Istanbul (Turkey) -- Description and travel; Istanbul (Turkey) -- Social life and customs
from lack of clothes, lack of shelter, lack of food. The Turks are
human beings too, that is true, but they call God “Allah.” and it does
not sound the same!
The Turks are thrown exclusively on their own meagre resources for
relieving their own refugees, for helping their needy. I must say
that despite their extremely restricted means they achieve this
difficult task with unexpected efficiency. The work of relief is almost
exclusively in the hands of committees of Turkish women who work with
untiring abnegation. The president of one of these committees, Madame
Memdouh Bey, a cousin of my aunts', was quite a frequent visitor at
Erenkeuy and told us of how they are organized and how they work.
These committees are built upon such efficient business lines that
I feel I should describe them to some extent so as to give an idea
of the administrative and organizing capacities of modern Turkish
women. Each relief association specializes in a given activity. One
takes care of refugees, another of the needy orphans, a third one of
the Red Crescent--which is the Turkish Red Cross--and so forth. Each
Association is divided into Committees, every one of which is assigned
to one district and is an autonomous unit with a president and also a
secretary managing its executive work. These committees are divided
into sub-committees: one in charge of collections, one responsible for
distributions and one to organize and conduct productive work. The
ladies in charge of collecting continuously canvass their districts and
classify all donations--be they money or wearing apparel. They organize
tag days, garden parties, concerts, etc., to secure any additional
supplies and funds possible.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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