Plague Diary

The red van stopped outside the front gate where straw was laid across it and the post box hung beside a footbath of disinfectant, a spray and a broom.

'Good to see you', called the postman. 'You're the first person I've set eyes on round these parts today!' No wonder he was early: no chats at each door, no going in for cups of coffee.

For once it was not raining. Walking back to the house I saw the meadows and trees and woods leading down to the river and the long slopes of moorland beyond, drenched in early spring sunshine. But when I looked out later all had changed. A huge black cloud straddled the hill opposite and was moving inexorably across the landscape, engulfing everything in its dark shadow. And on the wind came the unmistakable stench declaring that less than three miles away the grim pyre of hundreds of slaughtered cattle and sheep had at last, after intolerable delays, been lit.

Who will be next?

That was several weeks ago, but you don't forget. Since then there have been more such fires near here, and very many more further away with still more to come, to say nothing of the lorry loads of carcasses being transported to other parts. For this is Dartmoor, and beyond us tragedy has struck and spread relentlessly across large areas of the county. The Psalmist gives only too vivid a description of the feeling many have had lately of being caught up in 'the deadly pestilence . . . the pestilence that stalks in the darkness' - that comes upon people unawares and fills them with a sense of helplessness: Who will be next? What will we find today?

In this age of media coverage you can hardly have escaped the daily, sometimes hourly, news bulletins, the sickening pictures and accounts of what has been happening on the farms. All this has spawned endless discussion, criticism and opinions of every political flavour. The issues raised cannot be buried with the carcasses. They will go on long after the media's attention has focused on another crisis or calamity.

So is there anything to be added here to what has already been widely reported? I believe there is.

Breeding depression

On a farm where there is a confirmed case of foot-and-mouth you cannot move away. You are there.

Even people on farms within restricted perimeters have their movements and activities limited. Most social and community events are cancelled anyway. You may drive along the road (not on tracks or bridleways) to your local village or town, but they are half deserted. In some parishes there are no church services. Shops, pubs, businesses, B&Bs and workers of all sorts are affected by the farming disaster, and any talk is about the overwhelming crisis, the conflicting advice and orders received.

Back at the farms there is underlying anxiety and uncertainty about what, if any, preparations to make. Should the children be sent away? Should mother go with them, or stay with her husband who needs her? Should she still go to work and risk not being allowed home if the worst happens? For some, sadly, all these worries are overruled when a grim diagnosis is made and confirmed.

Thus, isolated, cooped up on the farm, their animals collected nearby, there is no let up for the family, as they wait. It's heartbreak for many as they lose all their livestock they may have bred for years, and cared for, and known. It's a tearing apart of their whole lives, their family, their home, and their roots which go back for generations. And then, after the slaughter and endless delays, only the carcasses are left lying, only the emptiness and silence of the fields remain. What a terrible breeding ground for depression, for worrying hopelessly about immediate needs, and a sense of blankness ahead! This has been, and still is, the living reality behind the pictures and the statistics.

The scale of the crisis, the unpreparedness for the rapid spread of the disease and failure to take immediate effective action means that many hard questions are being asked and have to be answered. Issues have to be addressed about extensive dealing and movement of animals, illegal imports of foreign meat and the power of supermarkets in our society. There needs to be far more clarification of the government's Agricultural Policy and its relationship with EU policies, global economic policies and financial markets. These are important and need to be fully examined and debated. But in the meantime the disease itself has not been eradicated and everyone living and working anywhere near affected areas, in whatever trade, faces difficult months ahead.

No food

For the farmers, who still have their farms and livestock in the clear, springtime, however wayward, brings special problems this year. Animals have finished their winter forage and need fresh grass. But restrictions prevent them being moved, even short distances, to summer pastures. Licences for movement are often unobtainable. The grass where they are will soon run out, and anyhow, what is to be done about making hay and silage for next winter's food? There are sheep too, who have been wintering in the softer climate of South Devon, and have not been allowed to return for lambing at their Dartmoor farms. Some of these flocks, left with no food where they are, have had to be killed, and their new-born lambs too.

With little movement allowed and no markets open, there is no income, only the never ending bills and worries with rent, mortgage, overdraft, household and animal expenses. There has been magnificent response from the public and huge sums of money have been donated to charities that have close links with all parts of the agricultural industry and are able to relieve urgent cases of hardship. Clergy, ministers and many caring people have been working hard to keep in touch with isolated people and offer help where they can. But there is much to be resolved before the way forward for many Devon farmers becomes clear.

God's firm hold

We have had Christian friends from various parts of Britain phoning to ask if there is anything they can do to help beyond sending donations to charities. I think I can only answer this out of my experience as a Christian living and sharing in these last weeks. For me the most profound effect of the sudden onrush of an unseen, irresistible power, that struck without warning and has stalked silently ever since, has not been the overturning of all ordinary, everyday life and the consequent uncertainties about everything. Far more profound has been the absolute certainty with which the sure truths of God's Word, which, I believe, have stood out, a mighty, impregnable rock surrounded by sinking sand. We can all cheerfully sing about this, but when trouble comes then we know their truth even more deeply and with greater assurance, as the promises of God meet us in every need. In fact, the tangled complexities of life become wonderfully simplified. What if churches are closed, and we are isolated, when we know that we are never beyond God's sight and He hears even the faintest cry from the hearts of His people. He makes no promise to remove us from trouble (though He may do so), but whatever happens and wherever we are, we have the Lord's promise that He will be with us and will never let us go. He knows our weakness, and we haven't to try to hang on helplessly to Him, but to know His firm hold on us, giving us all needed strength, endurance, a quiet mind and above all, His peace and His known presence.

Pray earnestly

With such provision and so much to be grateful for, there is only one answer I can give to what we may best do and give for those most in need at the present time. It is to pray earnestly to Him 'who is able', that though the pestilence spreads its deadly message, the gospel of Christ may spread in the irresistible power of the Holy Spirit, bringing new life and hope to all who will turn and put their whole trust in the Lord, who bids them 'come to Me'.

In the wider perspective of national issues which this present crisis has brought to light, like opening an ugly can of beans, does not the same priority apply for Christians to put aside the very many distractions of modern life, with their blinding materialism and greed and overt temptations to ignore God, and for them to put first things first?

Isaiah tells us: 'Seek the Lord while He may be found, call on Him while He is near.'

Elizabeth Braund
East Shallowford Farm, Devon

© Evangelicals Now - May 2001
Please consider supporting this ministry by subscribing.