ملف ٧٠٥/١٩١٦ الجزء ٢ "انتفاضة عربية: التقارير العربية؛ تقارير السير م. سايكس" [ظ‎‎٥‎٠] (٤٥٠/٩٨)

10
Property plundered.
The Armenians were ordered from their homes at the shortest notice, and no
time was given for them to provide transport for their belongings or to dispose of
their property. The Turks took possession of all, and relieved the unfortunate people
of such things as they attempted to carry with them.
Lack of Road Transport.
The demand for road transport became so great that prices ran to a prohibitive
height. The writer saw thousands of Armenians piear Hassan Beylu, m the Taurus
mountains, lying out in the snow waiting for vehicles, and the same state of things
prevailed at Aleppo and other transfer stations. There was no organisation to meet
the situation created by the forcible evacuation of the Armenian population, partly the
result of Turkish incompetence and partly through deliberate neglect.
Foreign Public Opinion. Jemal Pasha.
, After a time European and more especially American public opinion began to be
heard on the subject of Armenians, and upon this Jemal Pasha (the Great!) went to
Constantinople and insisted that the massacres should cease, urging that it was not only
a crime but a mistake. In addition he foresaw that a useful source of forced labour
could be tapped for his public works in Syria and Palestine. It was reported that
Talaat was not disposed at first to listen, but that Jemal was powerful enough to over
ride opposition, and it is said that in this way the lives of over 100,000 Armenians
were spared, but only on the condition that they should be sent to Syria. Jemal Pasha
was promptly nicknamed the “ Armenian Pasha ” in Constantinople, but the Armenians
were grateful and neutral Ambassadors were duly impressed.
The Armenians, wishing to show their appreci ition of Jemal Pasha’s action, and
being prohibited from uttering their thanks, decided to march past his house in
Constantinople in silence, and in this manner 40,U00 Armenians paraded in front of
Jemal, who" stood on the balcony of his house for three hours with his arms folded
like Napoleon the Great. The train by which Jemal returned to Syria was frequently
stopped for him to receive the thanks of Armenians, which, however, the writer thinks
were given bv order ; in fact, the writer considers that the whole of Jemal’s action was
a mere farce to impress the outside world and to increase the importance of Jemal.
The treatment of the Armenians under Jemal’s administration confirms him in this
opinion.
The Armenians under Jemal.
Jemal having thus got a large number of Armenians into his clutches, decided to
send them to remote parts of Syria and Palestine. The writer considers that his
motive for this action was to prevent them from contaminating the existing population,
and also to minimise the chances of neutrals witnessing their treatment.
They were sent to various camps where 3,000 to 5,0* 0 were herded together, and
the writer visited such camps in Hauran, Adflun, and South East of the Dead Sea.
Armenian Camps.
The inmates of these camps are entirely dependent on food and water supplied by
Government; they were forbidden to enter towns or villages, or to work for pay ; they
are made to live in the desert. Men, women, and children were put to hard labour, and
each working man or woman received 2d. a day. That was their sole income on which
they had to live.
In sonm cases there was no water nearer than six miles, and it had to be brought
to the camp by rail. The trains frequently failed to run, the fact that there was a war
in progress was a convenient excuse, and was made to cover deliberate neMect.
The writer has seen an overdue train carrying water arrive. The Amenians,
parched with thirst, rushed to the halting place, each carrying an earthen jar or tin.
As soon as toe train stopped it was besieged by the mob, which was beaten back by the
Tuikish guard with the butt end of their rifles. Having thrust the crowd back, all the
taps of the tanks were then turned on and the water allowed to run to waste in full
view of the hundreds who were dying for want of it. The Administration duly
despatched watei to the desert; that was enough as far as Jemal Pasha and his friends