xt70rx937t9n_448 https://exploreuk.uky.edu/dips/xt70rx937t9n/data/mets.xml https://exploreuk.uky.edu/dips/xt70rx937t9n/data/46m4.dao.xml unknown 13.63 Cubic Feet 34 boxes, 2 folders, 3 items In safe - drawer 3 archival material 46m4 English University of Kentucky The physical rights to the materials in this collection are held by the University of Kentucky Special Collections Research Center.  Contact the Special Collections Research Center for information regarding rights and use of this collection. Laura Clay papers Temperance. Women -- Political activity -- Kentucky. Women's rights -- Kentucky. Women's rights -- United States -- History. Women -- Suffrage -- Kentucky. Women -- Suffrage -- United States. New Near East text New Near East 2020 https://exploreuk.uky.edu/dips/xt70rx937t9n/data/46m4/Box_16/Folder_15/Multipage19559.pdf 1923, 1927 1927 1923, 1927 section false xt70rx937t9n_448 xt70rx937t9n @@ NLW NEM EAST

SEPTEMBER

 

:;////// l/ 51’;

7/. //// '//

 

 

 

 

 

f A GOLDEN RULE CHILD ( ‘j (a
‘, l‘H/ '1
With the only father she knows, the Near East Relief lillsz/
orphanage director at Leninakan, Armenia. America ‘
has given health and happiness to this child. She and
35,000 others must he cared for until they are sixteen

. "A K- \ TN | ,v . v
\kvif&%§l§\‘K ' , i V 2‘
, , at":
. 734/

i

 

  

, x ' . . . ‘ Al:
Am. Col. ’hoto

Drop our

, ’I.‘ ‘4

A m. Co. Phoo

lltqualsc fissures by the Dead Sea.

Am. Col. Phoot

The new Ill/inter Palate Hotel, Jericho.

Exlmming bodies, Nablus.

Am. Cl. Photo ‘
Collapsed house. 11H.

 

     
       

of Olives. three persons killed.

 

 

  

‘ THE NEW NEAR EAST

EDITORIAL COMMITTEE

 

 

 

Talcott Williams Nolan R. Best Charles V. Vickrey James Wright Brown
P. W. \Vilson Frederick Lynch Albert Shaw Florence Allen McMahon, Ediim-
’ VOL. XI SEPTEMBER, 1927 No. 1

 

Samaritans to the Samaritans
By C. B. FLAGG

LL that the
A B ib 1 i c a 1
story of the

G o o d Samaritan
implied and all
that it now com-
monly means, has
been exemplified in
the earthqua k e
disaster which
. early in July rock—
‘ ed Palestine.
Those who re—
main of the scat-
tered race of Sam-
aritans form a
portion of the pop-
ulation of Nablus,
the city most seri-
1 ously stricken by
th e devastating
tremor, and they
found Good Sam-
aritans in t h e
modern sense in
aliens and foes.
Because of their Jews and Gentiles,
name the aid ex- Amer i cans and
tended to them English and Egyp-
' may be held as exemplary of the Samaritanism tians. Just how promptly aid was received;
that went out from all races and creeds to forty- how it was distributed and to what extent the
one communities within the earthquake area. disaster affected places so indelibly stamped in

$5.00 14 MONTH SAVES [1 LIFE $100 .4 YEAR SUPPORTS 11 CHILD

When, as re—
ports say, “the
Dead Sea boiled
and pillars of
smoke issued from
the mountains and
hot mineral water
gushed forth from
the earth,” Nab-
lus, thirty - two
miles north of
Jerusalem —- with
Jacob’s well, the
tomb of Joseph,
and Abraham’s a1-
tar nearby—sus-
tained the most ser—
ious consequences,
its inhabitants
being buried under
the ruins of the
low stone houses.
Hence, it was
among the first
communities to re-
ceive the aid of

 

HIGH COMMISSIONERS OFFICE
JERUSALEM

Dear Mr. Vickrey:

We are busy trying to obtain funds and devise an
organization to provide roofs for homeless people, whose
houses have been destroyed by earthquake shock, before
the winter is on us. In terms of monetary values or
of loss of life (happily most of the villagers were in the
fields at the time of the earthquake), our catastrophy
is not a great one, but the people of the country are
still very poor, they have few “liquid" resources and the
principal object of investment is house property.
Whereas in many places a large part of this property
has been destroyed, we must provide special credit facili’
ties to enable them to carry out major repairs and to
rebuild. We are managing alright immediately, and
bivouacking in a climate such as this involves no grave
suffering. But, somehow, we must obtain assistance and
credit to enable poor people to start rebuilding as
quickly as possible. Hence my appeal for funds from
abroad which, I feel sure, you and your friends will
support as much as you can.

