NEW ZEALAND’S PART

Waikato Times, Volume 195, Issue 22460, 22 September 1944, Page 4

NEW ZEALAND’S PART

ASSISTANCE TO SUFFERERS MONTREAL, Sept. 21 “Because of the fact that we are so much concerned with the social well-being of our own people we should like to help others,” said the New Zealand delegate to the second session of Unrra, Mr C. A. Berendsen, in an interview. “Our decision to co-operate with Unrra,” he added, “was based on two reasons: (1) We believe it is morally right. (2) It is politically wise. “We are facing a situation in which millions of innocent people have been reduced to the last stage of destitution by the bestial cruelty of the invader. There is scarcely a family in New Zealand which has not suffered by the war, but we thank God we have been spared from the heel of the invader and we accept at once the moral duty of assisting sufferers who have been less fortunate than ourselves.

“On the practical side we know we cannot have permanent and lasting peace in a world where any substantial portion of the population is living in an atmosphere of confusion, frustration, starvation and desperation. We know we cannot have a prosperous New Zealand unless we have a settled and prosperous world. From the most selfish point of view of our own individual interest it is to our advantage to assist in creating orderly and settled conditions elsewhere.”