Jonas Smucker Hartzler

“ Every worker who has returned, remained on the field longer than his agreement required. The Near East Relief organization has in many ways shown its appreciation for the particular service rendered by our workers, as well as for the generous support given the work by our people. Our men seem to have filled a needed place in the Relief program, and a lasting work has been accomplished. ”

“ The understanding with the officials of the Red Cross was that as soon as we would be called for by the brethren who had gone on to Constanti nople, we would be released at Beirut.
Farther north in the Aleppo area the situation was worse in some respects and better in others. The plains about Aleppo for miles and miles are in habited by Arabs. These are a nomadic people, moving east with their flocks and herds in winter and away from the desert as the hot, dry season comes on. They live on a lower stage of civilization than the Syrians. ”

“ Furnishing Men as Well as Money
A number of our brethren would have been glad to go to France and aid in the work of relief and reconstruction as soon as the way opened, but the scarcity of farm labor seemed to require all the available force in this country to supply the needed food. Much had been shipped to the warring coun tries and the prices for farm produce were almost prohibitive, especially to the poor, hence Mennonite boys who were not called to camp were urged to help on the farms. ”

“ Some were driven into deserts to die of starvation while others were required to suffer tortures which were worse than death. Thousands died from these abuses. Some made their way to places of comparative safety such as Russia, Egypt, Jerusalem, or to some place in their own country where the danger was not so great. But what when they reached those places? In most cases there was not food sufficient to feed the residents, and because of the war food was both expensive and very hard to get. ”

“ Three and a half months previous to our arrival the American Red Cross had extended its work north from Jerusalem into Syria with headquarters at Beirut. Their workers had gone into these large cities and in the sub-districts into which the sur rounding area was divided and relief was organized. Industrial workshops had been opened where women and girls were employed at a minimum living wage. At one time three thousand were so employed in Beirut alone. ”

“ The Syria field was divided into the Beirut and the Aleppo areas, and each of these areas into seven districts. In each one of these districts a small American Relief Unit was organized. In most of them the work was divided into four departments as follows : Orphanage, industrial, medical, and general relief. At the head of each department was placed an American worker with a staff of native assistants. In charge of the whole Unit was a local director, assisted in his work by a unit treasurer and a man ager of transportation and supplies. ”

“ Milk and meat for food, wool and hides for clothing are all furnished by their flocks. They usually camp long enough in one place during the summer to pro duce a few vegetables. A few cooking utensils and their weapons for fighting are about all they need from the outside world. They also suffered by the war but not so severely. But into this region the Armenians were deported. From all points of Asia Minor these lines of fleeing, persecuted, driven refu gees converged towards Aleppo. ”

“ About this same time, several of the returned relief workers from Syria suggested sending a small unit as far as Constantinople. Such a unit actually so near the field, having on hand supplies and funds, might be in better position to make arrangements for entering South Russia than would be possible from this country. The Near East Relief offered to assist such a project in whatever ways they could, and further suggested that, should the way into Russia be closed, relief work be organized for the Russian refugees in and about Constantinople. ”

“ Chris Graber was stationed in Bei rut until the latter part of May, working principally in the transport department. He was then transferred to Aleppo and for a short time had charge of the supplies for that area, and then was placed at the head of the Armenian refugee work in that city. There were at times as many as eight thousand Armenians in the army barracks in which the com mittee sheltered them. In these barracks was a fully equipped hundred and fifty bed hospital, workshops providing employment for the women, an orphanage, and soup kitchens furnishing a daily serving of food to all. ”

“ With the increase of funds naturally came the question of the best means of applying them. The Church wanted to send workers as well as money. The Red Cross being international in scope had re ceived exclusive rights for carrying on relief work in the war-stricken districts except where organized relief was already being carried on. Most of the churches did their work through the Red Cross, but that required the military uniform and was directly and organically allied with the army. ”

“ James H. Nicol, a mis sionary in Syria of ten years, who had organized and conducted the work of the Red Cross in Beirut, was continued as director of the work done by the American Committee for Relief in this same field. He most sympathetically and understandingly en tered into the purposes and ideals that had brought us to the field. His attitude tended to make the work agreeable to our men. ”

“ There is another class of people who will always remember the relief workers. Numerous prison camps were located in the area in which the work was done, where thousands of German prisoners of war awaited the final signing and ratifying of the peace treaty. ”

“ Scores of once prosperous villages lay in ruins, some without one single habitable dwelling, others with some buildings which could be repaired, and still others which escaped more or less unharmed, though the latter were few. ”

