Evening star., 1922-12-17

Hv american girl WHO has
spent the past three years
in Smyrna, the principal sea-
port Of Asia Minor. engaged in secre-
tarial work with the Y. w. Z. "A.
there, has much to tell American girls
that is of interest regarding the girls
of the near east. Miss Christie's
home is in Springfield, Mass. and
although she expects to spend Christ
mas in Washington with sister who
is coming on here from West Nir-
ginia, she will probably go home to
Massachusetts for a rest before re-
turning to the near east.
She is exceedingly anxious to get
back to her work in the ruined CITY.
for she feels that the turkish ana
Jewish girls who are now IN the city
need her as much as the Greek ana
Armenian girls did who had to nee
at the time smyrna was invaded by
the Turks and burned.
~he girls of the near east are very
eager to take up progressive ideas:
said Miss Christie. "Of course, until
the present time. they have always
been very carefully guarded and kept
in their homes until they were mar
rled. Now many of them are going
into different trades. and some are
a. stenography and typewriting.
Before the city was destroyed
there were 1000 Turkish. Greek and
armenian girls enrolled in the asso-
citation work. and many more girls
and older women enjoyed privileges
afforded in the association building.
of which we We're so proud, who were
not listed as members of the organi-
zation. The girls enjoyed all kinds
of sports. including basket ball. ten
mis- and swimming. just as the Amer
lean girls do here. They are natu-
rally fine swimmers. and some of
them proved wonders at basket ball.
Then, too. we had a delightful lit
tie camp last summer on the order
of the American girls summer camps,
and the girls all wore MILDLY blouses
and bloomers, just as they do here.
and enjoyed their camp life hugely.
We had hikes. and campfire parties.
and all the other natural enjoyments
of camp life. We were forced to
leave the camp precipitately on Sep
Iember 5, when the Turks came to
Smyrna
SsEoLLOwING the fight from sur
i rounding parts of the city. 500
refugee women and children were
housed in the association headquar-
rers temporarily until. in relays. they
were taken 10 nelSnDOrlnS
where they could find safety.
Hundreds of thew now have only
the thinnest of summer dresses to
wear in the damp cold of the island
winter, and not few who had Sc
cured coats proved upon investiga
tion to have nothing on under the
coats but scanty underclothes.
This Christmas will be very diff
ferent with those girls from last year.
Although most of them did not OBJ
serve Christmas on the day we Amer
leans did, still the girls were greatly
pleased with the idea of singing
Christmas carols on that day for us
and entered into the spirit of the
thing delightfully."-. There will not be
much opportunity for Christmas
carols this year"
Quite contrary 10 the usual Amer
ican conception of the type of shoes
worn by these semi-oriental girls are
the shoes described by Miss Christie.
She says they have very high heels.
four or five inches In height and are
treacherous for those who constantly
wolk on the sgglike cohhiestoncs of
tho streets. Yet the native girls
rarely turn their ankles. and it is the
stranger with the fat-heeled. Sensi-
BILE shoe who Is likely to get bad
fall from these walks and who walks
with her eyes glued to the pave
mentS.
We can always tell the stranger
by the way she walks with her eyes
ON the cobblestones," said Miss Chris
tie. However, We have always in
sisted that the girls who attend the
camp wear low-heeled shoes and
many others who are associated with
the Y. w. c. A. have taken to this
type of shoe"
= x ::
THERE are 80, 900 women and chill
i dren refugees in Greece and the
islands of the Aegean sea ana $50, 900
Turkish women and children refugees
in Smyrna who are all in need of
clothing and food. The things they
need most are Hour. milk. blankets
and clothing. They are packed in
churches. schools, theaters and yards.
The boxes Of the theaters are over
flowing with half-fed. shivering
families, and many of the girls and
women sleep every night on the mar
ble-tiled floors of these buildings,
with no covering at all and only thin
summer clothes to protect them from
the chill.
The girls and women of the near
east are face to face with the direst
imaginable realities of living. and
they are proving themselves full Of
the hopeful. helpful qualities that
have distinguished women through
out the ages.