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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Lucknow Sentinel, 1984-12-05, Page 6Lucknow Sentinel, "Wednesday;, December 5, 1.984—Page 6 "The. Sepoy Town" Established 1873 The Lucknow Sentinel, P.O. Box 400 Lucknow NOG 2H0 Telephone: 528-2822 Famine in Ethiop• ia People all across Canada are opening their hearts to the starving in Africa. Indeed locally some $35,000 has been collected' in a fund, to aid the hungry in Ethiopia. But the famine in Ethiopia has been caused by man as much as nature. The scope of the tragedy could have been prevented. Thedrought is real. Whole provinces have not had rain for years and the land has been made infertile and barren. But reportsfrom the stricken country indicate that the problems were, forecast well in advance in a vital report prepared by a United Nations team of 20 people.. The government of Ethiopia suppressed the report for two years because it did not like its recommendations. The suppressed report recommended stockpiling food in drought prone areas during good harvests, but the government ignored the recommendations which might have left food available • for a crisis, because it considers stockpiling no better than hoarding. The report also recommended food rationing. The cities have been allowed tonnes more wheat and. flour to feed the affluent than the wheat and; flour destined for distribution among the hundreds of ' thousands of desperately hungry in the country's -relief camps. The Ethiopian government has effectively helped .. starve the . peasants who make up 85 per cent of the population. Instead of trying to • help agricultural production keep pace with the increased population, it has poured ' the major share of its resources into industrial ,development, the comparatively small urban pQpulation and the army. The famine is the ;result of a stupid, shortsighted, repressive'. regime and . a' huge, . ineffective bureaucracy which spends far too much time shuffling paper rather than taking effective measures to get aid to the starving. The tragedy was predicted and pictures of the starving appeared in The Toronto. Star two years ago, but no one paid any attention until now when the food has run out. The starving in Ethiopia have become the cause of the hour: But what will happenwhen the world media scurry off to another tragedy somewhere else in the world? The children in Ethiopia will continue to die. The aid being sent td the country will only scim the surface of the problem and already there are rumors of food being sold for profit. In the end if the Ethiopians are to survive, they will have to learn to feed themselves. The government will have. to use all of its resources to feed its people, to implement agricultural programs so that the country can feed its millions . of peasants. The foreign aid provided by Canadians through, the federal government's program may in the long run be the only effective way Canadians can help. .Pat.Uvingstom- General Manager Thomas Thompson - Advertising Manager Sharon Dietz,. Editor Joan Helm - Compositor , Merle Elliott - Typesetter Subscription rates in advance nn Outside • 00 •16 -- Canada 45,; Senior Citizens: .. $13." ' Outside $43 °u , Canada Second class mailing reg, no. 0847 Advertising is accepted on the conditionthat in the event of a typographical error, the portion of the advertising space occupied by the erroneous . item together with a reasonable allowance for signature, will not be charged for, but the balance of the advertisement will be paid at theapplicablerates. BLUE RIBBON AWARD 1984 • Christmas lights Top, the home of Harold and: Lloya Nicholson; bottom left; Tony and Geraldine Schlosser's home and bottom, right, the home of Steve and Joan Chimney. [Photos by Sharon Dietz] There was much food for conversation as spring turned into summer. The lumber mill was nearing completion, the, crops promised to be abundant, and of course, there was great excitement among the womanfolk over ,the, forthcoming marriage of Teddy Murdoch and Lucy Lockhart. • The prospect of a hotel being built so close to the community aroused mixed emotions. For some it offered the prospect of diversionary entertainment, but to the wise, it could only be a "hell's kitchen" taking away the meagre earnings of the farmers. Perhaps too, it would be the cause of many future problems amongst tine pioneer families'. . Docter Cameron received a letter from his wife, Jane, a belated communication for which he had waited so long. It read: My dear James, You must forgive me for ,not writing betore this. 1 have felt sad, lonely and not a little remorseful because I left you without even saying goodbye. What, my dear, . are we going to do? I cannot come back to Redtrees. No matter how I have tried, I cannot" find happiness amongst the people whom you apparently ,love so much. Would you consider coming to Toronto? I am sure you could establish a practice here, and in any case, money would be the least of our worries. Both the children and I miss you very much, It is heartbreaking to be apart from you. Please write to me soon and tell me that we can be together again. Your loving wife, Jane. It was a long time before the. doctor revealed the. contents of the lettere to any- one, but he felt hehad to' ' confide in somebody, and showed it to the Reverend Duncan MacLeod. There was little the minister could say. How could he give counsel on such matters? "Only you can make a decision James," he said, I handing the perfumed envelope back to the doctor. "Nobody at Redtrees could blame you if you leave, but. on the other hand, it would be a great loss to the community. Out of all this sadness, there is only one positive remark I can make. It is gratifying to know you are loved by,so many people!" It was' about this/ time that a military REDTREES by Don Campbell • visitor came to Redtrees: He was a regular officer of the British Army; a colonel of an infanty regiment, given the duty of organ- izing a militia from the "colonials" in the Caledon Hill. He was of course, directed to MacCrimmon to discuss his business. Neil instantly disliked the man because ; he belonged to. that "elite",class of people in. the old country he had hoped he would never see again. - "How many men between the ages of sixteen and sixty do you have in this community, my man?" the colonel asked. MacCrimmon did not reply' immediately. He looked the colonel up anddown, from his gold trimmed hat to his polished boots. "I thought people like yeselhad manners," lie said tersely. "If ye are speaking tae me, ye had best address me as "sir"' or "Mister MacCrimmon". I am no ye're man,. I am a Highlander!" The colonel's face reddened with anger, but he realized he ' had met his match. "Very well, sir. How many able bodied men do you have?" "Forty-one. • "And, from out of that number, sir, bow many do you 'think would be willing to join a militia reigment?" "Forty-one," MacCrimmon said be- tween his teethand looking the colonel directly in .the eyes. "As I told ye, we are no sassenachs, we are Highlanders!, When we .hae tae fight - we all fight!" "Then I can take it, sir, you would be willing to drill in Bolton Town, with the newly formed Humber Regiment." "Then ye take it all wrong. The only regiment we shall join is our own. We already hae a name frae it, an' we hae appointed our own major." "Indeed, sir?" "Aye, thats a fact," MacCriimmon said with a sarcastic smile. "We shall call our regiment the "Caledonians" and our leader ,will be Major Ian Jamieson." "And, you, sir. What position will you hold?" • What else could. a MacCrimmon be?" Neil said, drawing himself up like a soldier on parade. "I'll be a piper!"