Y.W.C.A. IN CHINA

Press, Volume LXXXII, Issue 24899, 12 June 1946, Page 2

Y.W.C.A. IN CHINA

WORK AMID NATION’S 1 i DESPERATE TRIALS ADDRESS BY MISS N. MONCRIEFF An account of living and working conditions in China during the war ‘ was given by Miss Nessie Moncrieff at, a meeting of members of the Young j Women’s Christian Association last evening. Miss Moncrieff has worked with the Y.W.C.A. in China for the last 15 years and for some time held the position of finance secretary for the association there. Miss Moncrieff described the dislocation of industrial and agricultural life which resulted from the Japanese invasion. Many thousands of Chinese moved inland frqm the coastal areas. They could not find enough food on their journey, and in many places the roads were lined with corpses. The schools and universities also . found tlxemselves in a very difficult position, said Miss Moncrieff. Many thousands of students moved westward, and as the Government would not allow schools to be established in the cities, because of the danger of Japanese bombing, the schools had to be set up in isolated areas. This caused an acute accommodation problem and disused buildings and temples had to be utilised to house the students who flocked into these districts.

Many of the students were thousands of miles from their homes and they were filled with a sense of the difficulty of life, said Miss Moncrieff. Workers from the Y.W.C.A. had gone out among these students and their, teachers, and had tried to organise some social life among them. They had also tun combined camps for high school girls and boys, and these had turned out Very Communication difficulties were extreme, Miss Moncrieff said, because almost all railway lines were in 'the hands of the Japanese. When applying for a seat on a ’plane one always knew that at least 200 people were applying for the 20 available seats. Bus travel was very unlike bus travelling in New Zealand. The buses were in the last stages of dilapidation, and the seats were crowded closely together. “I alIways had to ask for the front seat because otherwise I could not sit aown at all,” said the speaker. “The Chinese being shorter, did not mind the seats being crowded together, but then) was no room for New Zealand legs.” “The Japanese blockade of China was very effective indeed, and we were almost completely cut off from the rest of the world.” Miss Moncrieff continued. Aeroplanes attempting to cross the mountains into China sometimes had to fly at a height of 25,000 feet-to escape storms, t and also to get over the “hump.” The weight of material which could be brought in by air was very limited. During this period, Miss Moncrieff received only two newspapers from New Zealand, and both, were more than a year old. They received no books or magazines of any kind until the arrival of the American Afr Force.

Miss Moncrieff also spoke of the inflation problem. “Imagine a twopenny tram ride in Christchurch,” she said. “After three years of inflation this ride would cost you £lB ss. This was the kind of situation the people were facing in China.” Miss Moncrieff urged those present to endeavour to become “internation-ally-minded.” Many of the people in western China, because they could not read, were prejudiced against the people from the east, who had moved inland. They did not know enough to realise that these people were not responsible for the war. However, in New Zealand, where everyone could read, there was no excuse for anyone entertaining prejudices. Before Miss Moncrieff’s address, a demonstration of physical and musical culture was given by members of Mrs E. L. Stonnell’s class. .