three days, and in general lacking the most necessary clothes. The
Christian population of B. tried to help them, but, whatever their
efforts, what they could do was like a drop of water in the ocean.
Also, they were not all allowed to enter the city; they had to sleep
out of doors in no matter what weather, and the soldiers that
guarded them put all sorts of difficulties in the way of the
population of B., who wanted to help the refugees. We saw some of
them on the road. They went slowly, most of them fainting from want
of food. We saw a father walking with a one-day-old baby in his
arms, and behind him the mother walking as well as possible, pushed
along by the stick of the Turkish guard. It was not uncommon to see
a woman fall down and then rise again under the stick. Some of them
had a goat, a donkey, or a mare; when they reached B., they were
obliged to sell them for five, ten, or fifteen piastres,[164]
because the Turkish soldiers took them away from them. I saw one who
sold his goat to a Turk for six piastres. I saw an Armenian pushing
two goats; a policeman (zabit) came and carried away the animals
and, because the poor man protested, beat him mercilessly, until he
fell in the dust senseless. Many Turks were present; no one stirred.
A young woman, whose husband had been imprisoned, was carried away
with her fifteen-days-old baby, with one donkey for all her baggage.
After one day and a half on the road, a soldier stole her donkey and
she had to go on foot, her baby in her arms, from Zeitoun to Aleppo.
A reporter, Mr. Y., told us that, while the refugees were on the way
to Bozanti, his carriage was stopped all the time by refugees asking
for bread.
The third and last band numbered 200 people. It reached B. on the
13th May, about seven o’clock. They were put in a han, where I went
to visit them. They had all come on foot from Zeitoun to B., and had
had nothing to eat for two days—days when it rained abundantly.
Accompanied by one of my pupils, I made one or two translations from
the Armenian, because we were under the surveillance of a policeman.
As soon as the Armenian refugees left their houses, mouhadjirs
(Moslem refugees) from Thrace took possession of them. The Armenians
had been forbidden to take anything with them, and they themselves
saw all their goods pass into other hands. There must be about
20,000 to 25,000 Turks in Zeitoun now, and the name of the town
seems to have been changed into that of Yeni Shehr.
I saw a girl three and a half years old, wearing only a shirt in
rags. She had come on foot from Zeitoun to B. She was terribly spare
and was shivering from cold, as were also all the innumerable
children I saw on that day (Monday, the 14th May[165]).
An Armenian told me that he had abandoned two children on the way
because they could not walk, and that he did not know whether they
had died of cold and hunger, whether a charitable soul had taken
care of them, or whether they had become the prey of wild beasts. I
learned later that this was far from being a unique case. Many
children seem to have been thus abandoned. One seems to have been
thrown into a well.
As I passed through Konia, I went to see Dr. AB.[166], and this is
what he told me: When the first refugees from Zeitoun came to Konia,
the Christian population bought food and clothes for them; but the
Vali refused to allow them any communication with the refugees,
pretending that they had all that they wanted. A few days later,
however, they could get the help they needed. The fact is that the
Government gave them only very bad bread, and that only every two or
three days. Dr. AB. told me that a woman threw her dying baby from
the window of the train.
The refugees from Zeitoun have been directed to Kara-Pounar, one of
the most unhealthy places in the Vilayet of Konia, situated between
Konia and Eregli, but nearer the latter. Many of them have died, and
the mortality is increasing every day. The malaria makes ravages
among them, because of the complete lack of food and shelter. How
cruelly ironic to think that the Government pretends to be sending
them there to found a colony; and they have no ploughs, no seeds to
sow, no bread, no abode; in fact, they are sent with empty hands.
Only part of the Zeitounlis seem to be at Kara-Pounar; the others
seem to have been sent to Der-el-Zor, on the Euphrates; there their
condition is still worse, and they ask as a favour to be sent to
Kara-Pounar.
The Armenians of Adana received orders to leave the town, without
being told where they were to go. Many of them came to B., others
went to Osmania. But they were all recalled to Adana. Is it intended
to send them somewhere else, or are they to remain in Adana? I could
not find this out for certain before leaving B.
