ENG-1953 — Page 26

REVIEW OF THE YEAR

which will in time reprovide for the grim, inflammable, pre- carious slums which now cover hill-slopes denuded of their trees during the Japanese occupation. At the end of 1953, these new settlements accommodated over 40,000 persons in humble but satisfactory conditions, free from the threat of fire and convenient to places of work. The rate of resettlement (40,000 out of 250,000) was not fast enough, and no-one would claim that it was. The problem was, however, complicated by the fact that Government was, in effect, trying to improve the standards of living of one eighth of its population in face of a slightly, but significantly, falling economy. 32% of the total budget was spent on social services alone. By the end of the year, plans had been made to increase the rate of resettlement to perhaps double this figure. On Christmas Night, however, a disastrous fire occurred in one of the largest squatter areas. From the point of view of persons rendered homeless this was unquestionably the worst catastrophe the Colony had ever suffered. The energies of large numbers of public spirited persons were devoted, for the remainder of the Christmas season and many days beyond, to relieving the immediate needs of these wretched homeless people. Contributions in money and in kind poured in to establish a very substantial relief fund for what assumed the proportions of a

of a national disaster. Generous contributions were received from the Governments of the United Kingdom, the United States of America, and China and from the Vatican. The Hong Kong Government at once announced that it would provide free food for the homeless until they could be rehoused (the cost of food alone was nearly £4,000 a day), and sent out mobile relief teams to attend to all those who were in immediate need of help and to collect stray children, the aged and the sick into relief camps. Warm clothing was distributed and emergency sanitary and washing arrangements were made for large numbers who had no alternative to finding such shelter as they could under the verandahs of neighbouring buildings. A vast scheme for the re-housing of the homeless in the devastated area was immedia-

13