Blatchford (E. W.), “one of yours," has been doing
noble work at Nablus.

Yours sincerely,

(Signed) G. B. SYMES.

 

.IllllIIllIIIIII-IllIII-IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIll-IIIII‘

 

 

 

Editorial and General oflicr‘s—Nmr East Relief, 151 Fifth A'Ut‘lllll’, New York. I’uinx/Iml Quarterly at Now l'nrlc, N. .

Entered as second-(lass matter, .S'cptmnbcr 24, 1923, at the post ofiit‘e at Nrw York, New York, umlvr Art of Mun-Ii 3, IR7‘).

Acceptance for mailing at special rate of postage provided for in Srrrlion 1103, Art of Ortulu'r 3, 1917, authorized September
24, 1923. .S'ubsm'iplimi 50c frrr ymr.

 

  

 

 

The NEW NEAR EAST

 

 

 

 

Near East Relief boys leaving Church “of the Holy sepulchre, kferusalem which was damaged in the recent Palestine
earthqua e.

the memory of the civilized world, probably
can be told authentically only now. Heretofore
the story was necessarily fragmentary. I have
now gathered the official facts which can be
set forth briefly as follows:

N ablus district, north of Jerusalem, 88 dead.

.Jerusalem district, 57 dead.

Ramleh district, south of Jerusalem, 61 dead.

Trans-Jordan district, 64 dead.

Total dead, 270. Injured still expected to
die, 25. Total injured, 590.

Latest estimate of property damage, $20,-
000,000.

Following the first and greatest tremor on
July 11, came reports of still more serious
shocks. Throughout the country communities
began to respond. Flour and bread poured in.
Less afl‘licted towns sent laborers to the

more unfortunate centers. Tel Aviv, hereditary
enemy of Nablus, rushed young workers and
wiped out an age-old feud. Nathan Strauss
of New York, cabled $25,000. Said Pasha
Zaghlul, president of the Egyptian parliament,
led with a contribution to a fund raised by the
Egyptian Supreme Council.

Distribution of supplies was immediately
begun by Col. George B. Symes, chief secretary
of the Palestine government and acting High
Commissioner in the absence of Lord Plummer.
The Royal Air Force volunteered and, with his
valuable experience in relief work, Edward W.

Blatchford, Director of the Near East Relief ‘

for Palestine, immediately volunteered and so
planned that 4,000 of the neediest sufi‘erers
were regularly first served as supplies came in.
He also arranged to have treated some of the
malignant cases of disease among the homeless

(Concluded on page 12)

 

 

""11‘: 1,

 $1va .A. . ..

 

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. f"‘—"'v~ fiw—g-wfivmw-zw—nwrvm

__ ._.:::__.‘ ._.__._"‘

 

 

SEPTEMBER, 1927

 

 

American Energy as Reconstructive Force
By BARCLAY ACHESON

Director General Overseas Operations, Near East Relief

tended the settlement of 1,000,000

refugees in Greece since the Smyrna dis-
aster, is a tribute to the stimulus of American
energy and leadership. Although public
imagination was stirred by the unprecedented
migration of more than a million Greeks from
Asia Minor four years ago, and later by the
manner in which they were welcomed and ab-
sorbed by a Greek population not five times
their number, the full significance of these
events, unprecedented in history, is only shown
by the definite record of the refugee settle-
ment activities of the past three years. In
the autumn of 1922 Greece experienced the
first invasion of those who fled from the ca-
tastrophe in Asia Minor—a tide of human
wreckage thrown up in her ports in complete
disorder. The second and third invasions fol-
lowed at intervals of a few months. Ameri-
can relief workers decided that this refugee
problem could not be left to the unaided ef-
forts of the Greek gov-
ernment for solution.

