A large number of refugees, fleeing from the famine in the Djerablus districts, have been pouring into Deir es Zor, it is reported here.
The famine has ravaged 14 villages, forcing the peasants to desert them completely. Pastures have been destroyed and a large number of livestock has perished.
Mortality has been high among the farmers as well. In one village alone more than sixty lives were lost. Many Bedouin tribes have sought refuge in Transjordan from the deathly desert cold. In desperation, they have been selling their livestock for a song to buy bread. Starving children were left to perish of hunger in deserted tents.
Some, emboldened by hunger, have sacked the deserted villages, and with what remains of their troops have robbed a number of travelling merchants.
In Transjordan itself, however, conditions are not much better and reports of starvation are widespread. The acute economic situation in Transjordan, moreover, has led many Transjordan sheiks to urge the lease of land to the Jews, believing that Jewish capital invested in Transjordan would bring a measure of prosperity similar to that enjoyed by Palestine.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
