ON VERGE OF DEATH

Grey River Argus, 22 February 1947, Page 4

ON VERGE OF DEATH

HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS

ROUMANIAN .FAMINE

LONDON, February 20.

Thousands have died and hundreds of thousands are on the verge of death in the famine on the plains of Moldavia, which is normally one . of the largest grain areas in Central Europe, says Reuter’s Bucharest correspondent. The food reserves of between 3,000,000 and 5,000,000 people have been diminished by two years’ drought. A British military doctor, who recently returned from the area, declared: "The extreme results of the famine will be seen in a further three or four weeks, reaching a climax about the end of March”. The Roumanian National Peasant Party reported that peasants are selling their land to get food. There was a great exodus from the area earlier in the winter when peasants sold their land and went away to buy food to take back to their starving families. The Government has now issued an order that people may travel only with a special permit.