The Lexington advertiser. [volume] (Lexington, Miss.) 1904-1985, 1947-01-30
Leila Bruce AT Home After Relief Work In Greece


Holmes county friends and relat-
ives of Miss Leila Bruce, who is now
at home in Greenwood, after spend
ing two years doing relief work
with UNRRA, will be interested in
the following feature story written
by Dot Streater in the Greenwood
Morning Star:
Leila Bruce, of Greenwood, has
just returned from two years work
with UNRRA in Greece She is
Greenwood's tangible claim to the
worthy job done to help Europe's
war-torn countries. and her story
of the Greek people is compelling
and gripping as their great need.
AS welfare specialist, Miss Bruce,
daughter of the late Brown Bruce of
Greenwood, had her headquarters in
Athens, and travelled throughout the
mainland and its surrounding is
lands. In the rage of the disastrous
civil war UNRRA headquarters
stood in the midst of the battle lines,
flying the only flag respected by
the Greeks and dauntlessly truck
ing food stuffs to feed the populat-
ion.
THE political situation is very
unsettled, Miss Bruce told Star
reporter. ''For example, there were
nine different governments at the
time the King was restored to his
throne in September. Of course, the
Kings return is the biggest farce
in history; his law and authority
doesn't exist"
When she left Greece to sail for
the States, Miss Bruce said, there
were still two small American
agencies functioning for the welfare
of the Greek people, even though
UNRRA was dissolving its office
there. These two, the Greek War Re-
lief, and the Near East Foundation,
will continue helping to feed and
care for the people of that country.
But the greatest problem in
Greece today is that of the child
rem" she stated "Their parents were
killed in the war and they are with
out homes. Many are even without
names-those who were very small
at the outbreak of war-and they
don't know to whom they belong,
or belonged"
''In Northern Greece" she con-
tinued, 81 went to small village up
on mountain, climbing all the way
on foot, as all transportation in the
country is irreparably broken off.
Before the war, the village was
made up of forty-three neat houses
but now only three shabby ruins
stand above the debris.
"Just outside the fallen village
saw several old men working the
fields. ct has not been the custom
for men to work in the fields since
the war; but I was told that they
were doing so because many of the
women had been killed by the Ger
mans.)
"As l left the village, met an old
woman struggling up the mountain.
She stopped to talk to me, and said
something shall never forget. She
told me that twenty members
of her family had been executed by
the Germans on the day they took
over the village. I shall always re-
member her eyes-stony and de-
feated."
Villoge Of Women
"In Southern Greece VISITED
Kalavryta, the Village of Women"
Miss Bruce related, "All the men had
been killed by the Germans, and the
women were carrying on-alone.
Their entire lives had to be changed
in order that they might make a
living for themselves and their
children"
throughout her story Miss Bruce
continually turned the subject again
and again to the problem of the child
rem. "All of Greece's children are
stunted to the extent that, in size,
they appear to be much younger
than they actually are. However,
their ewes are old and hurt. 1t IS
quite difficult to determine their
ape. They are hurt and tired and
lost"
Mississippi Cdttle
Miss Bruce was at the dock at the
port of Athens to meet shipload OF
cattle sent by the farmers OF Miss
issippi to the starving people. She
said that her words could not truly
express the great need for those
cows and for the milk in Greece.
Contrary to what most farmers
here understand, the cows were not
given to Greek farmers" she SAID.
"As a matter of fact, the farmers.
of Greece operate on such small
scale that they couldn't afford to
feed a cow at all. They keep goats
instead.
.The cows from Mississippi will
furnish milk only to children OF pre-
school age, to tuberculars, to
Good citizenship demands thut