To the Editor: Daniel Murphy
Thank you to Yonkers City Hall for lighting the clock tower to mark USAID’s 65th anniversary. For my family, it was deeply personal.
For 34 years, I have been proud to call Taly Lind my daughter-in-law. For nearly 20 of those years, she served as a USAID Foreign Service Officer, working alongside colleagues who prevented disease and distributed humanitarian assistance to strengthen democracy, protect human rights and support honest, accountable government in countries where those ideals are fragile and sometimes dangerous to defend.
That service came with sacrifice for the whole family. It meant missed holidays, long stretches overseas, and nights I lay awake worrying about the places she was posted. It also meant knowing that someone I love was helping people build what we in Yonkers can take for granted: free elections, a free press, and leaders who answer to the people they serve. When unrest forced the evacuation of families from Cairo, my grandchildren came to live with me while their mother kept working from Washington, apart from them. I welcomed them gladly, but I saw what it cost them all to be separated so that important work could continue.
USAID was never about charity. It was about making the world safer and showing what America stands for at its best. All of the dedicated people who served have seen their work cut short by the dismantling of the Agency, and their service deserves recognition.
Seeing our City Hall glow in their honor is a reminder that their work mattered, and that Yonkers remembers. I hope our neighbors will take a moment to remember it too.
Esther Ranz Waters
Yonkers