New Britain herald., 1919-03-29
ARMENIA IN GRIP
OF TYPHuS PLAGUE
Starvation and Sickness Sweeping
Country, Doctor Writes

a letter from Erivan, Armenia, 20
DR.. Mary G. Mouradian, from her
brother. Jacob Garoudy Mouradian,
tells of conditions in Armenia, hung
er-stricken and with an epidemic of
typhus and another epidemic of chol-
era expected with the coming of the
warm weather. Armenia looks to
B America for aid and for food, he
writes. He Is in charge of an Amer
Jean relief commission hospital at
Egrivan and is one of the As doctors
9n all Armenia.
His letter fellows:
"Erivan, Armenia, Feb. 6, 1919.
My Dear Sister:
Il have not written to you In I do
4 not know how long--it may be more
n than Q, year. And I have not heard
Afrom you since August, 1917. During
THAT one and half years lots OF
u things happened here and lots of
things are happening every day.
''To be sure, I am living and ex =
u pect to live many more years. After
4 the Turks occupied Erzurum, many
s. people ran away to Russia, but l.
always wanted to be here and see the
thing through to the end. During
March of 1918 there was a battalion
stationed In Nova Boyapet and 1t was
composed of native Turks. The camp
I was about eight miles from the city,
] Things were restless and the hospital
was crowded with wounded. Then
&htyphus broke out among the soldiers,
Ind l had charge of one ward Of
kounded and another of typhus cases
1 was all alone and worked SO hard
hat on the twenty-frst of April, be-
anne 80 exha usted that I fell a prey
b typhus After three or four days
L z.I.x
III was near my end. I do not know
= how I did pull through, but the fact
remains that l am alive yet.
Since last October l have made my
home in Erivan, and I have charge Of
an American relief commission hos
pital. I room and board in the hos
pital, which has siNty-four beds. Be
tween seventy and 100 patients call
for treatment every day. 49,
We used to have a visiting lady
physician, the wife of the minister Of
the interior at Arom Pasha, but the
minister was sick for forty days and
died a week ago, and the wife has not
been here in six weeks.
Epidemics Raging.
In Ertva11 and all over the country
there is an epidemic of typhus, be-
sides many cases of thy fair scarlat-
Inc, relapsng fever. smallpox and
famine. When spring comes. we an
ticipate siege of cholera, which pre-
vailed to a mild extent last SUNNI
Yesterdays bulletin showed there are
more than 1,enn cases Of typhus in
town, but it is expected to go much
higher. All over the country, people
are dying and dying and dying and,
from pres cations, before long
there will be very few living. We are
can understand our condition. We
have nothing Ito eat and the whole
nation is dying of starvation. One
sees children dying in the streets OF
starvation whole families dying, and
as you gaze out ON the street, wager
after wagon loaded with dead bodies
pass. The American committee has
a minister, a team and -diggers
just to bury the dead. We have nc
bread-our eyes are turned to Amer,
lea for bread but we see that we are
misunderstood. The Allies are send
ing bread TO Germany, Austria ant
Serbia--out not to Armenia.
''It is more than two months since
the Allies have been here. 3 They sa.
they will give us an Independent
Arm enia, but what is the use Of
free Arm enia when the whole nation
is dying Of starvation. When TIL
Turks came here they collected al
of our bread and when they wen
away they took with them our re
manning bread. We have no medicine
no medical or surgical supplies n,
doctors and no nurses. Tn all Ar
menia. there are but As doctors. Dur
ing the last two months six doctor
died in Erivan from typhus, anon,
them DIR. Haaigadoon and DR.. Na,lhon
dian of Kilias, who died on Janu-r
Is of typf1us and pneumonia
The remainder of the letter con
tsins information of a private nature