Kaimakam accepted it that they were to remain. He has assured me
that he will do his best to save —— as _our teacher_. But this
morning —— was demanded by the police and taken from our yard to be
sent _at once_. You may believe it, he was fairly wild. Said he
_couldn’t_ go at once, hadn’t change of clothes, and he would write
and ask for a few days’ time. I signed his petition, and a boy ran
to the Government while a policeman led him to the station. George
gave him money and collected three blankets for him. The Kaimakam
sent me greetings and the message that he would attend to the
matter. At the station —— was arrested for coming so late, and thus
attempting to be left behind. The train was still there but full,
and he was rushed back and put into prison! I suspected that the
Kaimakam was taking this way to secure delay, and I still think so.
Hence I made no enquiries, intending to do so after the train pulled
out. Some time later, —— returned all out of breath, saying he could
stay until Wednesday, and he drove up to the vineyard to give his
wife details. She knew nothing of the proceedings of the day.
Yesterday, after service, a nice looking middle-aged woman came to
me with her arm in a sling and said it pained her, and could I do
something for it. I took her upstairs and called Nurse ——, and we
found a stab in her shoulder and dressed it. She said she and her
son were stabbed by bashi bazouks on the way. To stop the bleeding
they had stuffed in earth, and this and the blood had caked well.
I took Nurse —— to see some other patients. The old woman who
usually raises herself and asks for water seemed unconscious, and
didn’t answer even when I said “cold water” and put a few drops on
her head. She was alive but getting cold, and died in the night.
This morning the man in the corner was also released. He came only
two days ago, and was in a _most wretched_ condition.
The other night I found the woman with short grey hair just able to
reach up and call: “Water, water.” An Armenian woman lifted her head
and she drank, but fell back at once, and we found her hands icy
cold, and saw she was dying. We straightened out her rags, and got
an old pillow under her head. She was soon released.
This morning Nurse —— and I started out again for the churchyard.
Sitting opposite the gate was the fat police commissioner who is so
cruel. He called out to “Madame ——.” I stopped and explained that we
were only looking after a woman who had met with an accident on the
road. But I was told decidedly that I was not to go into that yard
again; that the Government would send _food!_ _doctors!_
_medicines!_ and _foreigners_ were not to help or interfere. So I
returned.
So many young women and pretty girls come to me here and in the
street, asking with tears what is to become of them.
_7th September._
The woman and her son with sword-cuts came this afternoon. No one
was around, so the gate-man let them in and I dressed the wounds.
Both _doing well_. I gave new bandages and other needfuls, so that,
if they could not come again, or were driven on the road to-morrow,
they could care for the wound. They were _most grateful_. They are
Protestants, and intelligent; were robbed of money. I gave them a
little for food—shall give more if I see them again. AC. got
through; no trouble about keeping boys in the yard now. Little
fellows run for all. Massacre near Yozgad; the air heavy with the
odour of unburied bodies. Some of our travellers came by them. Dr.
BB.[159] and the hospital still in X. when the exiles left, but
things in a bad way generally. AD.’s postcard tells of AC. BM. seems
quiet at present.
_—th September._
The woman I was forbidden to nurse got over here yesterday leaning
on a friend and by help of a cane. George was here, and we gave the
heel a good dressing but couldn’t get all the broken bone out. The
flesh is getting clean. The poor old woman cried and said she was
hungry. I fed her and gave her a little money. She hopes to get here
again to-morrow, but she suffers excruciating pain when her foot
rests on the ground.
There will soon be a lull, I suppose, as the town is getting well
emptied, not a Christian butcher left, and only two Moslems.
_8th September._
The pot is boiling _harder_ and _harder_. Another special train
takes nearly all left of B. Armenians. —— and his family were all
hustled off this morning as “a dangerous man who had tried to help
exiles.” Talas people are here now (came last night) and tell sad
tales.
_10th September._
R. feels helpless and it looks that way now, as things get worse
every day. The powers that be have their own plans and listen to no
one. On all sides one hears a wail of distress. Every man, woman,
and child has come from ——, leaving most of their possessions
behind. Even their preacher is here, and is ordered to “move on.” I
have “cabbaged” the three little fellows who were our pupils, and am
keeping them here, as they were of our last year’s boarders. No one
will look them up. Two little orphan boys (new ones) were offered
from these, but I couldn’t take them. They too must “move on.”