A great panic reigns among the Armenian population in B., because it
was said that they also were to be exiled. But nothing has happened
there yet.
From Konia, again, more than 200 Armenians have been sent to
Kara-Pounar. Among them is Mr. AC. On Thursday, 90 people were
notified to be ready to leave on Saturday, the 26th May.[167] The
Armenians dare not leave their houses.
-----
Footnote 164:
1 piastre=2d.
Footnote 165:
The 14th May, 1915, was a Friday.—EDITOR.
Footnote 166:
Author of Doc. 125
Footnote 167:
The 26th May, 1915, was a Wednesday.—EDITOR.
125. EXILES FROM ZEITOUN: LETTER, DATED KONIA, 17th JULY, 1915, FROM
A FOREIGN RESIDENT AT KONIA TO MR. N. AT CONSTANTINOPLE;
COMMUNICATED BY THE AMERICAN COMMITTEE FOR ARMENIAN AND SYRIAN
RELIEF.
In hope of having opportunity to send by Miss FF., I can write
freely. Have you any means by which you can send me as much as fifty
liras for relief of the Zeitounlis in Sultania? The Government has
now left them to starve. At first, rations of bread were given; then
150 drams of flour to each per day (children under five not being
counted at all); then their amount was reduced to 100 drams. It is
now four weeks that this has been cut off _entirely_. The people are
not allowed to scatter over the country in search of work. They can
only search the fields for roots and herbs, and there have been
several cases of poisoning from this food. The exiles from Konia,
numbering 107 (men who have money and supplies sent to them from
their homes) took up a subscription among themselves and subscribed
1,400 piastres a week towards supplying bread for the starving. I
have sent personal gifts from ourselves and our friends of five or
six liras a week; but these sources are becoming exhausted. Later
Mr. GG., whom Dr. EE. knows, has been “pardoned” by the Vali and has
returned here. He has been the leader among the exiles in trying to
secure food for the Zeitounlis. I called on him this evening to get
accurate information of their state. It is worse even than I knew.
The number is over 7,000, 2,200 having been sent without coming
through Konia, so that I had no account of them. The facts about the
cutting off of all food for them are as I have stated. A bin-bashi,
an Arnaout,[168] who went there on military service, was greatly
moved by what he saw, and sent a strong telegram demanding rations
to be given to the families of the men (about 300) who were drafted
into the Labour Regiment after being sent to Sultania. This he could
do in his military capacity, and it was accepted by the War
Department. This provided for about 1,600, leaving, however, nearly
6,000 with nothing. The number of deaths up to last week was 305.
Dr. Stepanian, of Baghtchedjik, has distinguished himself by
self-sacrificing work for the poor. He testifies to seeing deaths
from starvation already.
The refugees are “housed” principally in great camel stables and
such like. It is a great camel region, the Government having
requisitioned 4,000 of these animals from there. The cattle and
animals of the Zeitounlis were mostly requisitioned by the
Government en route. What they managed to conceal and bring with
them has been put under requisition, but _not taken_. Meanwhile, the
owners are forbidden to sell, are unable to use, and are compelled
to feed these animals, because the Government holds them responsible
to deliver them when called for. I have before heard of refinements
of devilry, but I have seen instances this year that have burned
into my soul. The manifest purpose to destroy these people by
starvation cannot be denied.
I find that it is the exiles from Ak Shehr and Baghtchedjik, who are
also at Sultania, who have been more generous than those of Konia in
giving of their own means. The Kaimakam has been very good, giving
out of his scanty purse to help and favouring the efforts of others,
in spite of the official attitude in Konia. Dr. Stepanian, of
Baghtchedjik, whom you perhaps know, is one of the “Commission”
there for distributing all assistance that may be sent. Can you in
any way get money to put at my disposal, so that I can send _ten
liras a week_? With this we may be able to get enough from others
here to provide _ten paras per person_. Of course, this is nothing,
but may we not do something?
