Dress.—The Turkish officers are warmly and suitably clad. They can procure for themselves all kinds of toilet articles and other equipment. Most of them wear civilian costume with a fez. An Alexandria tradesman comes to the camp to take their orders.
When inspecting the orderlies we heard some of them complain of a lack of linen, especially of drawers. Surprised by this, we made an immediate inquiry, which produced the following results: the orderlies all received their regulation supply of linen, and signed a receipt in the register. A certain number of them subsequently sold the articles to their officers; these are the men who now complain of a deficiency of linen.
Hygiene.—Abundant and wholesome drinking water is laid on from the town system. The toilet supply comes to cement basins provided with many taps. The water from the lavatories and kitchens empties itself into a lake at some distance from the camp.
In the morning the officers use the baths or douches fitted up close to the barracks, and separated from each other by woven grass partitions.
The officers' linen is washed by their orderlies in very convenient wash-houses built of wood and cement.
There are 44 Turkish W.C.'s, cemented, at a good distance from the quarters. They are arranged over cesspools 18 feet deep, disinfected every day with whitewash and cresol, and are quite odourless.
Medical Attention.—The health of the inmates of Sidi Bishr Camp is looked after by an English doctor, Captain Gillespie, assisted by an Armenian doctor, who practised at Aleppo in Turkey before the war.
These two doctors speak Arabic and Turkish.
An English corporal and 5 English hospital orderlies take care of the sick.
Twenty-one Egyptian orderlies do the sanitary work of the camp; serious cases are sent to the English hospital at Alexandria. A Turkish Surgeon-Major, Dr. Ibrahim, interned at the camp, is present at operations performed upon his Ottoman comrades in the hospital. He expressed himself as entirely satisfied with the care bestowed upon them.
The infirmary contains 12 iron bedsteads, with wool mattresses and blankets. The consulting room is well fitted up, the cupboards abundantly supplied with drugs. An isolation ward accommodates infectious cases in the incubation stage. 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.
Illnesses and Deaths-All officers imprisoned at Sidi Bishr having been vaccinated against smallpox, typhoid, and cholera, there are no epidemics in the camp. Three to five officers come forward each morning when the doctor makes his rounds. There are perhaps 6 light cases of malaria weekly, 3 to 5 cases of bacillic dysentery every month, treated with serum; 1 case of more serious dysentery was sent away to the English Hospital in Alexandria. In summer there are some mild cases of diarrhoea. There were 3 cases of trachoma among the officers' orderlies. Four tuberculous patients, coming from the Hedjaz, were conveyed to the hospital without any stay at the camp; two died after 20 and 30 days of treatment respectively. In the infirmary at Sidi Bishr are now:
1 officer with a foot wound, 1 suffering from pharyngitis, and one passing 1/2 per cent. of albumen.
Some of the Turkish officers were wounded in the war:
One whose thigh was amputated is provided with a fine artificial substitute; one who had both bones of the lower arm fractured, and was operated upon four times, is now well on the way to recovery.
One suffering from hemiplegia, owing to a fractured skull, is now able to move again and to walk with crutches. Another lame officer is affected by rupture of a main nerve in the leg.
Salik Sidki, judge of Mecca, entrusted us with a letter of thanks to the English authorities, in recognition of the care which he received at the hospital where he underwent a severe operation for a chronic affection of the pylorus.
Prisoners' Wishes.—Some officers complained of not being allowed to go to Alexandria to make their purchases; but in the circumstances such a request could not be gratified. On the other hand, a certain number of officers have obtained permission to go to Cairo and spend a few days with their wives interned in the Citadel; it is evident that this favour is only accorded in exceptional cases and cannot be made general. To extend it equally to sons, brothers and other relations, as some of the prisoners desire, is clearly impossible.
The officers were offered two hours' walk every morning outside the camp, in parties of 26, under the supervision of an unarmed soldier, on condition of their giving their parole not to escape. This they refused, declaring that a conditional proposal was no privilege. They can, however, stroll about freely inside the limits of the camp, which is very extensive.
We received several complaints concerning rain having recently found its way into the barracks. But the extreme rarity of such an occurrence makes it of no importance.
Pay.—Officers' pay is fixed by the War Office. That of lieutenants comes to 5 francs daily, that of captains to 5 francs 75, that of superior officers is proportionate to their rank.
The orderlies, being privates, are not paid. Some of them receive pay from their officers, others get nothing. Most of them have some money, but nevertheless we have decided to remit £20 to the camp commandant for the poorest soldiers' small needs.