It was accordingly
arranged that, in ad-
dition to the voluntary
efforts of the various
relief organizations,
Greece should be pro-
vided with funds by
means of an interna-
tional loan. The Greek
government agreed to
assign certain lands
for the refugees, and
an international com-
mission was appointed
under the chairman-
ship of Henry Mor-
genthau, one of the
founders of the Near
East Relief,to adminis-
ter the whole problem.

7 I ‘HE remarkable success which has at-

 

At the last report, 147,000 families had
been established on the land, representing
551,000 individuals, and the Commission had
spent nearly $40,000,000 of the $50,000,000
secured for its use through the international
loan. It was estimated that only about 10,000
rural families were still awaiting settlement,
but the balance of the funds was required to
finish the program of the Commission.

Weak spots manifested themselves, of
course, but the story of three years’ work re-
flects great credit on all concerned. Today
the great majority of the refugees are settled,
working and producing. Success in the future
seems assured.

There is still much to be done. In many
areas there is overcrowding which requires ad-
justment. Difficulties regarding title have
caused friction among the settlers, which will
tax the good will and resourcefulness of the
Greek officials to adjust.

But the fact remains, as a living com-
mentary on the enor-
mous value of Ameri-
can leadership, that
the refugee settle-
ment in Greece has
had a profound and
lasting effect on the
whole political, social
and economic life of
the country. Greece
has found room within
her borders for a
virile section of her
people who previously
lived abroad and
made no contribution
to the fatherland.

A notable feature
of the 2,000 new refu-

The practical trade education which is being given to gee Villages is the

thousands of refugee children still in American care,

will serve as a model for Greek schools, particularly in
the 2,000 new refugee villages of Allacedonia.

rapidity with which
the cooperative move-

 

  

 

The NEW NEAR EAST

 

 

ment has taken root. Old Greece has never
shown this ability; the individualism of the
Greek seemed a barrier even to ordinary busi—
ness relationships. But the refugees from
Asia Minor have overcome this obstacle, as if
their common misfortunes and the desire to
make good once more had aroused that confi-
dence and spirit of cooperative effort which is
essential to modern life. ,

In the economic sphere the early effects of
the settlementof the refugees are already
visible in the peopling of the country districts,
the extension and improvement of crops, and
the increase in natural production. Through-
out Greece new industries are springing up
and trade is recovering, despite certain finan-
cial and economic difficulties. With this eco-
nomic restoration has come also a moral re-
generation, and confidence has replaced dis—

may and demoralization.

The added man-power which has come to
Greece means ultimately an added sense of sta-
bility and security, which will materially assist
Greece in its international relations. Elimina-
tion of the Greeks and Armenians from Turkey
has largely cancelled the root cause of the tra-
ditional hostility between Greece and Turkey.

In a large general way, American stimulus
and leadership have been responsible for this
entire movement. The same American inter-
est and friendship need to be continued, with
an increasing emphasis upon education and
upon agricultural progress. Thousands of
refugee children still remain under American
care, and the practical trade education which
is being given to them will serve as a model
for Greek schools, particularly in the 2,000
new refugee villages of Macedonia.

 

RATCH and Khat-

chadur Sarkissian
are the only twins in
all Near East Relief’s
huge family. They were
born in 1921 and have
been in our care almost
from the very first. When
they were three years old
they were transferred
from Kazachi Post Nur-
sery to Polygon Post and
have had the same or-
phanage mother ever
since. She says they are
good boys and always
happy, except when they
are separated. If one
hasto go to the hospital
for a few days the other
frets and cries.

Hratch (the one on the
left, or maybe it’s the
one on the right) says he
is going to be an aviator
when he grows up. He

 

The Twins

Hratch (the one on the right—0r maybe it’s
the one on the left—the other one is Khatcha—
dur) says he is going to be (m aviator when he
grows up. Klzatrhadur says when he gets to
be a man he will be—yes—an, aviator, too.

has the picture of an air-
plane embroidered on the
pocket of his blouse. It
says, “U. S. Air Service.”
He coaxes his group
leader to tell him all he
knows, and all he can
read about airplanes.
Khatchadur has decided
when he grows up that
he will be—yes, you have
guessed it—an aviator
also.

These two young men
with the high ambitions,
who are just six years
old, need sponsoring, as
do thousands of others.

Sponsorships cost $100
a year. Sponsors are fur-
nished with a picture of
the child whose main-
tenance is guaranteed and
a report upon the child’s
progress once or twice
each year.