To what straits all are now reduced! The woman with a broken heel
was here this morning and I took two more pieces of crushed bone
from it. She bears it well. I think the loose pieces are about all
out now. I did it up and made a sort of burlap outer covering as a
protection. I gave her some food, for she cried and said she was
dying of hunger. Only the helpless (and a few others) are now left
here. The —— people are at the station. Crowds of people have been
shipped off. AE. people are coming now. Poor —— is still in prison.
_11th September._
We are nearly crazy with difficulties. I hardly think AJ. will be
sent, but _no one knows_. AF. is here from BV., and reports that
some five days ago a telegram was received from some German “sefer”
ordering that _every Armenian should stay where he was_, whether at
home or abroad. In BV. the Government hurried people off all the
more, but now the order has leaked out, and probably is known here,
as there was a lull to-day, and the Vali passed last evening to ——
and saw the Kaimakam en route. —— and —— are to leave on Thursday.
Circassians are to take the houses of the common people, and
officers those of the wealthier ones.
—— reports that Marash Protestants were called back—almost compelled
to come. In Adana it looks as if the deportation were an alternative
for a massacre. Exiles are not wanted anywhere.
_12th September._
No Christians left in Bor. Zeitoun was burned by the runaways and
Fundadjak is in ruins; also Deré Keui and another neighbouring
village.
_14th September._
BV. is being emptied of _every_ Armenian, and the foreigners fear
they also may have to go, if there is an invasion on the coast. I do
not think conditions are as bad here.
_17th September._
Dr. —— says we must not think of Red Cross work as the Society _has
not the funds_, but must let the Turks run things on their own
responsibility. The Turks expect an invasion and are sending their
families away.
Some rich Samsoun people here to-day. —— says that the three
families among whom she is are to go to Konia.
A stranger priest died here yesterday from exhaustion and
heart-break, etc.
_19th September._
No exiles to-day; there seems to be a calm for a few hours.
_—th October._
Life is getting fuller and fuller of problems here. Affairs here are
in a very critical condition.
-----
Footnote 154:
Mother of the “Miss B.” of Sect. I., Doc. 8
Footnote 155:
18s.
Footnote 156:
3s. 2d.
Footnote 157:
The “Miss A.” of Sect. XI.
Footnote 158:
_Note by Dr. Rockwell_:—This letter, by a man, is inserted here to
reflect the situation from a man’s point of view.
Footnote 159:
See Section XI.
115. AE., A TOWN ON THE RAILWAY: SERIES OF REPORTS FROM A FOREIGN
RESIDENT AT AE., COMMUNICATED BY THE AMERICAN COMMITTEE FOR
ARMENIAN AND SYRIAN RELIEF.
(=a=) =Undated Report.=
Two days ago an order was received here for the immediate
deportation of the entire Armenian population of AE., consisting of
about 1,800 souls. Yesterday nearly 300 persons were sent to ——, and
to-day many more have been ordered to be ready to leave. In
anticipation of their deportation, the Armenians are selling all
their non-portable goods for a song. Sewing machines sold for 1½
medjidias, iron bedsteads for a few piastres, and so on. The
Government is allowing each person only a few metaliks per day for
food, and transports only a little baggage. The present destination
of the deported persons is ——. Apart from their actual distress and
misery, the terror of these people is indescribable. Stories of the
massacre of thousands of Armenians in the interior now reach here.
Some of these appear to be well founded, but I presume that you have
been fully informed of what has transpired in the regions of ——.
(=b=) =Report dated 11th September, 1915.=
Thousands of additional Armenians from the North have arrived here
and been transported to the Aleppo region. Six thousand have been
deported from the city of Adana, without the exception supposedly
given to Catholics and Protestants. The congestion of people at the
various stations en route caused terrible suffering and hardships to
the refugees. The authorities no longer appear disposed to grant
exceptions in favour of teachers and pupils of American schools,
and, despite intervention, St. Paul’s College at Tarsus has been
suffering in this respect.
