Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1919-04-24
RED CROSS AIDS
EXILED GREEKS
Thousands of Them Were
Driven From Asia Minor
Early in War

saIoniki. April 23.-High up on the
hills of this bustlng Macedonian city
IS picturesque settlement where b
eco Greek refugees, driven from Asia
Minor by the massacres of 1914. make
their homes. Hundreds of other
Greeks who were interned by the Bull
garians in Dobrudja during the war
have Joined them recently. the
houses in this refugee camp were con-
structed by the Greek government \
srace equivalent to a large New York
furnished room is allotted to a family
of from five to eight
The settlement has been given the
pretentious name of The Quarter OF
three great modern patriots-Prcnicr
Nenizelos. Admiral Kountouriotis and
General Danglais who. repudiattns
King Constantine, cspoused the cause
, of the Allies when Germany sought to
win over the Greek army. Many nc
the people have been helped by the
American Red Cross and speak CRATE
fully of the United States and it's poo
pie.
Aided ny Red Cross
As the Associated Press correspond
ent was visiting the village, two OK
hal been driven by the Turks from
the villages along the Sea OF Mar
mora IN 1918 and 1914, and who dur
ing the present war were expelled
from Macedonia by the Bulgars. made
their way slowly up the steep moun-
I tain road. The refugees had just
Come from Dobrudja. to the south ot
G@ed by the ReT BagHTs sre Rhey had
been nearly two months on the way.
and virtually all the food and aid
they got came from the American Red
Cross. which had relief posts along
the line leading from Bulgaria into
Macedonia. Many were little tots
from one to five years old The Won
der was how these. little ones. sick
ly and undernourished, were able to
survive tho long trip by train. motor
truck and oN-cart.
The faces of these returning rcfu-
harasscd look. For nve years they
We're driven hither and yon by Turk
and Bulgar and had never known
what it was during that time to have
gars they were forced to live in the
open fields or in dugouts or stables.
Eighteen hours day at hard labor
under constant intimidation, was the
pound of black bread day was the
pitiful rccompensc they received
from tho Bulgars. Often those too
weak to work were beaten by their
Many Starved to Death
One refugee declared to the CORE
spordent that at one time there were
more than sixty deaths day among
the refugee colony in Dobrudja from
1na!putrition. exhaustion and expos
ure. In certain sections, he said, the
Greeks were forced to live largely on
the rinds of watermelons which the
Bulgarian soldiers threw in the
streets.
The older residents OF this refugee
suburb" of Saloniki. most of whom
had fled from different parts OF Asia
Minor during the Wholesale massacres
there in 1914, have bitter experiences
to relate about their treatment by the
Turks. Some of these people lived in
the city OF Phocis, where the whole
| CHRISTIAN population either had been
driven out or were killed by the
Turks The women wept as they told
about the outrages of the Moslems.
The worst story was that told by an
intelligent peasant woman. who de-
clared that iE a butcher shop opposite
her home in Phocis, she saw the
Turks take young girl who was con-
sidered the most attractive in town
and cut her body into pieces. They
hung the pieces on meat hooks and
offered them for public sale. she said
to show the Turks contempt for
Greek Christians.
What most impresses the eye of the
visitor in speaking with these unfor-
tunate people is their sad, wan and
furrowed faces. They have been
driven about by the invading foe un-
til they have reached the point al
most of despair and distraction.