International Committee of the Red Cross

“ In summer especially the baths are never idle.
Prisoners get plenty of soap and wash their own linen on wooden tables arranged under water taps.
Two high-pressure steam disinfecting chambers serve the camp, and once a week all blankets are passed through them. The camp contains no fleas, lice, or bugs.
The day latrines are 100 yards from the living quarters. They are of the Turkish kind, with movable tubs—1 tub for every 10 men. Every tub contains some cresol solution. The night-soil is removed daily by the Cairo road authorities and converted into manure. ”

“ On the day of our inspection there were in the infirmary 1 prisoner ill with bronchitis; at the hospital 1 tuberculous case and 1 with a wounded elbow.
The sanitary state of the camp has always been excellent. Apart from two relapse cases of dysentery in 1916, there has been neither trachoma, typhoid, typhus, malaria, nor any other infectious disease. This is explained by the fact that the interned civilians were not in bad health before their captivity, as was the case with soldiers who had sojourned in the desert, whom we saw in the other Egyptian camps. ”

“ 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 washing their clothes the prisoners have some very convenient arrangements. Once a week each prisoner's blankets and clothes are passed through the disinfecting chamber and thoroughly sterilised. Thanks to this precaution, there is not a trace of vermin to be found in the camp. ”

“ An extensive garden is always at the prisoners' disposal.
Bedding.—The japanned iron bedsteads are furnished with spring and stuffed mattresses, sheets, blankets, and pillows. In their arrangement one notices the influence of personal taste. Embroidered coverlets, hangings and upholstery give to some of the apartments an aspect of comfort and even of elegance. The military administration supplies all the furniture and the regulation bedding, to which the inmates may add what they like at their own expense. ”

“ 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. ”

“ Several Ottoman prisoners in the camp were making the pilgrimage to Mecca when they were captured by the Sherif's troops and passed over to the English authorities, who interned them. The camp at Ras-el-Tin was to be evacuated in a few days' time, and all the occupants were to be transferred to Sidi Bishr Camp, now prepared to accommodate 5,000 men. In this camp there will be a special section for civilians.
The commandant of Ras-el-Tin is Major F.G. Owens, who takes the greatest interest in his prisoners. Every day he personally receives anyone who has a wish or a complaint to bring forward. ”

“ Correspondence, Money Orders and Parcels.—Very few money orders are received. The interned Turks are chiefly illiterate; those whose wives are interned at Cairo, and who are allowed to occasionally visit them, seldom write, as they know them to be well treated. Parcels are seldom sent to the camp, and hitherto no philanthropic society has busied itself over the necessitous.
Prisoners' Aid.—The only plea which has been addressed to us by means of the Ottoman interpreter, who speaks French and English extremely well, comes from a certain number of destitute prisoners. ”

“ Assaults and corporal punishment are totally unknown in the camps. The only disciplinary penalty, very seldom applied, consists of arrest for a period fixed by the military authorities. We were happy to learn that the discipline of the Turkish prisoners is excellent. Their own commissariat officers exercise a good influence. ”

“ The health department is remarkably well organised everywhere. Drinking water and water for washing purposes are equally abundant. There is an ad libitum supply for douches and baths in every camp. The arrangements for laundering linen are very efficient.
Each camp is provided with a disinfecting furnace, linen and upper garments being sterilised once weekly. There are no vermin anywhere. Special pains are taken over the cleansing of prisoners newly arrived from the front. ”

“ Food.—Cooking is done by the prisoners themselves, provisions being supplied by the administration. The quantities are the same as in the other camps. The menu consists of: meat, bread, butter, cheese, lentils, fresh vegetables, onions, rice, etc. The prisoners whom we interrogated, either personally or through the medium of an interpreter, declared that they were well fed. A little canteen, set up in a tent apart, provides them with such small luxuries as tea, sugar, and so on, at a moderate price. ”

“ We have never seen this ingenious arrangement in any German or French hospital; it seems to us to be a very practical idea and likely to prove of great benefit to the wounded. At the head of each bed is a temperature chart, a diet chart, and a clinical summary of the case.
Special Quarters.—The operating theatre is well arranged; a sterilising stove is heated by paraffin. In the wards for prisoners suffering from malaria the beds are enclosed by mosquito nets to prevent the anopheles mosquito infecting itself and then biting other patients or people of the neighbourhood. ”

“ The prisoners get tobacco regularly. Each man has a plate, an enamelled bowl, and a spoon.
Dress.—The prisoners have all received a complete outfit. Their clothing was clean and warm. The mending of linen and outer garments is done by tailor prisoners, working in a tent provided for the purpose. Their headdress is the fez or a red cap.
Hygiene.—Drinking water is distributed everywhere throughout the camp by means of pipes well supplied with taps. Water for washing purposes is abundantly distributed to the lavatories, douches and bathing-places. ”

“ There is an ample installation of lavatories with running water, baths with hot and cold douches, and Turkish baths. Turkish latrines have been fitted in the annexes of the palace. Natives do the laundry work and ironing.
Special Quarters.—The Red Cross Hospital is provided with a spacious, well-lighted theatre for operations, and all the necessary apparatus. In a neighbouring ward a powerful fumigating stove, built by natives after a French model, enables instruments and dressings to be completely sterilised. ”

