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Feb. 19, 2024 Editor, The News-Gazette: Words cannot begin to describe my exasperation with the House Republican leadership’s current refusal to take up legislation to provide military and humanitarian support to Ukraine in its effort to combat occupation by Russia. Perhaps the death of Alexei Navalny will change this.
I knew by the time I graduated from the University of Virginia that I would make a career focused on the then communist countries of Central and Eastern Europe. My first venture behind the “Iron Curtain” was in August 1971 when a classmate and I crossed the border at Cheb into Czechoslovakia, three years after the Soviet led invasion. Things were quite dreary to say the least.
When in Prague we decided to register our presence at the U.S. Embassy. By the Tyne Church, we asked for directions to the embassy from an elderly gentleman. He responded that he would take us there as he “hated the Russians.” By that he undoubtedly meant the occupiers and not the Russian people. He took us over the Charles Bridge to the embassy.
Beginning in 1974, I spent a career promoting trade and economic relations with the countries of Eastern Europe. In 1989, my dream came true when these countries emerged from communism to become new democracies. The following year, a colleague and I formed a company to help meet the economic needs of the region, and soon established offices in Prague and Moscow.
This career ended in 2000, after which I moved to Rockbridge County. I watched from afar as things begin to change in the region with the emergence of Vladimir Putin. And now we have the Russian occupation of eastern Ukraine with the ensuing death and destruction. In this regard, it is imperative that we continue our assistance to Ukraine. If you agree, please contact Congressman Cline and urge him to press for a vote on the Ukrainian aid legislation. DON HASFURTHER Rockbridge County
