=pocket_reader