Page 62 - GFA – A Different Drumbeat
P. 62
GFA – A Different Drumbeat 62
A WORLD IN TURMOIL
For many people around the world, the end of the third decade of the 20th century was
characterized by trauma and disaster. The 1920’s are often referred to as the Roaring
Twenties, the Jazz Age, or the Golden Age because of the economic boom following World
War I. However in October 1929, the Wall Street stock market crash reverberated around
the world, and in a tragic moment transformed the “Golden Age” and the “Roaring
Twenties” into the “Great Depression”.
In a remote part of north-west China, the same decade brought horrifying disasters to the
area. So bad were they that newspapers around the world headlined them on their front
pages:
The Sunday Times, Perth Western Australia 27 January 1929
FAMINE IN CHINA. SHOCKING STORY FROM SUIYUAN.
CANNIBALISM IN KAMA. ("SUNDAY TIMES" SPECIAL.) SHANGHAI.
SATURDAY.
Reports are coming in of distressing conditions at Suiyuan and Kansu. The
Suiyuan people are dying of cold and hunger so rapidly that it is impossible to
effect quick enough burial. Many have been buried in huge pits, while outside
the city of Suiyuan huge heaps of corpses are being devoured by wolves and
dogs.
In Kauen a missionary reports that resulting from the extreme famine
conditions, the people are turning to cannibalism. It is Impossible to cope with
the situation until March, when the roots and grass will reappear.
On 4 March 1929 the Brisbane Courier contained the following article:
2,000,000 DEAD. FAMINE IN KANSU. APPALLING SUFFERING IN
CHINA (AUSTRALIAN PRESS ASSOCIATION) SHANGHAI MARCH 1.
The Iatest reports reveal that more than 1,000,000 persons, almost one
quarter of the population of Kansu Province, have perished as the result of
famine, war ravages, and Moslem massacres in less than a year.
The true conditions within the Province are difficult to obtain, as
communications have been almost severed, and investigators fear to venture
lest their food supplies are filched by the populace. Many half-dead victims
successfully reached neighbouring provinces to relate tales of appalling
suffering. Experts estimate that it will require £8,000,000 worth of grain to
save the remaining inhabitants from certain death. The country is stripped
absolutely bare of vegetation, and trees for hundreds of miles have been
stripped of their bark. The starving population has commenced consuming
A WORLD IN TURMOIL
For many people around the world, the end of the third decade of the 20th century was
characterized by trauma and disaster. The 1920’s are often referred to as the Roaring
Twenties, the Jazz Age, or the Golden Age because of the economic boom following World
War I. However in October 1929, the Wall Street stock market crash reverberated around
the world, and in a tragic moment transformed the “Golden Age” and the “Roaring
Twenties” into the “Great Depression”.
In a remote part of north-west China, the same decade brought horrifying disasters to the
area. So bad were they that newspapers around the world headlined them on their front
pages:
The Sunday Times, Perth Western Australia 27 January 1929
FAMINE IN CHINA. SHOCKING STORY FROM SUIYUAN.
CANNIBALISM IN KAMA. ("SUNDAY TIMES" SPECIAL.) SHANGHAI.
SATURDAY.
Reports are coming in of distressing conditions at Suiyuan and Kansu. The
Suiyuan people are dying of cold and hunger so rapidly that it is impossible to
effect quick enough burial. Many have been buried in huge pits, while outside
the city of Suiyuan huge heaps of corpses are being devoured by wolves and
dogs.
In Kauen a missionary reports that resulting from the extreme famine
conditions, the people are turning to cannibalism. It is Impossible to cope with
the situation until March, when the roots and grass will reappear.
On 4 March 1929 the Brisbane Courier contained the following article:
2,000,000 DEAD. FAMINE IN KANSU. APPALLING SUFFERING IN
CHINA (AUSTRALIAN PRESS ASSOCIATION) SHANGHAI MARCH 1.
The Iatest reports reveal that more than 1,000,000 persons, almost one
quarter of the population of Kansu Province, have perished as the result of
famine, war ravages, and Moslem massacres in less than a year.
The true conditions within the Province are difficult to obtain, as
communications have been almost severed, and investigators fear to venture
lest their food supplies are filched by the populace. Many half-dead victims
successfully reached neighbouring provinces to relate tales of appalling
suffering. Experts estimate that it will require £8,000,000 worth of grain to
save the remaining inhabitants from certain death. The country is stripped
absolutely bare of vegetation, and trees for hundreds of miles have been
stripped of their bark. The starving population has commenced consuming
