not to belittle your job – you are just a bureaucrat. Normally that means you do your job behind the scenes and no one ever notices, except possibly other bureaucrats. From what I saw in that magazine you've done an outstanding job, not only as a bureaucrat, but as a representative ofthe United Nations to the people of Italy. You keep playing your cards right and there'll be no stopping you.'
Christopher accepted the compliment graciously. Decker was too busy smiling to add anything.
'Oh, and speaking of the people of Italy,' Jack continued, 'the article says you're an Italian citizen. Whose idea was that?'
Decker was sure he knew the answer. 'Secretary Milner's,' Christopher answered. 'He recommended it back when I first took over FAO. He thought it would be popular with the Italian people. With the liberalization of citizenship requirements over the past ten years, it only required a ninety day residency before I could apply. I've been an Italian citizen for nearly five years now. It's really just a symbolic thing.'
Jack Redmond nodded approvingly. 'Like I said, there'll be no stopping you.'
'Now, can we please get started on this?' Christopher pleaded.
'Not quite so fast. There's one other thing in the article that Decker might find interesting.' Christopher sat down, folded his hands and looked up at the ceiling. It was useless to try to stop Jack when he was on a roll. 'According to the article, you and the Italian President's daughter are quite an item. Rumors are that marriage may be in your future.'
'What?!' Decker said. 'You and Maria?!'
'No!' Christopher answered quickly. 'They're talking about his oldest daughter, Tina.'
'Wait a second,' Jack interrupted, 'who's Maria?'
'Nobody!' Christopher blurted before Decker could answer and thereby give Jack even more to speculate about. 'Look, there's nothing to that business. Tina and I are just friends. I needed a date for a few political functions and so we went together. That's all there is to it.'
It took a while longer, but the subject finally got around to agricultural quotas. The meeting went on well into the evening and had to be continued on the flight to Pakistan where they were to meet with Secretary-General Hansen and his party.
Chapter 20
Through a Glass Darkly
Wednesday, July 3,2019 – Sahiwai, Pakistan
A dark figure moved quickly along the dry river bed, checking each low-lying area for any sign of water. If he did not find it soon, death would surely overtake him as it had all the others. Up ahead, a tree, still green despite the brown that surrounded it, gave shade to the end of his search: a small pool of water. It was there; he knew it was. He could smell it. Running to it, he put his face down to the water and drank until he was satisfied. He would stay here until the water was gone or hunger drove him on. It was possible that the water might draw some small animal he could eat, but he couldn't wait for food to come to him. He would have to scout out the area and hope for the best.
It was shortly after dawn but the sun already beat down on the dry plain as he emerged from the river bed and peered cautiously through the dry thicket. A motionless form lay about thirty yards away. The week without food and the days without water had dulled his senses or he surely would have noticed it earlier, so close to him. He paused only a moment to examine the area for danger; he was too hungry to expend much caution. As he approached, it became apparent that it was dead. There were two more smaller ones lying nearby.
In the distance, he heard a roar that sounded like a large herd of hoofed animals. It was a long way away but it seemed to be coming toward him. Fear grew as the sound drew near more swiftly than he could imagine possible. Quickly he grabbed one of the legs and tried to drag his meal to the river bed, but his strength was not up to the task. With insane determination born of unbearable hunger he decided to make his stand. Soon the sound was almost upon him and it became clear that it was coming, not from a herd of any sort, but from a single huge bird like none he had ever seen before.
Overhead, the Secretary-General's helicopter slowly approached the famine relief camp, as those on board got a close look at the surrounding conditions. The drought had been devastating. For twenty miles the helicopter had followed a dry river bed, but they saw no more than a few pools of water. Just below, about two miles from the relief camp near one of the pools, they spotted a lone emaciated wild dog looking up at them. It stood over the carcass of a young woman who had died of starvation or thirst before reaching the camp. Nearby lay the bodies of her two small children.
The stark evidence of famine and drought which the Secretary-General's party saw first hand in Pakistan was mirrored by similar devastation in northern India, where wheat rust had severely reduced the annual harvest. In southern India, tropical storms during the monsoon season had driven seawater into many of the already flooded areas to form brackish water, making the land salty and unarable. The latter was a fairly common occurrence in India and all that could be done was to try to grow whatever they could and wait for subsequent monsoons to leach the salt from the land over the next few years.
The helicopter landed in an open area outside the camp, creating a huge dust cloud that blew in the faces of those waiting. Along with the twenty or so cameramen and reporters, the relief camp's director, Dr. Fred Bloomer, waited for the blades to stop before approaching to welcome the Secretary-General and his party. Christopher, the only one on board who knew Dr. Bloomer, made the introductions. 'I'm anxious to get started,' Hansen said as he shook Bloomer's hand.
'I fear you'll find conditions worse than you imagined, Mr. Secretary-General,' Dr. Bloomer said. 'We've had nearly a thousand new arrivals in the last four days. We're just not set up to handle this many people. We've had to severely reduce rations.' To feed the people in the camp, the kitchen operated with a full contingent on a fourteen hour shift throughout the daylight hours. During the night, a skeleton crew was on hand for any who had just reached the camp – a single hour in some cases could make the difference between life and death. Dr. Bloomer's goal was to provide two meals a day for everyone in the camp.
The official purpose of the visit was 'fact finding,' but what Hansen really hoped to accomplish was to build support for the distribution of agricultural resources. He had specific reasons for inviting each of those who accompanied him on this trip. Ambassador Khalid Haider from Pakistan was there because it was his country. The Indian ambassador had been invited because of similar problems in his country and because of the concern that the refugees from Pakistan might begin to spill over into India.
The other members from North America and Europe had been asked to come along because it was their regions that Hansen's plan would ask to give the most for the food distribution effort. Ambassador Howell of Canada, who represented North America on the Security Council, had been ill for several months and was expected to resign soon. In his place was Ambassador Walter Bishop from the United States, the Alternate from North America who hoped to replace the Canadian Ambassador as Primary. Aware of this likelihood, Hansen wanted to take the opportunity to get to know the American better and win his support for the plan. Ambassador Heineman from Germany, who represented Europe on the Security Council, really didn't need to be convinced about the need for food redistribution, but the people of his region did. At Decker's recommendation Hansen had invited Heineman to ensure coverage of the trip by the European press. It was an effective way of making sure that the people of Europe learned of the urgency and magnitude of the need.
The team started with a tour of the camp and what was left of the surrounding villages. In the afternoon Christopher briefed the ambassadors on the findings from a study by the Food and Agriculture Organization on projections for future years. Later in the afternoon, in what was mainly a photo opportunity, the team members worked in the serving line for the evening meal. The team spent the night at the camp under nearly the same conditions as the camp's inhabitants.
The next morning the Secretary-General and the ambassadors planned to fly by helicopter back to Lahore, Pakistan, near the Indian border, while Decker and Christopher remained at the camp to represent Hansen to a second team from the U.N. who would be arriving in the late afternoon.
