Massive aid was also extended to farmers in the countryside around Marash, where the AGBU had created several chapters after receiving a report by Father Arsen Hovhannesian. In September 1919, Hovhannesian had toured some fifteen villages that had been partially repopulated, but had virtually no plows or draft animals. These peasants summed up their needs without wasting words: “We need mules, oxen, and farm tools. Give them to us, and you’ll see that we know how to live by the sweat of our brow.”28 In this spirit, the AGBU, working hand-in-hand with British and American missionaries, furnished the peasants with mules to replace those stolen from them during the deportation. The peasants depended on these animals to transport the building materials they needed to rebuild their district, which had been laid waste during the War.29
To improve local health standards, the AGBU also opened two hospital-dispensaries in Cilicia, one in Mersin and the other in Dörtyol. The hospital in Mersin, set up in a two-story building adjacent to the ...Read all
The AGBU's Return to Cilicia
A French officer visiting the AGBU's health clinic in Mersin on 22 June 1919 (Coll. Bibl. Nubar/Paris).
AGBU carpet-weaving workshop in Adana in 1919
(Coll. Bibl. Nubar/Paris).
Shoemakers' workshop in the AGBU's Adana refugee shelter in 1919
(Coll. Bibl. Nubar/Paris).