Turkish Prisoners in Egypt Part 1

Turkish Prisoners in Egypt.

by Various.

~INTRODUCTION~

Being deputed by the Red Cross International Committee to visit Turkish prisoners of war in Egypt, we presented ourselves on December 3, 1916, to the officer for Naval Transport in the British office at Ma.r.s.eilles.

By order of the War Office he obtained berths for us on the liner _Morea_, of the P. and O. Line. We embarked at Ma.r.s.eilles on December 19, 1916, and after an uneventful journey reached Port Said on December 27.

At Cairo General Murray, Commander-in-Chief of the British forces in Egypt, was good enough to put us in touch with Brig.-General II. G.

Ca.s.son, C.M.G., Director-in-Chief of the Prisoners of War Department.

With the help of Colonel Simpson we drew up a programme of visits. A motor-car was placed at our disposal, and permission given us to take photographs in the camps, distribute gifts among the prisoners, and talk freely with them.

We have to express our warmest thanks to General Murray and to the officers who allowed us to make our enquiries everywhere, without restriction. We should also like to offer our deepest grat.i.tude to Sir Reginald Wingate, British High Commissioner in Egypt, for the kindly care accorded us throughout our stay.

~1. Heliopolis Camp.~

_(Visited on January 2, 1917.)_

This camp is laid out quite close to the new city of hotels and villas founded in 1905 under the name of The Oasis of Heliopolis. The camp site is 134 feet above the level of Cairo.

_Strength._--3,906 Turkish non-commissioned officers and men.

3 Turkish soldiers of the Sanitary Corps.

2 Armenian doctors (officers in the Turkish Army).

The camp is arranged to hold a total population of 15,000 men. A barbed-wire fencing separates it from adjoining property.

_Accommodation._--The barracks for the prisoners are arranged in groups, in parallel lines separated by pa.s.sages 65 feet wide. These barracks, built under the supervision of the Egyptian Engineering Department, are of uniform construction, and about 42 feet long by 30 feet wide. They are solid frames of wood with the s.p.a.ces between filled in with reeds arranged vertically and held in place by crossbars. The roof is of reed thatch edged with tarred felt. Thanks to the design, the ventilation is perfect. The sandy soil shows hardly a sign of dampness. The pa.s.sage between the rows of beds is made of hard-beaten earth which is very dry and easily kept clean. All along this corridor, as in all the camp roads, buckets full of water are arranged in readiness to meet an outbreak of fire. The water in these buckets is not meant for drinking, and therefore contains a little cresol to prevent prisoners drinking it.

The danger of fire is further reduced to a minimum by the fact that the men smoke only out of doors and that the mildness of the climate does away with the use of stoves. Each barrack accommodates 50 men.

_Bedding._--Each prisoner lies on a mat of plaited rush, and has four blankets. Every morning the mats are brushed and rolled up and the blankets folded, so that during the day there is a large clear s.p.a.ce inside the building. The detention cells have the same sleeping accommodation.

_Exercise._--The s.p.a.ce left between the barracks of the separate sections is amply sufficient for exercise, which is quite unrestricted during the regulation hours.

_Food._--Provisions are purchased by the commissariat and brought every morning into a special barrack, whence each section draws its daily rations. Bread comes from the Cairo bakeries. It is of good quality and agreeable to the taste. The kitchens are in the open and heated by wood fires. They are staffed by a detachment of prisoners under a head cook.

At meal times each section sends men to draw the rations for each room in large metal bowls. Every man has his own spoon, bowl and drinking cup, all of metal. The hours of meals are ordinarily as follows:

5 a.m.; 11 a.m.; and 4 p.m.

The last meal is the princ.i.p.al one of the day.

We have examined the various food materials given the prisoners and found them to be of excellent quality.

The menu of the Turkish prisoners of war now interned in Heliopolis Camp consists of bread, meat, vegetables, rice, b.u.t.ter, pepper, salt, onions, tea (7-1/2 grammes), sugar (42 grammes), cheese and jam or olives.

Each prisoner receives 42-1/2 grammes of cigarettes and two boxes of matches every week; two lbs. of firewood per day; and soap.

It interested us to make a note of the expenses involved by the support of each Turkish prisoner, according to figures supplied by the English authorities.

The calculation is based on a period of six months (in winter).

s. d.

Clothing and linen 3 0 0 Periodical renovation of winter clothes 0 6 6 Renovation of linen, footwear, and towels (twice) 1 10 0 Food at actual contract prices 5 0 0 Tobacco 0 12 6 Wood (average price) 0 7 6 Lighting (as for Maadi Camp) 0 2 0 Water filtration (Maadi) 0 0 6 ------------- Total 10 19 0 =============

Depreciation of buildings, fittings, blankets and other things provided is not included in these figures.

_Canteen._--The regulation food of the prisoners being ample, the canteen plays a very minor part in the feeding arrangements. It sells tea, coffee, and light refreshments. A cup of sweetened tea costs 5 paras, or about one-third of a penny. The canteen also deals in letter paper, post-cards, thread, needles, b.u.t.tons and other small odds and ends.

The men receive 2 ounces of tobacco free every week. They never get alcohol.

_Clothing._--Each prisoner is supplied with two complete sets of underwear: s.h.i.+rts, drawers, and socks. The uniform consists of trousers and coat of dark blue cloth. The bra.s.s b.u.t.tons give it a military appearance.

All the men wear the red fez. They are allowed to wear their decorations. That they are prisoners is shown only by their having on them a white metal plate about 1-1/2 inches in diameter, bearing a registration number and the two letters P.W. (Prisoner of War). In our opinion this kind of medallion is a more judicious form of indication than the bands, armlets or large letters used elsewhere. In summer the cloth uniforms are replaced by linen uniforms of the same cut and colour.

All men wear indoors leather slippers of the Eastern kind. Shoes are used only by prisoners engaged on gardening, and by non-commissioned officers.

Linen, clothes and footwear are renewed on fixed dates or according to need.

_Hygiene._--Everything that has to do with hygiene and the sanitation of the camp is the province of Lieut.-Colonel E.G. Garner, Medical Office Inspector of Prisoner-of-War Camps in Egypt.

Water is supplied from the Heliopolis town mains, is of good quality, and is provided in sufficient quant.i.ties.

For toilet purposes the prisoners have the use twice a day of shower baths and water taps. The floor of the lavatories is sloping cement, and the water drains away through a gulley between the two rows of baths.

Prisoners can get hot water from the kitchen when they need it. Soap is supplied _ad libitum_.

For was.h.i.+ng their clothes the prisoners have some very convenient arrangements. Once a week each prisoner's blankets and clothes are pa.s.sed through the disinfecting chamber and thoroughly sterilised.

Thanks to this precaution, there is not a trace of vermin to be found in the camp.

Ten Turkish barbers are occupied in cutting the hair of prisoners and shaving them in a well-managed barber's shop.

The latrines are clean and numerous enough. Some of them are on the English system; the rest on the Turkish. They are disinfected daily with carbolineum. All discharge into the sewers.

_Medical attention._--The camp medical service is staffed by Colonel E.G. Garner and two Armenian doctors (a.r.s.en Kh.o.r.en and Leon Samuel).