(=c=) =Report dated 22nd September, 1915.=
_This report opens with the mention of a fear among the Ottoman
authorities at AE, that the Allies were about to make a landing
there, and proceeds as follows_:—
Naturally one of the first results of the above fear was a general
rush to complete the deportation of Armenians from Adana. The number
of Armenians sent from that city now totals about 25,000, and this
is in addition to the many thousands coming from the North that pass
through. The misery, suffering and hardships endured by these people
are indescribable. Deaths are innumerable. Hundreds of children are
constantly being abandoned by their parents, who cannot bear to see
them suffer or who have not the strength to look after them. Many
are left by the roadside, and cases of their being thrown from
railway-carriage windows are reported. Petty cruelties by police and
officials increase the sad plight of these people. Conditions in
this vicinity are reported to be moderate in comparison with those
between Osmania and Aleppo, where the congested masses and lack of
facilities render the problem of feeding and transporting these
people an impossible task. Protestant and Catholic Armenians
continue to be deported, and the same measures are also applied in
towns like Hadjin.
(=d=) =Memorandum dated 27th September, 1915.=
I submit herewith the following general details to supplement my
various reports concerning the deportation of Armenians and the
circumstances responsible for the sufferings and the deaths of many
of these people.
(1) The lack of proper transportation facilities is the most
important factor in causing this misery. The long distances not
covered by railways, between Tarsus and Bozanti on the north and
Osmania and Radjou (near Aleppo) to the south, and the lack of carts
and carriages, compel many to go afoot. The carts are of the most
primitive kind and are usually loaded with the effects of the
travellers, on which they must find places to sit. Only those with
ample means can afford the luxury of carriages, which for from two
to four days’ journey cost from £6 to £20 sterling. In addition to
the payment of their ‘fare,’ the travellers are frequently ‘held up’
for more money by the driver or accompanying gendarme; otherwise
they are obliged to descend and walk. While in general the
Government furnishes carts, these are far from sufficient, and the
railway transportation has in most cases had to be paid for by the
people themselves. The local section of the Baghdad Railway was a
great convenience, nevertheless, in furthering the march of the
exiles, but unfortunately of late its services have been
considerably required for military transport purposes, and the
Armenians have consequently had to find other means of conveyance or
else to walk.
(2) While formerly cases of violence to Armenians were rare in this
district, of late there have been flagrant cases of highway robbery,
while reports of violations of women and girls are more numerous and
apparently well founded. Forced conversions, which were formerly
only reported from the interior, are now taking place here. Thus in
Adana the many Armenian orphan girls whose parents were killed in
the massacres of 1909 were told either to leave or become Moslems. A
small number had the courage to leave, and were without any shelter
or refuge. I had advised the American missionaries not to take in
any too great number of outsiders into their institution, as they
would thereby jeopardise their present inmates. Miss K., however,
secured the consent of the authorities to place these girls in
private homes, which she found for them after much difficulty. The
work of the German mission at Harounia on behalf of Armenian girls
must also be commended in this connection, and the benevolent
attitude of His Excellency the Governor General towards
girls’-schools must also be pointed out, with the hope that the same
will continue.
(3) No attempt has been made of late to solve adequately the problem
of feeding the Armenian exiles. This is true both of the stations
along the route of deportation and in the larger cities. Thus at
Osmania, where for the past few weeks there have always been from
forty to sixty thousand people, the food supply is scarcely enough
for one-third of that number, so that all are either on short
rations or without any food at all. This is responsible for the
illness which prevails and the numerous deaths which are reported.
This it is which compels mothers to abandon their children, whom
they cannot bear to see suffer or are too weak to carry along.
Apart from the general distress brought upon the persons deported,
the effect of the deportation measures is becoming more and more
apparent on the economic situation of this province. The great
majority of the stores and bazaars are shut, and it is difficult to
purchase one’s daily requirements. Most of the merchandise belonging
to Armenian merchants is in sealed stores. The creditors of Armenian
merchants were in most cases able to secure the value of their
outstanding credits through taking goods in payment. As the greater
part of the business of this district in most lines was in the hands
of Armenians, the consequences of their deportation are only too
apparent for the future of the Adana Province.
(=e=) =Report dated 30th October, 1915.=
The stream of deported Armenians from the north continues unabated.
