Turkish Prisoners in Egypt: A Report by the Delegates of the International Committee of the Red CrossInternational Committee of the Red Cross
History
Turkish Prisoners in Egypt: A Report by the Delegates of the International Committee of the Red Cross
International Committee of the Red Cross
World War, 1914-1918 -- Prisoners and prisons, British
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.
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