government is fighting seperatist guerrillas seeking autonomy in its northernmost provinces, Eritrea and Tigre. These provinces are also racked by drought and famine. But because of the civil war, the government is reluctant to send relief. Why battle your enemy when you can starve them? Government planes have been seen bombing refugee lines in the north, claiming guerrilla infiltration. Furthermore, in the Fall of 1984, Ethiopia spent $150 million to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the communist revolution. This was an outrage at the time when people were starving only 40 miles from the capitol. Before the revolution of 1974, the United States backed the regime of Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selasie, and equipped his army to fight the Eritrean and Tigrean seperatists. Somalia, Ethiopia’s traditional enemy to the west, was (206) 385-6122 EMPTY BOWL 714 WASHINGTON AT QUINCY PORT TOWNSEND, WA backed by the Russians, who also supported the Eritreans and Tigreans. In 1974 these roles were all reversed with the overthrow of Haile Selasie. The United States was thrown out of Ethiopia and Somalia attacked, trying to recapture land they’d lost to Ethiopia in 1891. The Russians refused to back this campaign and transferred their support to the Ethiopians, leaving Somalia no choice but to ally itself with the United States. Somalia was initially able to recover its territory, but then was defeated and pushed back across its original borders (along with 750,000 refugees) by the combined forces of Ethiopia and Cuba. The United States has since allied itself with Eritrea and Tigre as well. In this scramble for political power and shifting international alliances, the common people are starving and dying. Originally the United States was hesiQuest Suites Overnight Accommodations • 13 SUITES FURNISHED IN OLD VICTORIAN STYLING • PHONE & COLOR TV IN ALL SUITES • CONTINENTAL BREAKFAST • EACH SUITE COMPLETE WITH KITCHEN & BATH. • CHILDREN ACCEPTED. • ALL MAJOR CREDIT CARDS ACCEPTED tant to provide relief to Ethiopia because it was communist. Now the only help given is food. No transportation or other assistance is allowed. Yet it is doubtful the starving people have ever heard of Marxisxm or capitalism. Politics should not interfere with saving human life. Other problems have plagued these emerging African nations. Methods of farming that work in North America or Europe don’t always succeed there. I heard of one instance when some “agricultural experts” saw a field used tor growing grain with many rocks in it. They immediately suggested clearing the earth so more grain would grow. This the people did. Only later was it discovered that the rocks keep moisture in the ground and the plants grow up around them. Without the rocks the fields just dried out. On December 26th our filming was offi ^he M lf Shell (T^aurant In the historic Lewis Building • 630 Water Street Lunch llam-3pm Dinner Wed-Mon 5pm-l 1pm • Appetizers till Midnight Continental Cuisine Unique, Relaxing Atmosphere LIVE DINNER MUSIC EVERY NIGHT Private Parties BED & BREAKFAST AVAILABLE (206) 385-5954 -------------------- cially over. I spent an additional two weeks in Kenya before returning home. After spending more than two months in Africa, the huge disparity that divides our luxurious culture from their depressed one became more than obvious. It is hard for people to realize how much suffering is taking place in Africa at this very moment and how much more assistance is needed for these unfortunate people. Even though the world, and the American people in particular, have been very generous, only the bare minimum of relief has been received. And the bare minimum is not enough. I hope that this terrible situation is not destined to be noticed briefly and then forgotten. I cannot stress enough that more help is needed for the starving in Africa. Nicholas Blair is a San Franciscobased freelance photographer. This is his first contribution to CSQ. A Pleasure you will repeat. - PORT TOWNSEND, WA THE RAINSHADOW by Mike O’Connor Mike O’Connor uses images “bright as newly sharpened axes” to evoke the life of treeplanters, handloggers, truck-drivers and trail-hands who work on the edge of wilderness in the Pacific Northwest. The poems are meditations, work-songs and narratives; vernacular deeply rooted in place, reverent towards the natural order as revealed in forested watersheds. 104 pp. 6x9”, handsewn, $6.95 ISBN 0-912887-03-6 OXHERDING PICTURES & VERSES translated by Red Pine Ten poems, their accompanying drawing and parallel Chinese text attributed to P’u Ming in 1609. They narrate the progress of a herdsboy and his ox, and form an allegory for the young Chinese monk training his passions until they disappear and he is free. 28 pp. ink drawings, 53Ax8VC, handsewn, $5 ISNB 0-912887-02-8 DREAMS OF THE HAND by Susan Goldwitz FROM TEMPLE WALLS: The Collected Poems of Big Shield & Pickup translated by Red Pine Poems in English with facing Chinese text by two Buddhist monks who wrote during on the second half of the 8th century in China. Printed on hand-made paper with Chinese string binding. 46 pp. ink drawings, 53/4x81/4", handsewn, $6 ISNB 0-912887-10-9 I This quiet precise collection of poems is Susan Goldwitz's first book. The direct connection of .places Northeast and Northwest, has accomplished appealingly smooth transitions of time and detail. Her. fondness for friends and for the mythic and literary figures she draws upon, make this a tender gift to her readers. 67 pp. 6x9”, $6 ISBN 0-912887-12-5 HERE AMONG THE SACRIFICED by Finn Wilcox, photographs by Steve R. Johnson I FROM TBMl’l.H WAU.S ruLLOLl-lcmi IWMSO) inoMiiuut. n<.KVi' “With a finely proportioned blend of poetry and prose, Finn Wilcox illuminates the romance and reality of America's hobos, Migrant ghosts of the freightyards, free spirits, shattered spirits, indomitable and damned, still rattling, thorugh the cold boxcar night.” Jim Dodge, author of FLIP 72 pp. b/w photos, 6 x 9”, smyth sewn, $7.50 ISNB 0-912887-06-0 * $ & DESIRE by Jody Aliesan Jody Aliesan’s third book of poems, a collection spanning 1978-1982, continues to explore her concern for the survival of the planet in the nuclear age and displays with gentle humor her passion for life, which "allows and accepts mystery." A Braille edition is available at the Washington Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped. 80 pp. full color cover by Linda Okazaki, 6 x 9", $7 ISBN 0-912887-11-7 A Complete List of Titles available EMPTY BOWL * PO Box 646, PORT TOWNSEND, WA 9836 Clinton St. Quarterly 31
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