Sir, - The Famine Diary of June 1st recorded the following event: "May 31st, 1847: Fr Whyte has just returned from administering the last rites to a man aged 40 dying in his cabin. His wife was boiling weeds for their three children. `We were getting the relief meal, we were struck off and now we only these weeds to eat.' `Can it be possible that man created in the image of the living God is forced to live on weeds?'
On Friday, May 30th, The Irish Times reported Ms Kathi Zellweger of Caritas, Hong Kong, describing the scene in North Korea: "to supplement their meagre diet people were mixing their rice into a soup containing any other ingredients they could find roots, herbs, tree, bark, even sawdust."
The similarities between these two reports, 150 years apart, are striking. In this, the 150th anniversary year of "Black Forty seven" it is extraordinary to think that the same famine scenario is being played out on the other side of the world.
Surely there could be no better commemoration of our famine dead than that the people of Ireland would respond to this tragedy being faced by the people of North Korea at this time. In the coming weeks I intend to travel to that suffering country. The people I meet will want to know what I have brought with me to help them. Kind words and solidarity will not be enough in the face of starvation.
It is not usual to appeal for support through the letters page of your newspaper. However, on this one occasion could I ask that as a living memorial to our own famine dead your readers might support Trocaire's famine appeal for North Korea. Our target is to provide food for 1,000 people for three months. It will be a small contribution but significant if we can achieve it. Yours, etc.,
Director
Trocaire,
Blackrock,
Co Dublin.