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Starving N. Korea resorts to grass
- Subject: Starving N. Korea resorts to grass
- From: suriya@xxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Tue, 10 Nov 1998 21:25:00
Subject: Starving N. Korea resorts to grass, acorn additives
Starving N. Korea resorts to
grass, acorn additives
Red Cross: Famine has spread to government officials
In this story:
'Cattle food' making people sick
Floods and drought
At a hospital, beds for 10, but only
food for 3
Related stories and sites
November 10, 1998
Web posted at: 12:59 p.m. EST (1759 GMT)
SINUIJU CITY, North Korea (CNN) --
The impact of North Korea's famine, soon entering its fourth
winter, has now
spread to government officials who stretch their meager food
rations by mixing
them with grass and acorns, senior Red Cross officials said
Tuesday.
"The situation is critical," said Astrid Heiberg, president
of the International
Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. She and
other Red Cross
officials returned to Beijing after spending several days
inspecting the aid
agency's operations in North Korea.
They described elderly North Koreans looking
swollen, a sign of long-term hunger, and a
generation of children whose growth has been
stunted, causing 10-year-olds to look like
6-year-olds and 5-year-olds like 2-year-olds.
"A generation of North Korean children is
scarred for life, malnourishment is common and
we need to continue to mobilize resources to
prevent an even greater catastrophe," Heiberg
told reporters.
Despite the enormous scope of the problem, the isolated
communist country
shows little willingness to adopt far-reaching changes to
revive its ruined
economy, said Margareta Wahlstrom, the Red Cross'
undersecretary of disaster
relief.
'Cattle food' making people sick
Everywhere, from bakeries to
government
ministries, people were being
served
noodles and biscuits made from
soybeans
mixed with acorns, grass and
herbs,
Heiberg said. She likened the
additives to
"cattle food," and noted that
doctors
reported a rise in stomach
illnesses from
the mixtures.
Some of the substitute food
mixtures
contain only
50-percent-digestible grains,
Heiberg said. "You would not
give them
to your children or your elderly mother, knowing she would
get cramps in her
stomach and diarrhea."
Heiberg urged the international community to continue its
fight against starvation
in North Korea, saying even well-heeled officials were
underfed.
"This was not something done in just one place; there were
factories that
produced it," she said, emphasizing the widespread lack of
food throughout all
levels of society.
Floods and drought
Floods and drought since 1995 have
devastated North Korean agriculture. Its
industry has ground to a halt, along with
international trade, leaving the once
fiercely self-reliant country dependent on
handouts from other countries.
With few goods or money to barter or
buy supplies from other nations, the
country lacks sufficient fertilizer for crops,
and fuel and parts for machinery.
International aid agencies expect the grim situation to
continue, because the
1998 grain harvest is likely to reach just 3 million tons,
or two-thirds of North
Korea's minimum need.
About 4.5 million tons of grain are required to feed North
Korea's 20 million
people, according to the United Nations' World Food Program.
At a hospital, beds for 10 but only food for 3
Heiberg said the food shortage has led to a breakdown of the
country's health
care system. Hospitals are unable to feed patients, many of
whom suffer from
stomach ailments because of the coarse food substitutes.
"What impressed me the most was a small hospital in the
countryside that had 10
beds, but only food for three patients," she said.
"So they only had three patients in the hospital even if the
demand in the area
was great. This again underlines the need for food."
Heiberg said the Red Cross will nearly double its aid to
health institutions in the
country next year to $9 million. The money will be used for
basic medicines,
heating coal and essential repairs to hospital buildings.
The federation also was considering plans to bring food to
the hospitals it was
assisting.
Beijing Bureau Chief Rebecca MacKinnon, the Associated
Press and
Reuters contributed to this report.
Related stories:
Relief agency leaving N. Korea, saying aid used for
political agenda -
September 30, 1998
Famine may have killed 2 million in North Korea -
August 19, 1998
U.N.: North Korea's food crisis far from over - June
14, 1998
CNN gets rare glimpse of North Korea - August 13, 1997
U.S. delegation: North Korea too secretive about food
aid - August 12, 1997
Scores of children dead in North Korea famine - April
8, 1997
U.N. to double food aid to North Korea - March 18, 1997
North Korea at risk of famine - May 14, 1996
Related sites:
Note: Pages will open in a new browser window
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Interaction: North Korea Famine
North Korea Famine Emergency Response News (UMCOR)
World Vision U.S. - The Silent Famine in North Korea
Hunger Relief Fund for North Korea
Food Production: North Korea's Top Priority in 1997
ReliefWeb: North Korea's Prospects for National
Rehabilitation
Things Korean
PBS Online Forum: Korea
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