-----
Footnote 168:
Albanian.
126. AF.: STATEMENT, DATED 16th DECEMBER, 1915, BY A FOREIGN
RESIDENT AT AF.; COMMUNICATED BY THE AMERICAN COMMITTEE FOR
ARMENIAN AND SYRIAN RELIEF.
The events connected with the banishment of the Armenians of the AF.
region by the Turkish Government began on the 14th May. On that day
the Alai Bey, or Justice of the Court Martial, arrived in AF. from
Aleppo, the seat of the Court Martial. The three days following his
arrival were spent in seclusion, very probably in consulting with
secret agents. On the 18th, 19th and 20th May he had conferences
with the elders of the city. He demanded in a very courteous manner
that the city should deliver up all arms, and all deserters from the
army and other outlaws. He desired that they should comply with his
request within the next three days. He took an oath on his honour
that, if his demands were obeyed, all would be well for the people
of AF. and in no way should harm come to them. In case of
disobedience, however, he said that he had at his call three
thousand soldiers, who would enforce his demands.
Towards the last of the conferences, however, the Alai Bey’s
attitude grew threatening, and the people were filled with alarm.
The elders and spiritual heads of the communities were at a loss
what counsel to give. If they delivered up their arms and were
betrayed, they might all be massacred; if they retained them, it
would mean open opposition to the Government. A number of the
leaders came to consult with Miss B. and me, and we supported the
party which stood for full compliance with the requests. It was
finally almost unanimously decided that this should be done, and a
general response seemed to follow.
By Sunday, the 23rd May, all but three or four of the deserters had
delivered themselves up and about seventy Martinis had been
surrendered. C. Bey seemed pleased with the results, and the people
were beginning to grow more tranquil. At three o’clock in the
afternoon, about two thousand soldiers, cavalry and infantry,
entered the city. The local centurion had prepared for their coming
by taking forcible possession of the Gregorian Boys’ School, the
Monastery (which was used for orphanage purposes, the orphans being
sent out as the soldiers entered), and the Protestant Boys’ Academy.
Miss B. immediately put in a protest at the Government House against
occupying the last-named building. The cavalry was sent to another
building belonging to a certain philanthropic society, for whose
properties Miss B. was responsible. As the buildings were empty and
not in use, it seemed best to allow this without a protest. The
following morning we called upon the cavalry officer, D. Bey, were
very courteously received, and were given assurances that the
property should be well cared for, which assurances were kept. The
Boys’ Academy building was not freed of soldiers, but only a very
few were stationed there, and all rooms we desired we kept locked.
Guards of soldiers were placed in all conspicuous parts of the city,
a squad being on duty night and day at the head of the private road
which leads to the American Board Compound.
Towards evening on Monday, the 24th, the ammunition and load-animals
of the troops came in. The soldiers with these were sent to a
building belonging to another institution in the city. This
building, though unoccupied because of the absence of the
missionaries, was filled with property. Word was sent to Miss B.,
but before she could get there the attendant had been forced to open
the door. She protested to the police in charge, and, finding it
useless, sought audience with the justice of court martial. He
promised to empty it the following day, and this was carried out.
On the 25th May, Miss B. again called on the Alai Bey to present
several personal requests, such as permission to take flour to the
mill without molestation, to have our road and premises free from
the trespass of soldiers, etc. All was readily and courteously
granted. She also reported the gun in our possession, which had been
registered in the name of our steward. He smiled graciously and
asked whether we did not want a few more; he had plenty, he said, to
give us. In the days that followed there was repeated pressure,
always more drastic, for ammunition of all kinds and the delivery of
deserters. C. Bey gave repeated assurances that, if the deserters
were delivered up, no one would be exiled. On the 27th May a large
number of the leading men were imprisoned, and, after that, every
day added to their numbers.