“ Out of the number there in June, 1919, fifty-one were Mennonites. Two Mennonites had already re turned to their homes after a year of service. This made a total of fifty-three who were engaged in relief work in France. Five or six of this number were members of some of the smaller divisions in the central west, and not directly affiliated with the main branch of the Church, but the others were from our congregations in Pennsylvania, Virginia, Maryland, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, and Canada. With a few exceptions, all of the brethren had been to camp. ”

“ When the war was over some villages in Syria and Armenia had lost about seventy per cent of their men by starvation. Newspapers presented conditions in heart-rending terms.
The First Contingent Sent to the Near East
Many people urged that the Church send some young men to the Near East to do reconstruction work, and thought that it might be an advantage to have a certain territory for which the Mennonites should make themselves responsible. As the Amer ican Committee was about to send a number of men, the Committee invited the Mennonite Commission to send a number with them. ”

“ There the need exists in a larger way, affecting the whole population, and there relief can be given which might do a more permanent good. That is the section for which the work was undertaken in the first place.
As a distinctly Mennonite Relief Unit, this has been a new extension or department in the work of our Church. In a missionary way opportunities have come to our workers, such as has not been pos sible in any relief work which the Church has sup ported hitherto. The workers are taking advantage of these opportunities to the extent of their ability and time. ”

“ When the enemy came upon a town or neighborhood the common people fled from their homes taking with them a few of their belongings, such as could be gathered in haste and conveyed to places of safety. ”

“ With four or five men working on one house it took an average of about two days or a little less to complete the house and have it ready for occupation by the family for which it was intended. Often the family would return even before the house was en tirely completed. In some mysterious way the word went out that a village was being rebuilt and soon the refugees of that village would be coming back. ”

“ RELIEF WORK 203
needs may have required still other departments, but usually the unit was made up of from six to eight American workers. This group lived together as one family and were given a great deal of freedom in working out local policies and in determining how their monthly budget should be spent. They were dependent on the headquarters office at Beirut for their funds, their supplies, their new personnel, and the decision on the larger general policies of giving relief. In Beirut were the treasurer's and executive offices for the field, and large warehouses filled with supplies. ”

“ Out of a population of five hundred thousand more than one hundred and fifty thousand starved or died from the effects of starvation within a period of two years. Whole villages were depopulated, the houses left in ruins, the vineyards and orange groves neglected. Those who had not died there had gone to the larg er cities in search of food. ”

“ A very limited amount of relief work was done dur ing the war, but this was done almost entirely through the missionaries, and was principally given to women and children because it was considered that men were better able to provide for themselves. ”

“ This in turn has given our own workers a close and intimate association and contact with the missionary movements and problems in that part of the foreign field. Such an opportunity for studying foreign missions in a first hand way has probably not come to any group of our people before. In the minds of the native people our men were classed with the missionaries. These condi tions presented numerous opportunities of witness ing for Christ and His teachings. Among the mis sionaries and the other relief workers our men were always designated as the Mennonite group. ”

“ If these people were to be saved from starvation, help must come from sources outside of their own country. Information came to this country through the news papers, Red Cross, consuls, and other agencies and the people were touched with sympathy. Many wanted to give toward feeding and clothing the peo ple and helping them to rebuild their homes. ”

“ Plans were made for the opening of orphanages, helping the hospitals, the distribution of clothing and in giv ing other relief of a general nature. We then jour neyed on to Alexandrovsk, which was the center of another large Mennonite community, saw even a greater need there, and worked out similar plans for helping them. Brother Kratz then returned to Halb stadt, where he began the organization of the work in preparation for the coming of the supplies, while I returned to Sebastopol, and after a few days pro cured passage back to Constantinople. ”

“ Roy Kaufman of West Liberty, Ohio, Ray Bender of Springs, Pennsylvania, Martin Weaver of Newton, Kansas, Milo Zimmerman of Harper, Kans as, Roy Myers of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, Daniel Stoltzfus of Martinsburg, Pennsylvania, Fred Swartz- endruber of Wayland, Iowa, and Menno Nussbaum of Orrville, Ohio, were in this last group. These men took in large measure the places vacated by the first group of eleven whose term of one year had ex pired. In all twenty-five men have been recommend ed and sent out by our Relief Commission, for work in this field. ”

“ But many succeeded in reaching Aleppo. After arriving they found no shelter, no food, no work. The Red Cross opened industrial shops, gave men work in building roads, distributed bread and soup in outdoor kitchens, fur nished blankets, clothing, and hospital facilities, re leased Armenian girls from Turkish harems and made an effort to get people back to their homes. Here also our men helped out wherever they could.
RELIEF WORK 201
About five weeks passed during which we had no news from Brethren Loucks and Derstine. Dur ing this time the terms of several of the Red Cross workers expired. ”