Correspondence.—Prisoners may write as often as they like, but seldom take advantage of the privilege, and as a rule receive few letters, which take from 40 to 45 days in reaching them. Few money orders come to the camp.
Religion and Amusements.—The prisoners have every chance of worshipping according to their own creed. The imaums can use a building arranged as a mosque and lighted by electricity. There is one mosque inside the camp enclosure.
The camp contains 40 musical instruments; a piano has been hired for the officers.
The prisoners play football, tennis, cards and chess. Many amuse themselves with reading.
Bilbeis Camp is situated 65 kilometres (40-1/2 miles) to the north-east of Cairo, on the confines of the cultivated land of the Delta. Founded in the month of August, 1916, it now contains 540 prisoners grouped as follows:
First Division.—One hundred and thirty-five Bedouins from the East and the Sinai peninsula, and civilians coming from El Arish; 9 Arab soldiers of the Ottoman army; 5 Turkish soldiers from Syria; 30 Egyptians.
Second Division.—One hundred and seventy-five Senoussi and soldiers from Tripoli; 185 Bedouins from the West, and civilian prisoners of divers nationalities.
Among these prisoners are included several young boys who have relatives among the interned. The characteristic of this camp is the diversity of nationalities herein represented. Though the number of Turks is restricted, we thought it wise to visit this camp in order to assure ourselves that the treatment of the prisoners is the same as in other Egyptian camps.
The camp commandant is Colonel Collins.
The camp is surrounded by a barbed wire fence.
The prisoners are lodged under canvas, 8 men to a tent. At the present time two great barracks of timber framework and reeds are being erected, each large enough to contain 250 men. Their dimensions ensure perfect ventilation. The sandy soil shows no trace of damp. Between the tents little gardens are laid out wherein, thanks to the abundant water, the prisoners can grow flowers and vegetables.
The camp is lighted by paraffin reflector lamps.
Bedding.—Mats of plaited rush. Two blankets per man.
Exercise.—The dimensions of the camp leave large clear spaces where the prisoners can walk at their pleasure.
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. 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.
The prisoners do their washing in well-fitted wash-houses; a movable furnace facilitates the weekly disinfection of all the prisoners' effects.
The latrines, on the Turkish system, consist of movable tubs, emptied each day by means of a "shadouf," and then disinfected with cresol and whitewash. There are no smells in the camp.
Medical Attention.—Dr. Ibrahim Zabaji, a Syrian refugee doctor, undertakes the medical charge. His work is supervised twice a week by Lieut.-Colonel Garner and Captain Scrimgeour.
There are 3 Turkish orderlies and 1 Coptic orderly.
The infirmary is clean and well appointed. It is sub-divided into 4 quarters: the consulting room, dispensary, sick ward and isolation ward.
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.
As soon as they arrived in camp 25 men were attacked with tertian malaria; 15 are cured, 10 are still being treated with quinine. Of 7 attacked with dysentery 5 are now cured.
Ten men were suffering from trachoma and are still being treated with protargol.
There has been no typhoid fever, nor typhus, nor any other epidemic in the camp.
The serious cases are sent to the Egyptian hospital at Zagazig, where they are looked after by native doctors. There are 4 prisoners now in hospital: 1 eye case, 1 of tuberculosis, 1 of bronchitis, and 2 feverish patients under observation.
Six prisoners have died in the hospital since the camp was established here. One had tumour on the brain, 2 chronic enteritis, 1 tuberculosis, and 1 an intestinal obstruction. The dead were buried with military honours and according to the rites of their religion.
Work.—With the exception of fatigue duties, nothing is required from the prisoners besides a little light work in the gardens near the camp. Some of them make small articles which are sold for their benefit.
Correspondence.—The number of illiterates being very high (98 per cent.), letters are comparatively few. The prisoners are allowed to write three times a week, and a certain number of them get more educated comrades to write for them. Correspondence is practically impossible for those who belong to nomadic tribes.
Religion.—Except one Copt, all the prisoners are Mahometans. There are many imaums among them. Religious exercises are practised freely and regularly.
Discipline and Behaviour.—There are no complaints as to discipline, and no attempts to escape have taken place. Despite racial diversities, few quarrels take place among the prisoners, and the authorities seldom need to interfere. We spoke to an old and infirm sheik who is treated with particular regard and has a tent to himself; he told us that he is in every way satisfied.
The Red Cross International Committee, at Geneva, has since the beginning of the war organised visits to the camps of prisoners of war and of civilian prisoners in the various belligerent countries.
The members of the mission sent to Egypt, MM. Dr. F. Blanched, E. Schoch, and F. Thormeyer, had already inspected camps in Germany, France, Morocco and Russia. They may be allowed to compare the treatment of the Egyptian prisoners with what they had seen elsewhere.