The strain upon the people was now so great that the majority could
neither eat nor sleep. We were in the same case, and were up from
very early until late in the evening to meet the many who came to
consult with us. On the morning of the 28th, a party of women from
the city besought our aid. The husbands of nearly all of them had
been thrown into prison, and they and their children were left
defenceless in their homes, with no suggestion of what the future
held in store. At their request, then, Miss B. and I interviewed
both C. Bey and E. Bey, the military commander. We besought them to
distinguish between the innocent and the guilty, and asked mercy for
the women and children. We were again received with entire courtesy,
but had no satisfaction. The Alai Bey took pains to explain to us
that, as we had come from a land of freedom, where people lived in a
more enlightened way, we could not fully understand the necessary
actions of the Turkish Government; that there existed a Committee
among the Armenian people which was harmful to the Government, but
that our hearts and minds were pure and the people easily deceived
us.
The last of the deserters was delivered up on the 30th May, and the
total number of guns was one Mauser and ninety Martinis. The Alai
Bey, however, insisted that there were yet many more guns hidden by
the people, either in the city or on the mountains. The soldiers
were accordingly set at work to dig into walls and refuse heaps and
search all the houses for guns. With the exception of some powder,
the results were insignificant. The people of the city charged the
soldiers with themselves hiding guns and ammunition in and about the
walls of dwellings, for the purpose of securing convictions.
Meanwhile, the atmosphere grew worse and worse, and on the 3rd June
it became known that the deportation was about to begin. In response
to the desire of the people we, together with Miss F., a German
lady, made a last plea before the officers. The only result was that
we received permission to send telegrams. We sent messages to Mr. N.
and the Ambassador, but afterwards learned that no such messages
were ever transmitted. The men to be exiled the following morning
were released from prison in the afternoon. Miss B. and I, together
with the Protestant pastor, called upon all the families who were
going. In the morning we asked permission for the school-girls of
the exiled families to remain with us, and were refused on the
ground that only the Vali could give such permission. We immediately
telegraphed to the Vali, but, as usual, received no answer. The Alai
Bey, however, personally gave us permission to keep three girls, as
well as the privilege of receiving gifts from our friends who were
going away.
Thirty leading Protestant and Gregorian families were marched away
in the first batch. Gendarmes were placed to prevent relatives and
friends from accompanying those sent out, but Miss B. and I always
passed freely among them, giving aid wherever we could. Four days
later G. Effendi, our steward and chief servant, received notice to
go. Miss B. again interviewed the Alai Bey with respect to the case
of G. Effendi. She said that we were greatly dependent upon him, and
asked that he might be left among the last to be sent. The Alai Bey
granted one day’s delay, but his decision was not carried out in
fact. The following morning he was the first to be driven from his
house by the soldiers.
By the 10th June, about 150 households had been deported, and new
papers were being distributed every day. Some of the men had now
been imprisoned fifteen days. They were usually released the day
before leaving, and had no chance of making preparations for the
journey. The Alai Bey left the same day, delegating the work of
further deportation to the military commander and the Kaimakam of
AF. The soldiers left some two weeks later. The deportation of the
people of AF. continued throughout the summer, until, by the 1st
October, only a very few men and their families and about 250 widows
and soldiers’ families remained.
It was the intention of the Government to provide animals for those
sent into exile, as the people of AF. had very few animals of their
own and were obliged to journey over rough mountain roads. Horses,
mules, camels and donkeys were levied upon all the surrounding
villages, whether Christian or Turk. The owners were obliged to go
with the animals. It can readily be seen that many of them bore the
travellers no good will, and vented whatever cruelty they pleased
upon them. Gendarmes were also sent along with the convoys,
presumably for protection, but very often they themselves became the
greatest menace, and almost never succeeded in preventing the raids
made upon the defenceless exiles by marauding bands. Towards the
latter part of the summer the supply of animals was so diminished,
so many having died upon the road, that Circassian carts were used
for transporting the people. The exiles from AF. were sent first to
AG., and from there by slow degrees to Aleppo. There is a
well-travelled caravan road to AG. by way of AH., which can also be
used by the rude mountain cars. This, however, the exiles were not
permitted to use, but were forced to travel over a stony and very
difficult road leading over a high mountain pass. The entire village
of Shar and the Armenian population of Roumlou were deported soon
after the deportations began in AF. Being agricultural villages,
they came for the most part with their own carts. When they reached
the pass, they begged to be allowed to go by way of AH., so that
they might have the benefit of their cars; but this was denied them.
