AN APPEAL FOR AID

Otago Daily Times, Issue 26749, 19 April 1948, Page 9

AN APPEAL FOR AID

Sir, —I do not know if your readers are aware of the desperate conditions prevailing at the present time in Central Europe. A recent cable from England, quoting a letter in the Manchester Guardian, described the seriousness of the food, clothing and housing position in the Russian zone of Germany. It is equally serious in the other three zones and in Austria. In a recent letter to the writer, the head of the education branch of BAOR in Aachen, now in charge of women’s affairs there, says: “The sudden cold spell—we are having ice and snow—means a terrible ordeal for the population. Although Aachen is situated in a coal district the schools may have to be closed again for lack of coal. Coal and wood can only be obtained by black marketeers. The greater part of the population suffers dreadfully—they have been living on a few pounds of black bread and half a pound of cereal per week for the last few months. Fats and meat do not come their way. The rations could not be honoured.” A small group of people—some of them members of the Peace Union—are sending parcels of food and clothing to the areas where these conditions prevail. Anyone wishing to help in this work will find directions as to how to do so elsewhere in this issue.—l am, etc., Millicent Baxter.