The West’s hollow words
Putin and Khrushchev; Ukraine and Hungary; 2022 and 1956 – I can’t help but see parallels.
I arrived in New Zealand with my parents a few years before the Hungarian uprising. We followed events there closely and with concern. Students with hopes for a democratic, liberal society tried to overthrow the oppressive Stalinist regimes of Rákosi and Gerő. Khrushchev, “the butcher of Ukraine”, Stalin’s tubby little henchman, sent in his troops to quash the uprising. The world sang the praises of the brave Hungarian patriots, but did nothing to come to their aid.
My parents, both of whom survived concentration camps (my father more dead than alive), saw the fascist machinations behind the revolutionaries, seeking to restore the previous fascist clerical order. They came to New Zealand to get away from the country of their roots, a country where they felt betrayed.
Khrushchev, like Putin now, saw the integrity of historic greater Russia at stake. They have both attacked countries with democratic aspirations at a time when they discerned a weakness in the Americandominated West – Khrushchev after the Suez crisis and Putin after the Afghanistan debacle. In both cases, the West did nothing but offer sympathy.
At least New Zealand accepted more than 1000 Hungarian refugees, who could make new lives here and contribute to society.
Steven Sedley (Czeglédi), MNZM (Wellington) My son’s partner is Ukrainian; they live in Canterbury. Her father and brothers have been drafted into the army. I cannot imagine what she is going through.
Her friends came to visit six years ago. They were highly educated, well-travelled women, but what struck me was their patriotism. After passing the bottle of Ukrainian vodka around, they sang Ukrainian folk and patriotic songs, all beautifully.
I asked about the threats from Russia and they said Putin knew that the democratic countries would help defend Ukraine.
One of her friends is a keen photographer who has documented her country’s stunning architecture, scenery and wildlife, its poorer regions and people. She is staying there to film the horror Ukrainians thought would never happen.
Politicians said they would do whatever it takes to help the country – hollow words that now resonate. I can’t believe that countries like the United States give lame excuses that will escalate the conflict – well, it will when millions of Ukrainians flee to other countries that don’t want them. Bruce McGregor
(Christchurch)
BREAST SCREENING
Morag MacTaggart ( Letters, March 12) is fortunate her breast cancer was caught early through a routine mammogram and then successfully treated. Following mammograms at age 45 and 47 with BreastScreen Aotearoa’s national screening service, I assumed the “normal” result meant I was clear of breast cancer. In keeping with BreastScreen’s policy, I was not told I had dense breast tissue, that dense breast tissue makes mammograms unreliable, or that dense breast tissue is the single biggest risk factor for breast cancer.
In my case, three 20mm+ tumours were discovered by ultrasound when I was 49 – tumours that were invisible on a mammogram taken the same day. By then, the cancer had spread to my lymph nodes and more recently has metastasised to my bones and lungs. At age 53, I have a poor prognosis.
If I had been told at 45 that I had dense breast tissue, I would have requested further investigations, such as an ultrasound or breast MRI. The cancer would have been found four years earlier and most likely treated successfully.
As argued in the February 19 story “Best for breast”, it is time for BreastScreen Aotearoa to advise women of the density of their breast tissue and give them the information they need to make informed decisions about their healthcare, as required by the Code of Health and Disability Services Consumers’ Rights.
BreastScreen Aotearoa’s outdated policy will lead to my premature death. In my opinion, the Listener’s
coverline “Breast Cancer – Are Kiwi women missing out on life-saving information?” was not alarming enough.
(Name withheld)
LETTER OF THE WEEK
RED RIDE
I agree with Peter Griffin (“When the bull bucks”, March 12): sharemarket investors should be prepared for a wild, red ride in 2022.
I’d go further: I think the biggest crash the world has ever seen is under way now, having begun on January 4. That’s when the Dow Jones Industrial Average last peaked, and it has been dropping ever since.
The Dow is unlikely to attain that level again for some years. The long bull run that could be said to have begun in 2009 after the Global Financial Crisis will require a frightening downward retracement, so hold on to your hats, investors.
In this scenario, “buy the dip” is the worst strategy. Sell, sell, sell: turn everything into cash.
Gary Ferguson
(Auckland)
WHAT NOT TO READ
A book-loving friend tells me he closely follows New