 

 

  

SEPTEMBER, 1927

 

 

A Contrast

By BRAINERD P. SALMON

ETURNING to Greece in the
summer of 1926 after an ab-
sence of three years, I was

naturally prepared to see many
changes. Having kept in touch with
the situation during the intervening
period, as well as could be done at
a distance of 'five thousand miles,
I knew the changes were for the
better, but the reports which had
reached me were long on statistics
and short on information regarding
the human elements involved.

The tragedy of an uprooted race
has been told many times by abler
pens than mine—the story of its re-

A group from the
weaving room. Sturdy
well - fed, self - reliant
women, a credit to
themselves, their race
and the organization
that has enabled them
to leave the refugee
ramps and re—establish
themselves in life.

Below: A corner of the
salesroom.

 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
   
  
   
 
  
  
    

Building seen through
the Are/i of Hadrian.
-~4 (I eorner of whieh is the
."lthens .s‘ulesrooin for
Near East Industries
and .~lmerieun Friends
of Greeee, the rest of
the building being used
as a working boys"
home for or/i/mnnge
graduates.

establishment cannot as yet be fully

written, but in every one of the hun-
dreds of refugee villages in Greece we
may obtain glimpses of what that story
will be like—a history of patient suf-
fering and black despair gradually
giving place to modest comfort and
contentment. ‘

In the dark winter of 1922-23 Visitors
to the refugee camps were usually sur-
rounded by a crowd of women with one
cry upon their lips, “when may we go
back home?” Today this cry is for—
gotten. In many months of wandering

 

  

 

The NEW NEAR EAST

 

 

 

Part-time workers, too young for the responsibilities of life, who come
to the shop each day with mother or elder sister. They are learning
to become experts with the needle and are also given regular school

training.

throughout the length and breadth of Greece
I did not hear it once. True, here and there one
of the older generation is seen resting after the
work of the day busy with thoughts which con-
ceivably turn to the home of her childhood, but
such homesickness as there may be is not
spoken of, at least not before the stranger.
Nowhere in Greece is this changed mental
attitude more pronounced than in the women
and girls employed in the workshops estab-
lished by the American Friends of Greece in
1924 and now consolidated with the Near East
Industries. The shops were started as an ex-
periment in constructive relief by a group of
Americans who felt it better to spend money
in giving work and through work, not only
food and clothes and shelter, but that which is
fully as important to a human being, interest
in the present and hope for the future. .
That this experiment has been a successful
one is evidenced by the changed outlook of the
workers and their pride in their accomplish-
ment. The despairing mobs of the refugee
camps of three years ago have been trans-
formed into normal human beings. Could all
those in America whose contributions have
helped make this possible see What has been
accomplished, they would find in the result

 

ample reward for their generosity.
Women and girls well nourished,
with happy, smiling faces, neatly
dressed, working in the clean, well-
lighted shops in the Coundouriotis
' , Village present a vastly different pic-
ture from the huddled groups of
misery in the refugee camps of
1922-23.

To the sense of physical well-be-
ing coming from properly nourished
bodies and regular work in clean,
light, well ventilated buildings, is
added mental stimulation due to the
character of the work upon which
they are engaged, for surely there is
joy in working with beautiful colors
and upon fine fabrics.

The designs used in weaving and
embroidering are all distinctively
Greek, symbolical of some period of
the history of that historic land, and
though they may be modified in some instances
to meet modern needs, they still remain truly
classic, or Byzantine, or perhaps representa-
tive of some one of the many Islands of the
Aegean Sea. There is inspiration for these
daughters of Greece in the utilization of the
designs and coloring which have been worked
out by the women of their race during count-
less generations. '

In the designing room at Athens are treas-
ured many pieces of old embroidery, some
mere fragments, others intact and with colors
as bright and fresh as when worked by nimble
fingers from two to five hundred years ago.
When word is received from America that
some new article must be made to adorn the
person or embellish the home of our exacting
womankind, a search is made among these
treasures, and a Cretan curtain, a bedspread
from Chios, a wedding costume from Epirus,
or a bit of embroidery from some Byzantine
church or convent may be chosen to afford
the suggestions which a few deft changes make
appropriate to the modern need. When the
embroideries themselves fail in inspiration,
recourse is had to designs found upon the pot-
tery of Rhodes or Crete, or a visit is paid to
the National and Byzantine Museums, Where