We express our deep gratitude to the English authorities for all the facilities which they gave us for the accomplishment of our mission.
We will now sum up the whole set of observations made by us.
We visited the camps of Heliopolis, Maadi, the Citadel of Cairo, Ras-el-Tin, Sidi Bishr, and the hospitals of Abbassiah and the Egyptian Red Cross.
The camps are situated in healthy localities, and their dimensions are amply sufficient for the population that they hold. The accommodation seems to us exactly suited to the conditions of the country and climate. Whether barracks are specially constructed for the prisoners, or stone buildings are adapted to their use, these results are obtained.
Ventilation is sufficient everywhere. Measures of protection against the cold, so difficult to render effective in other countries, are unimportant here, owing to the mildness of the climate. Both boarded and beaten earth floors are kept perfectly clean.
The bedding of the prisoners of war (non-commissioned officers and privates) is composed of plaited rush mats, such as they are accustomed to use when at home. These mats are regularly cleansed, and replaced as they wear out. The officers, civilian prisoners and sick are provided with iron spring beds, and mattresses generally stuffed with vegetable fibre. For hospitals and officers, pillows and coverlets are also supplied.
The blankets assigned to each prisoner vary from 3 to 5, a number which we have never seen equalled in other places.
As to clothing, the military authorities furnish the men with all that is necessary: 2 pairs of drawers, 2 flannel shirts, 2 pairs of socks, a woollen belt, 1 neckerchief, 1 pair of trousers, a tunic of blue cloth (or beige) and a cloak. All these garments are warm, clean, and of good quality. All the Turks wear the national head-covering, the fez. Decorations are allowed to be worn unrestrictedly. Owing to the date of our visit we were not able to inspect the summer outfit, but the prisoners told us that in the hot season they wore blue linen suits.
The civilian prisoners whose personal belongings were worn out received a complete equipment.
The interned civilians were decently and sufficiently clothed.
Officers can order their clothes at their own expense from the town tailors.
The private soldiers all wear the oriental slippers; non-commissioned officers are given high-lows. All necessaries for repairs are provided by the camp administration.
Everywhere we found the prisoners adequately and suitably dressed. No external mark shows their position as prisoners of war, except a metal medallion attached to the tunic.
We can assert that the commissariat of the Egyptian prisoners leaves nothing to be desired. The fact that the prisoners prepare their own food insures them a diet suitable to their tastes and customs. The quantities supplied are calculated upon a very liberal scale. The quality, whether of bread, meat or vegetables, is excellent and constant.
The officers' mess is entrusted to private contract. They arrange their own menu. The daily board is very moderate. Well-stocked canteens enable them to obtain additions at prices fixed by the authorities.
The sick in hospital have a regimen suited to their condition prescribed by the doctors. The milk provided is of excellent quality.
The health department is remarkably well organised everywhere. Drinking water and water for washing purposes are equally abundant. There is anad libitumsupply 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. The result of these measures and of the system of vaccination is seen in the entire freedom of the camps from epidemics.
Turkish or English latrines are sufficient in number, odourless, and regularly disinfected.
In every camp medical attention is given by a staff of first-class English physicians, assisted by Armenian or Syrian doctors; hospital orderlies keep the quarters in perfect order. The infirmaries are spacious, well lighted, thoroughly stocked with drugs and with surgical apparatus and dressings.
If dentistry be needed, which is rare among Ottomans, it is supplied by dentists from the town or resident in the camps.
Cases of mutilation are provided with artificial limbs.
An examination of the medical register in all the camps has convinced us of their good sanitary condition. The small number of sick, and the slight character of the ailments, corroborate what we have ourselves observed from the hygienic point of view. The death-rate is very low.
Deceased prisoners are interred with military honours and according to the rites of their religion.
The space enclosed within the camps permits the prisoners to enjoy walking exercise as well as outdoor games.
The English military authorities have not sanctioned compulsory work for prisoners. Except for sanitary fatigue duties, prisoners have the whole disposal of their own time. 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; but their number, as well as that of parcels, is restricted.
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. We were ourselves struck by the correct bearing of the men and their good humour. They fully appreciate the English authorities' kindness to them.
To sum up, our conviction, based upon careful investigations, is that the inspectors, commandants and officers of the camps treat the prisoners with humanity and do all in their power to soften their lot.
We form the impression that the English Government's proposals concerning repatriation of the interned civilians will soon bear fruit; and we hope that this measure will be extended to all mutilated prisoners of war.
CAIRO,January, 1917.
The Delegates of the Red Cross International Committee.