Skip to item: of 946
Information about this record Back to top
Open in Universal viewer
Open in Mirador IIIF viewer

File 5655/1918 Pt 2 'Mesopotamia: Refugee Camp at Baqubah (1920 – papers)' [‎411r] (832/946)

The record is made up of 1 volume (464 folios). It was created in 27 Dec 1919-30 Dec 1920. It was written in English and French. The original is part of the British Library: India Office The department of the British Government to which the Government of India reported between 1858 and 1947. The successor to the Court of Directors. Records and Private Papers Documents collected in a private capacity. .

Transcription

This transcription is created automatically. It may contain errors.

Apply page layout

4 * TrU XTi' HAS B]i!3 jIN HIE MOST SERIOUS
HigPAraiATIOf! gj THK AFlSVi^TATJ^
On account of this Treaty Great Britain
has ignored every plea we have made to check the
massacres and barbarities perpetrated upon our
people, thus giving Persian fanatics a free' hand to
do as they pleased with our defenceless refugees in
Ururnia and Salmas* And this was 'the reason that no
mention whatever was made in the English press about
the wholesale massacres and indignities suffered
by "(he Assyrians*
We feel that we have a stronger claim on
Great Britain than Persia. England made a most
solemn covenant with us before she concluded any
treaty with Persia. By her entreaty we agreed to
fight against the Turks, and in return Great Britain
and prance pledged themselves to give us protection
and all privileges promised to small and oppressed
nations. On this account we fought the Turks
and Moslems of Asarbaijan. we have rendered a great
service, we have sacrificed two-thirds of our nation,
massacres and tragedies have been the portion of our
people, prom four to five thousand Assyrian women
are at present captives in Moslem harems, we
naturally expect Great Britain and prance to redeem
their pledges.
i
I cannot believe that Lord curzon is properly
informed of the facts (due perhaps to the loss of
documents during the Bolshevik invasion of the Caucasus,
when colonel pike was killed); if he were, I feel
he would give the matter more sympathetic consideration
and would put an end to our misery at once.
If Great Britain can respect her pledges
with

About this item

Content

This volume contains correspondence, memoranda, reports, telegrams and minutes. It mainly covers conversations between British and French officials regarding the Christian (mostly Assyrian and Armenian) refugees in the refugee camp at Baqubah [also written Ba’qubah, Ba’quba and Baquba] in Mesopotamia [approximately corresponding to present-day Iraq], and their possible repatriation.

Related matters of discussion include the following: the health of the refugees; background; labour capacity; expenses and payments of the refugee camp; administration of the camp and its economic challenges; transportation for repatriation. Included in the correspondence are letters from Surma Khanin D’Mar Shimun describing the situation of the camp and asking for changes to the camp, and for the return of the Assyrians and Armenians. In addition, there are some inquiries received by British officials from Christian Assyrians. Also mentioned are the following: the ‘Christian Army of Revenge’, French propaganda among the Assyrians, Assyrio-Chaldean [Assyro-Chaldeans] refugees in Russia, and the American Mission.

In addition, the volume includes the following:

  • Details of the numbers of Armenian refugees in the camp at Baqubah on 7 December 1919 (f 462)
  • Memoranda on the Armenian refugees present in the camp 1919 (ff 436-459)
  • Notes on the Assyrian refugees in the camp, dated July 1920 (ff 199-210)
  • List of the number of Armenians in the camp (ff 104-105)
  • A memorandum on the Assyrian and Armenian refugees in Mesopotamia (ff 95-97)
  • A map showing a ‘Proposed Nestorian Enclave’ (f 466).

The principal correspondents are: Civil Commissioner, Baghdad; British High Commission, Constantinople [Istanbul]; British Embassy in Washington; British Consulate, Tabriz; War Office; Lord Curzon, Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, British Delegation, Paris; officials at the refugee camp at Baqubah; French Embassy, London; Board of Foreign Mission of the Presbyterian Church in the United States; the Mar Shimun family.

The volume includes a divider which gives the subject number, the year the subject file was opened, the subject heading, and a list of correspondence references by year. This is placed at the back of the correspondence.

Extent and format
1 volume (464 folios)
Arrangement

The volume’s contents are arranged in approximate chronological order from the rear to the front of the volume.

The subject 5655 (Mesopotamia) consists of 3 volumes, IOR/L/PS/10/773-775. The volumes are divided into 4 parts, with part 1 comprising the first volume, part 2 comprising the second volume, and parts 3-4 comprising the third volume.

Physical characteristics

Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the inside front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 468; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. side of each folio. An additional foliation sequence is present in parallel between ff 197-462; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled.

Written in
English and French in Latin script
View the complete information for this record

Use and share this item

Share this item
Cite this item in your research

File 5655/1918 Pt 2 'Mesopotamia: Refugee Camp at Baqubah (1920 – papers)' [‎411r] (832/946), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/10/774, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100184391544.0x0000aa> [accessed 6 June 2026]

Link to this item
Embed this item

Copy and paste the code below into your web page where you would like to embed the image.

<meta charset="utf-8"><a href="https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100184391544.0x0000aa">File 5655/1918 Pt 2 'Mesopotamia: Refugee Camp at Baqubah (1920 – papers)' [&lrm;411r] (832/946)</a>
<a href="https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100184391544.0x0000aa">
	<img src="https://iiif.qdl.qa/iiif/images/81055/vdc_100000000419.0x00029c/IOR_L_PS_10_774_0832.jp2/full/!280,240/0/default.jpg" alt="" />
</a>
IIIF details

This record has a IIIF manifest available as follows. If you have a compatible viewer you can drag the icon to load it.https://www.qdl.qa/en/iiif/81055/vdc_100000000419.0x00029c/manifestOpen in Universal viewerOpen in Mirador viewerMore options for embedding images

Use and reuse
Download this image