The Appeal., 1922-02-25
REFUGEES HUNT
FOOD IN Vain
American Relief Workers Are
Finding ConstantinopIe City
of Distress.
IS DAILY GROWING WORSE
City Teems- NTH Refugees in Such
Great Numbers That All Cannot
Possibly Be Looked After
Children Cared For

New YOrk.-As warfare and petty
tribal conflicts in the Near East con-
tinue, American relief workers are
finding Constantinople a city Of dis
tress, where conditions daily grow
worse as new refugees wander hope
lessly in on the endleSS-and usually
vain-quest for food. Returning
members of the overseas personnel Of
the Near East relief all bring back
the same story of misery. These are
supplemented by the letters and
periodical reports of relief agents on
the field.
Situation Is Desperate.
When the evacn ton of the French
from Cilicia and the consequent flight
Of the native Christian population.
the situation threatens to become one
that the Imagination recoils at pic
turing.
"Constantinople already teens with
refugees in such great numbers that
all cannot possibly be looked after"
writes Mrs. Jeanette w. Enrich, a
member of the relief unit in the Otto
man capital, who previously had wide
experience as a missionary.
"Now the people of Cilicia are COM
ing to us. We simply will not be able
to care for them. How terrible the
need is in spite of all that America
has sent us would be hard to make
any one understand who has not been
here. The weather is bitterly cold
and each day brings it's fresh stream
Of misery.
"Yet there are also encouraging
things-the gratitude Of group of
Armenian mothers, last week, when
old clothes from America were dis
tributed among them. One mother
said, as she held out the few gar
ments given her: I could never have
bought these, as they would have, cost
some liras. Just the same, want to
give something. 1 can only give a
mejidi'-or about 10 cents-'but all I
can give. I want to give And each
woman present did the same. Out Of
their dire poverty they gave some ~
liras-about sand, since this is
country with free education. we need
the money to put additional children
into school.
Clothes for Children.
"At present we are distributing
these old American clothes among
5000 children. They have no fathers,
these having been killed in the war
or deportations; but they have moth
ers or grandmOthers. The mother
scrubs, sews, works in a restaurant
anything to keep home together,
which home consists of one mean
room renting for dollar or so month
ly. These wretched families are scat
tered through AZ sections of this great
city, and embrace six natiOnalities- -
Armenians, Greeks, Jews, Syrians,
Chaldeans and Turks. The Near East
relief cannot support theln-it must
look after it's Orphanages-but it does
help them with one can of condensed
milk and two loaves of bread weekly
per child. Also during five winter
months we sell them charcoal at half
the market price.
"The sister of the lad who works in
my home was recently put into one Of
the Near East relief orphanages here
She is thirteen years old, was taken
by the Turks when she was only eight,
was held by them for five years, and
Of course can speak only Turkish now
One of her eyes is gone, and she has
the oldest, unhappiest face imaginable
for q child Of that 400