4

 

  

SEPTEMBER, 1927

 

 

A street in Coundourio/is Vil-
lage. The houses, though small
and plain, are immaculately
clean and veritable “havens of
refuge” to those who have
known the horror of the refu-
gee camps. These houses are
occupied for the most part by
workers in the American In-
dustrial Shops.

the patterns are seem-
ingly inexhaustible. The
mental stimulation which
the worker derives from
this process is surely
carried on to the pur-
chaser, W h o s e senses
have been already capti-
vated by the soft, rich
coloring and exquisite
design of the article pur-
chased. Anyone visiting
Athens should not fail to
see the exhibition in the
Near East Relief Build-
ing facing the Arch of
Hadrian where arrange—
ments are also made for visitors to inspect the
workshops in Coundouriotis Village.

There is one note of pathos to be sounded
before closing, not one applying to those em-
ployed, but to the many skilled fingers still idle,
to the minds which lack contentment in the
present and hope in the future, for alas! it is
impossible to give work to all who have skill
and eagerness. For this reason every buyer

 

of Grecian made products of Near East In-
dustries should become a booster of the work,
for What more delightful sensation can one
experience than the possession of such lovely
things as the shops turn out and the knowl-
edge that their purchase is helping some
woman in the Near East win her way back
to economic independence, bodily comfort and
future hope.

 

First SclfaSupporting Blind

HERE are two hundred blind children, Vic-
tims of trachoma, in the care of Near East
Relief. It has been a great problem to prepare
these defectives for self—support in countries
where, since the war, it has been impossible
for many of the able-bodied to find work. The
recent successful placement of four blind boys
as trained weavers in Syria, is the first satis-
factory result of effort inaugurated by Near
EastRelief to demonstrate a solution of its
blind problem.
The above practical demonstration of the

educational value of the specialized work Near
East Relief has done for its defectives has in-
spired the French Mandatory Government in
Syria to contribute, unsolicited, 30,000 francs
for the educational work of the Ghazir Blind
School, which is specializing in weaving.

The cooperation of the governments under
which the American organization is working,
of which the above is only one instance of
many, is indicative of universal recognition of
the Golden Rule principles on which the work
is based.

 

  

- _ - «T——«w 1‘1—3}

Two hundred blind children must be trained for self—support

1 7.. ‘__._-

Young womanhood presents an un-

usual problem as.there is little place

in the economic life for her except
as wife or servant.

Through the Near East League, the

ethical life of the children is shaped,

both in the orphanage and after
graduation.

Most of the 35,000 children in our care, are of school age.

Why America

Is Still

Needed

in the Near, East

Thousands of chil-
dren in. the refugee
camps need help—pro-
per s h e l t e r, food,
clothes and education.

as:

New maternity center, Beirut.

"negate". 1 -. ; Lg ' e
Theplight of refugee n

Orphanage graduates must be helped until established.

Many children were
made homeless by the
Armenian and Palestine
earthquakes, like this
little Leninahanile.

The bread line is still a necessity
ttl many places in the Near East.

‘5 - - . _ .. .4.-

tothers with young babies is often pitiful in the extreme.

So many are still so young—55% under the “teen” age.

a- 1-. ‘- Q ~. '7' - ,. Jemi'
Two thousand widows with 8,000 de—
pendents are supported by Near East
Industries and thus prevented from
becoming Objt’ClS of charity.

Every boy must be given a trade at which he can earn a living.

 

  

 

12

The NEW NEAR EAST

 

 

(Continued from page 4)
children, trachoma
being especially vir—
ulent. The work of
the Near East repre-
sentatives was fit-
tingly rewarded by
letters expressing
deep appreciation by
the government offi-
cials and their admi-
ration of Mr. Blatch-
ford’s skill in carry-
ing on his work.

This service, which
cost the Near East
Relief but a trifle,
has resulted in a
strengthening of
good will between
the officials of the
Palestine Govern-
ment and the Near
East Relief, which is
praised as adminis—
tering help in ac-
cordance with the
best traditions of the
organization. Races
and creeds through-
out the country also
have been drawn
closer together.

