Inbox: Readers' Letters

Kickin' It, Globally
Thank you for your extensive coverage of "The Global Game" of soccer [June 14 June 21]. Yet your many pages spoke not a word about the tragedy of human trafficking. An estimated 40,000 women (and children) are reportedly being "gathered" to service the patrons of the World Cup games. This business must be stopped.
Gail Milholland,
SANTA CRUZ, CALIF., U.S.

I had no idea of soccer's significance in the fight against apartheid nor heard of that incredible gesture of reconciliation in Rwanda when relatives of slaughtered Tutsis played a match against recently released Hutu genocidaires. I have to accept now that soccer is much more than just a game. My enjoyment of the Beautiful Game has been enhanced by what must be one of the best editions yet.
David Kitching,
Lincoln, England

Your coverage of the World Cup in South Africa has done this country proud. Unfortunately, there is a fact your writers ignored: Cape Town Stadium has been built in the wrong place and grossly defiles the grandeur of Table Mountain. If the U.S. is to again host the World Cup, imagine the outcry if FIFA demanded a stadium in Central Park. That is the price Cape Town has had to pay to be a World Cup host city.
Philip van der Spuy,
Cape Town, South Africa

As much as I admire America's arrival in the global sport of soccer, remarks like the one given by Don Garber, claiming that America "has always been the center of the universe," continually make the rest of the world wary. As the TIME article claims, soccer is the great equalizer, leaving no room for egocentric comments like Garber's. And so America finds itself in a place where it is, once and for all, not the center of the universe.
Yoh Kawano,
Los Angeles

Letter of the Law
I was saddened to read Nathan Thornburgh's misinterpretation of the new immigration law in "The Battle for Arizona" [June 14 June 21]. The law does not require police "to ask for immigration papers from anyone suspected of being in the country illegally." It requires them to ask anyone breaking the law about his or her citizenship. They can't just go up to anyone they suspect is in the country illegally and ask about immigration status.
Gregory Philips,
Orange County, Calif., U.S.

A Mother's Too Brief Life
While I appreciated "The Perils of Pregnancy," about Mamma Sessay, I take offense at the pictures [June 14 June 21]. Showing this woman at her most vulnerable was disrespectful. Would these photos have been cleaned up if she were not a poor African woman?
Tola Abe,
Raleigh, N.C., U.S.

Your piece on Sessay's death during childbirth brought tears to my eyes. The piece made me scared for the millions of women in the world who lack medical care. How long will we cry for our women?
Abdul Sebiotimo,
Abuja

Please let me know what I can do to help Sessay's family or another family avoid the same fate.
Angela Bolds,
Lawton, Okla., U.S.

ALICE PARK RESPONDS: CARE and UNICEF, which accept individual donations, have excellent global maternal-health programs.