Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1919-06-02
CHRISTIAN GIRLS
:k!::y!23.ELLED FROM
ICiiS;".IH HAREMs
To HIDE CRIMES
Masters of Women Slaves
Thought to Eyade Punish
ment and Turned Many
Into Streets With Babies.
ARMENIAMS BATTERED
LIKE DUMB CATTLE
Sold to Turks, CirCaSSianS and
Arabs, When One Master
Tired of Them They Were
Sold or Given to Another.

| OUIQ VI OlNCIl " HlIUlIIClI
ray MORNING JOURNAL SPECIAL LEASED WIHEl
| New York. June 1.-Stories told by
| Christian women and girls OF Armenia
who were deported from their homes,
! led to virtual captivity or slavery
| in the camps of the Turks, Crcas-
slams and Arabs or held captives in
! Turkish harems in Asia Minor have
! been received here by the American
committee for Armenian and Syrian
relief The statement issued by the
committee says that the women whose
narratives are made public We're re-
leased by their masters or rescued by
allied troops,
After the signing of the armistice,"
says the committees statement, many
of the Turks, believing that By so do
ing they could escape punishment,
turned the women-many of them
with babies--into the street. Cable
grams to the committee have reported
that numbers of these women were
wandering about the country crazed
by starvation and exposure. As fast
as possible they are being gathered
up by the committees relief workers
and placed in homes established for
their care. A late telegram said that
fifteen such homes have been estab-
lished in Asia Minor"
Stories of these Armenian victims
of Turkish atrocity were obtained by
Or. Loyal l.. Writ. member of an ex-
pedtioi sent to Turkey by the COM
mittee. They are taken down as re-
lated by DIR. w. A. Kennedy, field di-
rector OF the lord mayors relief fund
of London, After taking them down,
DR. Kennedy assured DR. Writ, he per-
sonally re-read the affidavits to the
narrators and they signed them in his
presence.
Together these tales constitute one
of the tragic chapters of the war.
They were not isolated cases but in
some instances the experiences Of as
many as 5000 refugees who had been
driven from their homes and forced
on journeys of hundreds of miles from
fertile Armenia into the borders OF the
Syrian desert. On the way hundreds
at time were separated and mas
sacred often in the most dabolical
way.
Bartcrcd 7 Ike Cattle.
Hundreds of girls wore torn fr0u
the other members - thair family
and taken none knows whore ~ IN.
Turks, Kurds or CTrcoesiare Scores .
were compelled to liy' in captivity
naked for months aud anffrwna re5u
sun vi stors anj beating. ArWruaa
girls VITO escaped death N.rt sta..rr.a
like cattle. After thuB .h.r. ur
relatives had voinly patel raHspu .ua
them. Some saw thrir fathers. u-
friends murdered. TIA tine tauts uI aa
Arabs in the Svtan daecr. InW. Ntl.
bound and forcibl. taTgocd iha r.ga-
head, lips AMI chin 70 marh them Y-
Moslem women.
Generally, the stories indl...a 'a3.
the captves were novel sometimes ion
groups from Armenia south toward
the desert of Syria The stories told
by at least three Armenian Christian
girls deal with the movement Of on
of these great groups consisting of
1000 families or 5000 persons Ona
story Of this awful journey into the
desert was told by Takouhi Gu ze
kuchukian, girl of IS who with h.
father, mother, four sisters and a
brother was deDorted from Hadjn. in
Adana province. in May, 1915. They
were moved southwark to Atepro anI
thence further on toward the syrian
desert until the party numbered about
2 600 families. At Silva i, She said p
they were told that on paym, mt of
> 900 Turkish liras they would be al
lowed to return.
THE refugees said they could not
give this amount" the Armen an glrt
told DR.. Kennedy "Thcn the Circas-
slams of the tribe of Chechens. who
mad control of them. separated out
|, 100 of the poorer families and took
.hem away. The same evening some
II these people returned and said they
had escaped and that four hours after
hey left the Chechens had begun to
ttgtfh ivr. \
'emaining families raised 1900
pounds and sent a deputation of fifty
wo men with it to buy their security.
rhe amount was refused and the men
we're beaten and sent back.
Ihey raised an additional 500 liras
ma took 1000 Turkish pounds in gold
o the Circassian Beys, who took the
money and tried to force them to sign
paper saying the Armenians had
)aid no money to them. The deputa
ION refused to do this and the fifty
wo men were bound and taken away"
\ rev days later. according to the
;irPs story, the remaining families
we're deported from S!varia and after
'lght days arrived at Shedadieh, on
ne river Habour east of Deir- Es-Zor.
Men Taken Away.
"un the way" the girls story went
)n, "l5O men were separated and
aiken away soon after the Circassians
returned and divided among them
selves some of the clothing which she
recognized as belonging TO some of
he men which thsy had taken away.
The next day 500 more men were TAX
IN away and killed" As the refugees
'esumed their journey on the follow
ng morning she saw the bodies of
some of the men she knew. They had
,een clubbed to death,
a few days after this" reads the
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