As to the specific
damage done, Jeru-
salem now seems to
have been stricken
harder than at first
supposed. The
Church of the As—
cension, the build-
ings in the Russian
compound and the
Hebrew University
buildings were all
badly shaken, as was
the Empress Augus—
ta Hospice, now
known as the govern-
ment house, which

 

 

 

 

MAJOR GENERAL LEONARD WOOD

N the death, on August 8, of' Major General

Leonard Wood, Governor General of the Philip;
pine Islands, Near East Relief lost a warm friend
and staunch supporter.

General Wood was a member of the Board of
Trustees of Near East Relief, a member of the
National Golden Rule Committee and was affiliated
with the International Near East Association as
chairman of the Armenian Relief Committee in the
Philippine Islands.

In the spring of 1921, when the need of the
Armenian people was acute and Near East Relief
faced a crisis, General Wood, as chairman of a
Special Lenten Sacrifice Appeal Committee, headed
one of the most popular and successful campaigns
for postrwar relief. ‘

His loss is mourned by all those connected with
the work of the organization.

 

 

 

 

 

was built by the for-
mer German Kaiser.
The damage to busi-
ness buildings also
was considerable. In
Bethlehem the mon-
astery of the Greek
section connected
with the Church of
the Nativity was se-
verely cracked. Prop—
erties of the Armen-
ian church in Jeru-
salem and Ramleh
were damaged to the
extent of $25,000.
Houses in Nazareth
show the effects of
the quake. Jericho’s
buildings were shak-
en and three Indian
women of high rank
were killed in the
collapse of a hotel.
Three buildings in
which the Near East
Relief is interested
suffered from the
disaster. One is the
school of the Sisters
of Charity. Another
is the School of St.
Pierre, which, like
the first, is aided by
the Near East Re-
lief. The third is
the Armenian Pat-
riarchate which gives
over a room for the
Working Boys’ Home
in the Armenian con-
vent in Jerusalem.
Nablus’ fate, how-
ever, continues to be
foremost. There the
inhabitants were
buried beneath the

debris and it was
_more than a week

before all bodies were
(Concluded on page 17),

 

  

 

SEPTEMBER, 1927

 

 

Arms and Legs

is the Near East Relief orphanage, is a
young girl, Meyreni Shekerdjian, who has
no arms.

Although Meyreni has a pretty face, a strong
healthy body, an affectionate and willing dis-
position and has a wonderful way with little
children, as she has demonstrated in her job
as house mother at Ghazir, it is unlikely that
she will marry. There are few men in Syria,
in its uncertain political and economic condi—
tion, who could afford to assume the burden
of a girl who could only make him a comfort-
able home with the aid of a servant. Neither
can she make a home for herself even if she
could maintain it.

For in spite of the fact that Meyreni has
taught herself to take care of all her personal
needs except combing her hair; to run a sew—
ing machine, turning the wheel quickly by
pressing one pitiful stump of an arm against
its handle; threading the needle by poking the
thread through with her mouth and grasping
it and drawing it through the eye with the
big and second toe of one of her clever feet;
to crochet; to write; yet there are many things
about the house she cannot do. And now that
she is practically a woman and fixed in her
habits of life, it is probable that if Meyreni
were presented suddenly with artificial arms
she would find herself less useful than she is
at present. No, Meyreni’s life is just a tragedy,
considered from the standpoint of a proper
place in economic life. Meyreni can only spend
her life in insti-
tutions where she
will have some
help in making
life possible and
bearable.

But there are
many children in
Near East Relief
orphanages who
are younger than

IN the old monastery at Ghazir, which now

Meyreni cats her
breakfast

 

Meyreni, who are
minus an arm or
a leg, a terrible
handicap when it
is considered that
they m u s t be
started out into
self - support at
the early age of
sixteen, too soon
for many of them
to have become
expert in a trade
because of their
deformity. Most of these children will be un-
able to achieve the status of full-support in
their present condition. Equipped now with
properly articulated arms and legs it would be
possible for them to master a trade by which
they can earn their living when they are grad-
uated from the orphanage trade schools.

Money is needed to equip these children with
artificial legs and arms. The cost of the in-
dividual limbs varies according to the length
required and the age of the child. The aver-
age cost per leg or arm is $25.

There is no appropriation in the funds of
Near East Relief for this special need. Friends
are therefore urged to create a special fund by
generous contributions, and are asked when
sending in the contribution to designate that
it is for this purpose.

