Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1919-03-07
VIVID PICTURE
OF MISERY IN
.WAR-TORN SERBIA
American Red Cross Inves-
tigator Tells of Death and
Despair of Refugees
BY LIEUTENANT COLONEL no.
DEEE FOLKS
American Red Cross InVestigatOr

American Red cross investigator
A childs cry, mournful, insistent,
penetrating, attracted members Of
the Red Cross survey mission to a
one-story shack in Leskovatz, in Ser
bia.
The child, perhaps three years old.
was lying amid filth on the dirt
floor.
Through an interpreter we asked a
bystander what was the matter with
the child.
cts mother is dead. She is in
there" he said. On the dirt floor
was the body of a woman sewn up
in coarse rags and packing. She
had been dead two years.
We asked if there were any other
children.
eyes, there are one or two more.
We don't know whether they are
dead or sleeping" Another bundle
of rags began to stir and a tiny
hand crep out, feeling about in a
weak, uncertain, trembling fashion.
The arm was bare to the elbows:
1t was literally skin and bones and
covered with repulsive sores.
who is looking after the chill
dren," we asked
mo one" was the reply.
We said that it was not necessary
| to let the children die because the
| mother was dead.
| shoulders and said something to the
effect that that was the way with
| these people.
Our inquiries and observations had
| their effect, however, for passing a
| few moments later, we found that
the two children had been removed
| to a room with another family, al
most equally miserable. Some one
| had given a large, dry piece of bread
| to the crying child, and he was de-
vouring it with every appearance OF
extreme enjoyment.
| These were Albanian refugees from
the village of Ell Basan. The 1nhabi-
| tants had been transported to north
ern Siberia and now were hndlng
| their way back on foot, some hun
| dreds of miles.
| Leskovatz is quite like all the 9th
err Serbian towns along the main
ms Il " Left to Refugees
At o'clock in the morning we
were at the open square in the center
of one village. A large group OF
women, children and old men, with
an extraordinary picturesque collec-
| ton of bags and bundles. were sit
ting on the curb or loaded into Eng
| fish trucks that otherwise would be
/
| toward the south.
They were refugees from Greek
Macedonia, from the ne1ghborhooo
of the destroyed city Of Sores. They
had been sent by the Bulgar1ans
| into northern Serbia.
because, in truth, the refugees were
not very clean-were loading them
and their bundles into the trucks.
Other groups of refugees occupied
what had been shops, the whole front
| sides open to the street.
| Their faces were thin and plncneu
They were dressed in rags. Even
the women were dressed in coarse
h1rlap and other packing material
| roughly stitched together WIN
strings. 49,. +1,o,,
were barefoot, sitting about on tne
damp dirt floor. in little. groups,
eround tinv fires made of few
| twigs.
They were Albanians caught in the
| swirl of the war, their village de-
stroyed, sent from near the Adrlatis
70 northern Serbia. where they mao
Serbian farms. Most of them looked
as though they could not hold out
ro,,cb longer and Ell Basan, their
home. was still ESQ miles distant.
A funeral procession passed aIol is
the street. The body, wrapped III
coarse cloth, was on an OK carr en- en-
foTr or five men in rags were FOL
| lowing it. 49, hoo, q
hospitaI. Here were several hundred
Serbian refugees originally from - in ne
region of Monastir. The oulsal!l
tod Stone floors. Tiny fires had been
1iehted by different groups. Inc
rooms rooms were full of smoke, ,,z ~
Two of the men, who o. had Ia IL lived Ie1 n
Philadelphia, spoke E NJ tSn pr wu15
They The had been six days at Leskovat z
n nortation toward their dest d alton
A good many were sick and there
WEI 1T E he concluding chapter Of this
rorierlxable story will be published II
The he next issue of The Atlanta Semi
Weekly JournalO