Americans can learn much from Purna Bajracharya, the innocent Nepali terribly mistreated by the misguided Bush Administration as if he were the terrorist that he is not ('I'll sue the US government', #203). As Americans who have lived and worked with humanitarian programs in Nepal for much of the past decade, and as a Peace Corps volunteer who taught in Nepali schools 40 years ago, we are shocked to hear how the Bush administration's Patriot Act has so terribly mistreated this unfortunate Nepali, guilty of little more than overstaying his visa. A suit against the US government would be an excellent test of the constitutionality of the wretched Patriot Act and signal to Americans how far off the track they've let American democracy drift. Purna Bajracharya's patience, forgiveness and generosity toward the government that so mistreated him give me hope in what might otherwise be a hopeless world. And yet this gracious and gentle Nepali, typical of his countrymen, forgives the US, "remains grateful that he experienced America." Americans and Nepalis alike have much to learn about democracy and how dangerously it is being corrupted by the very administrations that trumpet its merits to a doubting world. And we have much to learn about forgiveness, gentleness and patience from our Buddhist friend. Let's learn the best from each other's cultures and systems and move forward together to clean up the messes in both our countries.

Malcolm and Marcia Odell,
New Hampshire, USA