 

qurcni tu'ritus (1 [MIN

“H OW much of adolescent power has been caught,
harnessed and trained” is the question asked in
connection with Near East Relief’s care of approxi-
mately 35,000 children, by Dr. John F. B. Carruthers,
Professor of Religious Education, Occidental College,
during his recent visit to Near East Relief work in
Syria. “If we could get some kind of an organiza-
tion,” continued Dr. Carruthers, “that would take this
Near East Relief contact with youth and build up an
organization through which we could touch and train
the youth of Armenia up to the possibilities in these
difficult lands, that seems to me the great future work
of Near East Relief.”

 

  

 

14

The NEW NEAR EAST

 

 

Near East Girls

EDITOR’S NOTE: The. following is an editorial
from “The Star,” the periodical of the Near
East League, an organization of orphan grad-
uates of Near East Relief.

E have talked in these columns many

‘;‘/ times regarding the duties of both ex-

orphan boys and girls. This time we

shall speak more especially about the duties

of the girls in the social and family life, as they

are scattered abroad in Syria and Lebanon,

as well as in other countries, and are living in
different environments.

After they leave the orphanage they need
more care and guidance than the boys, because
they are more timid, until they are old enough
to take their places in the community as
Armenian ladies.

The Near East Relief and other benevolent
organizations have cared for them in many
ways. Some of them have married and have
happy families. Some of them are successful
as teachers in schools; some earn a living by
doing beautiful embroidery; others have taken
up nursing; while others are honest servants

' in good families. But there are some who are

unable to fight the battle of life alone, and
these are the ones who need the most help.
They need advice, as from a mother or sister,
and the older girls can perform this duty.

The Near East League has special duties in
this great work.

In Zahle, Alexandretta and especially in
Aleppo, where the girls share equally with the
boys in the work of the Near East League,
they are trying to do their part on the service
committees, in the night schools or in special
visits and other activities and so are being
helpful to their sisters.

It is evident that both the boys and the girls,
when they come out of the orphanage, are
ignorant about social relations, friendly and
polite manners and talking with courtesy. They
are astonished and nervous in meeting their
many troubles. When they join the Near East
League they feel the necessity of being careful
and polite, and through the League activities

and the League

they learn to be normal in their social relation- ,
ships.

The hearts of orphan girls are kind; they
are eager to help and raise one another. We
are sure they want to be real and actual Chris-
tians. They have to show to others the nobil-
ity of serving. Their mothers and grandmoth-
ers were splendid examples.

In every chapter of the Near East League
the orphan girls’ activities must show strong
affection for their organization. They must
work hard for it. The success of the League
will be proved by the success which accompan-
ies their activities.

In those places where there is no chapter of
the League our orphan girls must start small
groups among themselves and later join into
one strong central organization.

Let our ex-orphan girls who are married,
and who are more lucky than the others,
remember with gratefulness the kindness
shown to them by their friends during hard
times, and so let them come together and push
the League idea in order to help others. We
hope and believe that their efforts for the
League will be encouraged by their husbands
and other relatives and friends.

Ex-orphan girls, no one can be so helpful
to one another of you as you can yourselves.
You may at first lack courage to start activi-
ties, but once the effort is made the impetus
will carry you along to success.

The feminine sex does the biggest work in
the community life. The uplift and progress of
a people depends on the women, for they are
the teachers of the future men and women of
the race’. The progress of our people depends
mostly upon serving and helping each other.

IN achieving its philanthropic work in this
country the American Near East Relief has
indeed followed the century-old tradition of
friendship of the noble and great United
States of America and has thus won the ever-
lasting gratitude of the Hellenes.

P. COUNTOURIOTIS
President of the Republic of Greece

 

  

 

SEPTEMBER, 1927

 

 

Camp Babies

By MABELL S. C. SMITH

HE Armenian wo-

men in the refugee

camps of Beirut
are living in makeshift
huts under circumstan-
ces that make cleanli-
ness and privacy almost
impossible to secure,
and their poverty is so
extreme that they can
afford no special care
during the trying hours
of childbirth. This
means that the babies
of those too poor to go
to the city hospitals
are ushered into the
world by unskilled re-
fugee friends or at the
best by native mid-
wives.

The situation was a
source of deep concern
to Miss Agnes Evon,
head of the Near East
Relief nursing service
in the