lobbying for a ban on all military and economic aid to Pakistan until Yahya stopped his ruthless suppression of a defenseless people. A group from Philadelphia set up a mock sewer pipe refugee camp in Lafayette Park across the White House. Others from as far away as Chicago and Boston, came to live in these pipes and eat' the same diet of rice and lentils for eleven clays like the millions of refugees. Such and other expressions of public concern are the redeeming feature of an otherwise dismal American response to the South Asia crisis.
In addition to the thirty-odd Friends of Bangladesh associations a number of other groups have also played active role. Though the Administration policy has increasingly hardened, against Bangladesh, the efforts of these dedicated people have not gone in vain. The Congress has been overwhelmingly sympathetic. At least thirty Senators and Congressmen have made statements' critical of the Administration. The Media response has also been very positive. The heat was felt by the White House which has perhaps restrained it for taking a. more blatant, Pro-Pakistani stand. Who knows, had it not been for these efforts, Mr. Nixon could have conceivably found enough excuse to send the marines in to help Yahya Khan.
The unchallenged passage of the Saxbe-Church Amendment to the Foreign Aid Bill which unequivocally cuts off all military and economic aid to Pakistan is a true reflection of America's reaction to Yahya Khan's action. Here also, the indefatigable Bangladesh sympathizers have worked hard. Working behind the scenes was a little known but well- respected group, called the Bangladesh Information Center. It was set up primarily by a group of American doctors and other professional people and their wives who lived in Bangladesh and loved it. Their untiring efforts and limitless sacrifice is a source of inspiration. Oddly enough, this is perhaps the greatest contribution of the U. S. economic aid programme.
The American friends of Bangladesh realize that the liberation of Bangladesh is not the end but the beginning of a long and hard struggle. For all their efforts, they also realize that given the resent American mood of isolationism. Bangladesh is not a burning political issue in this years's presidential election. Consequently, Mr. Nixon is under no overwhelming pressure to change his policy. So, whatever pressure has been, crated must he sustained and increased through hard and relentless work. The second and no less important goal is to keep working hard to generate more and more public commitment and contribution to help Bangladesh reconstruct. America cannot disclaim its moral obligation. Wittingly or unwittingly. America is a party to the destruction in Bangladesh. After all. it was American guns that killed a million people and American tanks and fighters that laid waste the country.
The writer of this article is a refugee from Bangladesh in the United States.
