PREVIOUSLY we left Daniel and his mother not realizing they were about to embark on a march to death.

FROM DANIEL’S DIARY.

19- ‘TEN MONTHS AT ISLAHIEH AND KURD BAHCHEH’

Baghdad railway

‘Half way to Zeitun we were stopped and other Armenian deportees from different regions joined us and we were forced to work on the Baghdad Railway at Islahieh, in the Taurus mountains. We had to carry earth to build the embankments for the railway. Of course no food was given and no wages paid. People still had some money to live off. The last coins my mother had saved were spent to buy a quilt. Mother and I slept on the floor using half the quilt under us and the other half over at the end of a tent which the Germans had given to some of the refugees. Mother says one night it rained hard and we were soaked in water, quilt and all.

Mother and I lived during those ten months on dry biscuits which I was able to secure from individual German soldiers. I do not remember how I did it but mother tells me that I brought enough to keep our body and soul together. I must have begged or stolen or both.’

20- ‘WINTER 1915-1916 IN KURD BAHCHEH’

Baghdad train

‘After completing the job at the Baghdad railway in Islahieh, we were moved to the next station, known as Kurd Bahcheh (Kurdish garden). Here we continued our work on the railway but under more difficult conditions because everyone had exhausted their money reserves and the severe winter had started. We had no adequate food, clothing or shelter. There are several sad episodes that happened here, but I will write about it in later episodes. For now I can say that we were barefoot, hungry and with only shabby rags covering our bodies, already swarming with vermin mainly lice.’

21- ‘MY DARING THEFT’

Pistachio tree

‘Mother and I struggled for survival at Kurd-Bahcheh, we ate any grass we could find and as a result mother’s body was swollen. One thing saved her and it was spring which was coming and trees were beginning to come to life. There were many bushes of wild pistachio trees (ménégish, pénégénee). We gathered the sprouts, the fresh shoots of this tree, boiled it in a tin can and ate. This helped mother, her swelling subsided and she got well, able to work again.

Under these conditions of starvation I heard one night that there were carloads of wheat at the railway station. It was pitch dark. I took a bag and followed others who were moving down to the station. The Turkish guards were moving back and forth. We could not see anybody but we could hear the pounding of their boots on the ground. As soon as the soldiers walked away, I barefooted, moved silently under one of the railroad cars and with a sharp metal, cut the sack of wheat through the slit between two planks. The wheat came down in a steady stream. I filled my bag, waited until the sound of the soldiers’ boots were far enough from me and moved out and up the hill running to mother. For a few days we had a feast. We boiled the wheat in a tin can and ate it. No salt, oil or any kind of spices, just the whole wheat boiled. You should taste it after starving for months.’

Araxie and me

Some more to keep you going until next time…

FROM DANIEL’S DIARY.

22- ‘FREEZING TO DEATH IN A SNOW STORM’

‘Mother and I were allowed to spend our nights on the corner of a black tent made of goat hair. We slept on the ground and covered ourselves with some rags which were the only possessions we still had.

With the other refugees every morning we went to work on the railway. For the days work, each one was given a piece of bread about 40 grams in weight. The only food we had for the day except for some grass which we might find in the mountains.

One cold winter day mother and I were late to work. On the way we were caught by a snow storm, the ground was covered with about 5 inches of snow, and we were cold, tired and hungry.

The time came when I couldn’t walk anymore and sat down on the snow. Mother says she realized at once that if we stopped, that would be my end. She had heard that if tired travelers sat in a snow storm to rest they would soon fall asleep, numb and freeze to death. She sat down on the snow with me and began to rub my body as hard as she could, with all the strength even a starving mother can muster, when she realizes that her only son can be saved from death only that way. This warmed her and warmed me and woke me up from my death sleep. Then she dragged me forward to work.

As soon as we arrived the Turkish soldier who was our foreman told us that we would not be given our ration of 40 grams of bread that day because we were late. Mother says that this declaration made me furious and I charged at the soldier furiously. Fearing that the soldier might gun me down on the spot, she asked the other refugees to give me a good beating. This satisfied the soldier, and mother managed to secure some bread for me and the storm subsided.’

To be continued..
Menak Parov…See you next Wednesday.