Recent arrivals were in a terribly wretched condition, and their
sufferings from insufficient food and raiment are indescribable. The
police and other officials also prohibit their receiving assistance,
which makes it evident that slow death is the ultimate fate of the
majority.
Three rabid members of the Union and Progress Committee of Adana
were expelled from that city because of the manner in which they
were hounding the Armenians out of the city. It is stated that they
even planned incendiary measures against Armenian houses and
buildings, and among others reported to have been endangered was
that of the American Mission. At the request of the missionaries, I
directed the attention of the authorities to the matter.
The new law concerning the real estate and personal property of
deported persons is being carried out in a manner which, I fear,
will leave little if anything for the Armenians. Their houses are
being inhabited by mouhadjirs, officials, etc., at ridiculously low
rents. The goods of deported merchants are being taken possession of
by commissions designated for this purpose, and abuses of all kinds
are reported. The President of the Commission, Ali Seidi Bey, was
recently removed—some say because he opposed the manner in which
these measures were being applied.
Baron Oppenheim, who has been with Djemal Pasha, passed through here
recently on his way to Constantinople. German reading-rooms, where
all manner of literature in favour of the German cause is displayed
and distributed, have been established in AE. and Adana. The Baron
is their principal supporter. The German school in Adana was also
re-opened recently with great éclat. The personal relations between
the American missionaries and their German co-workers in this
province are of the most cordial nature.
(=f=) =Report dated 4th November, 1915.=
The stream of deported Armenians from Anatolia to Syria continues.
In enumerating the various distressing elements connected with this
movement, I perhaps failed to point out the terribly insanitary
conditions that prevail in the vicinity of the camps or stations
near Tarsus and Osmania. These result in part from their overcrowded
state, but largely also from the imperfect burial of the corpses of
the victims of starvation and disease. The mortality among the
deported is daily increasing in percentage, and, when the rains set
in, the toll will be frightful. The feeding problem is completely
neglected, and will become worse in the future, as even the regular
population is beginning to suffer because of a scarcity of wheat.
The crop this year was only one-half the normal yield, and there
were enormous shipments to Constantinople for the army....
(=g=) =Report dated 6th November, 1915.=
An order has been received by the authorities to stop further
deportations of Armenians. This, however, refers only to the few
thousand natives of the towns of AE., B., and Adana, who have
hitherto escaped deportation. On the other hand, the many thousands
in the camp near B. were ordered to be sent away to make room for
others coming from the north. An important Imperial Commissioner has
also arrived to investigate the abuses of local officials regarding
the taking of the personal property of the deported Armenians.
His Excellency Von der Goltz Pasha arrived at B. to-day en route for
Aleppo, where he is to make his headquarters, according to reliable
reports.
116. THE TAURUS AND AMANUS PASSES: EXTRACTS FROM A LETTER, DATED
ALEPPO, 5th NOVEMBER, 1915, FROM DR. L., A FOREIGN RESIDENT IN
TURKEY, TO MR. N. AT CONSTANTINOPLE; COMMUNICATED BY THE
AMERICAN COMMITTEE FOR ARMENIAN AND SYRIAN RELIEF.
As I telegraphed to you from Adana, I had an uneventful journey. I
felt that I could not give a whole week to Konia; no one met me at
the train, and I did not have time to go up to the city. Very large
numbers of Armenians on the road, suffering hunger, nakedness and
cold. Very many of them very old or very young, or delicate women on
foot, carrying burdens, or children, etc., etc. I saw Miss M. and
left £100 (Turkish) with her. She can use it for the refugees en
route between Osmania and Entilli. Aleppo is the great centre from
which to do relief work, and the need is beyond estimate. The
150,000 or more refugees will, I suppose, pass on through here; they
are now on the road between Konia and Aleppo. There are large
numbers in the city now, and large numbers within reach from here.
Trustworthy native friends are able to use considerable sums—in
small amounts. The Katholikos is being sent from here to
Jerusalem....
There is, unfortunately, no way to reach effectively the many
thousands en route—10,000 between Bozanti and Tarsus; 20,000 at
Tarsus; 40,000 between Osmania and Islohia (which is now the head of
the rail); and 40,000 to 50,000 at Kotmo. I saw Djemal Pasha this
morning about our teachers at Aintab. He seems friendly, and told me
to ascertain whether any order had been sent from the Ministry of
the Interior and the Vali of Aleppo. I will let you know if anything
comes of it.