All the carts had to be abandoned at the river, and, throwing most
of their possessions into the stream, they took what little they
could carry, and started up the stony way on foot.
At the beginning of September a very large percentage of the
remaining population of AF. was deported, consisting for the most
part of the very poor, and including many widows. As very few
animals and carts came in response to the call of the Government, a
large number of men, women and children started on the long journey
on foot, carrying on their backs or strapping to their persons the
very few articles deemed most necessary.
Miss B. and I found our position in the face of such terrible events
a most difficult one. We felt obliged to help the Armenian people in
every way possible, and at the same time felt we could not have a
break with the Government, nor give up our cordial relations with
the Moslem families. We felt responsible for the American property
situated in and about AF., and also had Armenian orphan teachers and
girls in the compound, for whose protection our lives were not too
costly. One of the great problems was in connection with the
property of the exiled families. They had been told by the Alai Bey
that they could place the property left behind wherever they
pleased. Naturally everyone wished to put it under our care. We
could have filled our whole compound full of all imaginable
household articles and treasures, to say nothing of horses, cows,
goats, etc. As we had no American gentleman to advise us, and,
moreover, wished always to deal in such a way as not to involve the
Consul or the Embassy, we decided in general against the taking of
property. That which we did accept we paid for, and the purchasing
was always to help those in such desperate need. The Government came
to understand this, and respected us accordingly.
From the time when the first people left, in early June, until
October, we were very fortunate in having the opportunity to render
some financial help. Miss B. passed through the line of gendarmes
guarding the villages of Shar and Roumlou, and was enabled to leave
some pounds with the head men of the villages for the aid of the
very poor. To the outgoing people of AF. we gave freely, according
to our limited means, and even occasionally could help exiles from
other villages passing through from the Kaisaria country. We
succeeded also, with the aid of a Greek and a Turk, in sending some
relief to the villagers of AJ. and AK. before they left. We felt
confident that the authorities knew something of the extent to which
we were helping the people, but we encountered no open opposition.
Our servants were nearly all sent away early in the deportation, so
that extra and unaccustomed work was imposed upon us. Miss B., for
example, always had to take the post in person to the Government
Building. Providing for the food supply, and dealing with our
shepherd and the villagers who came to sell things, often fell to us
personally. A large part of the time we had no cook. Another tax
upon our strength and time was the battle with the swarms of locusts
which visited Syria and Cilicia. They first appeared in early June
and ravaged the country till September. They destroyed our
vineyards, and we had to fight day after day to keep them out of the
compound. When we destroyed those hatched on our premises, their
places were quickly filled by armies coming down the mountain side.
When I left, many of the villages were suffering from the lack of
food due to the locust scourge.
Another problem was how to relieve, in some small measure at least,
the suffering in the city caused by lack of food. A great many
widows and orphans and soldiers’ families were left with no means of
support, after the more well-to-do families had been deported.
Moreover, the industrial work, which employed a considerable number
of widows, was closed with the coming of the court martial officer.
The two Bible Women, up to the time when they also were deported,
worked heroically, with the little means that we could spare them
each week, to meet and provide for the cases of greatest need. We
bought large quantities of cheap wheat to help towards this end. The
only shop left open was that of the druggist, so there was no way of
obtaining any supplies. The lack of soap and salt was very keenly
felt. As our own supply was limited, we could not give freely as we
wished, but finally Miss B., in spite of all the demands upon her
strength and time, made considerable quantities of soap, so that at
least the women might wash their clothes occasionally. All who
received it were most grateful, and the supply was never sufficient.