“ Four English hospital orderlies are assisted by three Turkish orderlies. An English dentist visits the camp at the doctor's request.
At the infirmary, which is clean and well looked after, all prisoners not seriously ill are accommodated with beds having mattresses and steel springs. The consulting room is well supplied with medicines. Serious cases are sent to the hospitals set apart for prisoners of war.
From 20 to 30 men come to the infirmary daily for medical attention. ”

“ Bathrooms reserved for the patients adjoin the infirmary, and there is a kitchen service for preparing special diet.
Officers troubled by their teeth are taken to a dentist in Alexandria.
The prisoners' garments and bedding are sterilised in a special apparatus.
All new arrivals pass 14 days in quarantine, in special quarters in one of the sections of the camp. They are permitted to join their comrades only when it is certain that they are free from any contagious malady. At present 36 officers and 34 orderlies are in quarantine. ”

“ 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 ”

“ Some Turks captured near Bagdad and transported to Burmah received their money from home, but have not received any more during the one or two months that have elapsed since they were transferred to Maadi. It is probable that the money was sent home again, or forwarded officially to the new place of internment, and this takes a long time. Several prisoners have taken advantage of their captivity to learn reading and writing with their comrades' assistance. Many men had money on them when they were taken. ”

“ The numerous complaints provoked in other countries by forced labour are entirely absent among the Ottoman prisoners in Egypt.
Imaums take religious charge, and the prisoners have full liberty to carry out their daily worship.
Correspondence is less active than elsewhere owing to the large proportion of illiterate prisoners. Letters are long on the road because of the great distances traversed. The censorship is carried out in a liberal spirit and gives rise to no complaints. Money orders sent from Turkey are paid in full ”

“ The beds are iron with wire springs, the mattresses stuffed with vegetable fibre, the number of blankets not limited.
All the men have been vaccinated against smallpox and cholera. We learned from the infirmary registers that 30-40 men attend daily at 8 o'clock, the doctor's visiting hour.
The advanced age of many of the prisoners, who are suffering from chronic affections, accounts for this large attendance.
The day we visited the infirmary it contained 8 patients: 3 cases of malaria, 3 cases of bronchial pneumonia, and 2 cases of dysentery. ”

“ Only tobacco was cut off. An old offender was brought before a court-martial, and sentenced by it to six months' imprisonment. The prison quarters are cells built entirely of cement, with two barred windows well above the ground to light the chamber, which is of ample size.
Right to Make Complaints.—The camp commandant makes a general inspection every day. Every prisoner has the right to step forward and make his complaints. The commandant converses with the prisoners through the medium of several British officers who speak Arabic and Turkish. ”

“ Dress.—The English authorities supply women and children with all their linen and other clothing.
Food.—Provisioning is a private enterprise, carried out under a contract. The food is the same for all classes, and is unlimited in quantity. The women are given as much as they desire of each dish. No complaint was made concerning the food, which is wholesome and palatable. We visited the kitchen and sampled the day's menu. Milk in large quantities is provided for the children. ”

“ He is assisted by an English doctor-adjutant, and 4 Arab doctors, natives of Syria. All these doctors speak Turkish and Arabic. Nine English orderlies and 12 Turkish orderlies carry out the sick duties. A dentist comes to camp when required.
The infirmary included three well-appointed quarters built in masonry, and able to hold 40 patients.
The infirmary bedding accommodation consists of iron bedsteads with spring mattress and stuffed mattress. The blankets are warm and unlimited in number.
Illness.—Every morning 300-400 prisoners come on sick parade. This number represents about 8 per cent. ”

“ They have been introduced to football without success. Some have shown great skill in the manufacture of mandolines, guitars, and tambourines. All materials as well as games are provided gratis by the British Government. The camp commandant has bought the men some gramophones. Many prisoners make articles of coloured beads—handbags, purses, necklaces, bracelets, etc.—which show considerable artistic taste. We bought one of these beautiful pieces of work as a specimen. The articles sell readily in the curiosity shops at Cairo. ”

“ Education.—A school has been started in the camp, and all boys as well as girls up to 12 years old are obliged to attend it. A mistress teaches them Turkish and Arabic, and also gives them half an hour's instruction in English daily. ”

“ Money.—Many of those interned had money on them, sometimes a large amount, when captured; the whole of which has been left in their hands. They often send money through the agency of British officers to their husbands who are prisoners in Maadi Camp, or at Sidi Bishr, near Alexandria. Others, on the contrary, receive allowances from their husbands. Some money orders have also come through the International Red Cross Committee.
Correspondence.—Each person interned has the chance of writing once a week; those who do not know how to write get help from their companions. ”

“ Although there are many agriculturists among the prisoners, it would not do to use them for work on the land along with the natives, owing to the ease with which they could escape and the need for having many soldiers to guard them. ”

“ Correspondence.—Most of the prisoners receive very few letters or none. They are allowed to write in their language once a fortnight, but take very little advantage of the permission. It seems that many letters addressed to their families in Turkey come back again, as the addressee has not been found. ”