P.S.—Typhus has broken out here.
117. THE AMANUS PASSES: STATEMENTS BY TWO SWISS RESIDENTS IN TURKEY;
COMMUNICATED BY THE AMERICAN COMMITTEE FOR ARMENIAN AND SYRIAN
RELIEF.
(=a=) =Report by Fräulein M., dated 16th November, 1915.=
I have just returned from a ride on horseback through the
Baghtché-Osmania plain, where thousands of exiles are lying out in
the fields and on the roads, without any shelter and completely at
the mercy of all manner of brigands. Last night, about 12 o’clock, a
little camp was suddenly attacked. There were about 50 to 60 persons
in it. I found men and women badly wounded—bodies slashed open,
broken skulls and terrible knife-wounds. Fortunately I was provided
with clothes, so I could change their blood-soaked things and then
bring them to the next inn, where they were nursed. Many of them
were so much exhausted from the enormous loss of blood that they
died, I fear, in the meantime. In another camp we found thirty or
forty thousand Armenians. I was able to distribute bread among them.
Desperate and half-starved, they fell upon it; several times I was
almost pulled down off my horse. A number of corpses were lying
about unburied, and it was only by bribing the gendarmes that we
could induce them to allow their burial. Mostly, the Armenians are
not allowed to perform the last offices of love for their relatives.
Dreadful epidemics of typhoid-fever broke out everywhere; there was
a victim of it practically in every third tent. Nearly everything
had to be transported on foot; men, women and children carried their
few belongings on their backs. I often saw them break down under
their burden, but the soldiers kept on driving them forward with the
butt-ends of their rifles, even sometimes with their bayonets. I
have dressed bleeding wounds on the bodies of women that had been
caused by these bayonet thrusts. Many children had lost their
parents and were now without any support. Three hours’ distance from
Osmania two dying men were lying absolutely alone in the fields.
They had been here for days without food or even a drop of water,
after their companions had continued their march. They had grown as
thin as skeletons, and only their heavy breathing showed that there
was still life in them. Unburied women and children were lying in
the ditches. The Turkish officials in Osmania were very obliging; I
succeeded in obtaining many concessions from them, and many
hardships were remedied. I obtained carriages to pick up the dying
people and bring them in to town.
(=b=) =Report by Fräulein O. on a visit to the exiles’ camp at
Mamouret, 26th November, 1915.=
We saw thousands of tiny low tents, made of thin material. An
innumerable crowd of people, of all ages and every class of society!
They were looking at us partly in surprise, partly with the
indifference of desperation. A group of hungry, begging children and
women were at our heels: “Hanoum, bread! Hanoum, I am hungry; we
have had nothing to eat to-day or yesterday!”
You had only to look at the greedy, pale, suffering faces to know
that their words were true. About 1,800 loaves could be procured.
Everybody fell greedily upon us; the priests who were charged with
the distribution of the bread had almost to fight for their lives;
but it was by no means sufficient, and no further bread was to be
had. A crowd of hungry people stood imploringly before us. The
gendarmerie had to keep them back by force. Suddenly the order for
departure was given. If anybody was slow in striking their tent, it
was torn down with the bayonet. Three carriages and a number of
camels were held in readiness. A few wealthy people quickly hired
the carriages, while others less well-to-do loaded a camel with
their things. The wailing of the poor, the old and the sick filled
the air: “We can’t go any further, let us die here.” But they _had_
to go on. We were at least able to pay for a camel for some of them,
and to give small change to others in order to buy bread at the next
station; clothes, sewn at the Mission Station in Adana, were also
distributed. Soon the immense procession was moving on. Some of the
most miserable were left behind (others rested there already in the
newly-dug graves). As many as 200—destitute, old or sick—are said to
have waited there for help to come. The misery was increased a
hundredfold by the severe rain and cold that had set in. Everywhere
convoys left dying people in their track—little children and
invalids perishing. Besides all this the epidemic was spreading more
and more.
(=c=) =Report by Fräulein M. on a visit to the exiles’ camp at
Islohia, 1st December, 1915.=