1587) Famine and Disease Affecting Ottomans of "1915"

Armenian propaganda tells us every Ottoman-Armenian who died during WWI was murdered.

For example, "Genocide Scholar" Prof. Rudy Rummel explicitly states as such. He says those who died of famine and disease were deliberately deprived, and thus were "murder victims" as well. . .

This argument is not only ignorant, but racist. It would only make sense if the victims were the sole sufferers of the stated ailment, and their supposed tormentors were unaffected by the same ailment.

It is a fact most of the 500,000 or so Ottoman-Armenians who died lost their lives through famine and disease. By the same token, most of the 2.7 million or so other Ottomans who perished during the same period also fell to famine and disease. (The soldiers are not included in the latter figure; but most Ottoman soldiers also died of famine and disease.)

Famine and disease was prevalent in the bankrupt "Sick Man." Ambassador Henry Morgenthau explains the chief reason (Ambassador Morgenthau's Story):

"...The domestic situation was deplorable: all over Turkey
thousands of the populace were daily dying of starvation; practically all able-bodied men had been taken into the army, so that only a few were left to till the fields; the criminal requisitions had almost destroyed all business; the treasury was in a more exhausted state than normally, for the closing of the Dardanelles and the blockading of the Mediterranean ports had stopped all imports and customs dues..."

In other words, the Ottoman authorities were in such a rush to get their nation's men into the army, they gave short shrift to farming necessities.

Add to this disaster the fact that Allied ships, principally Britain's, decided to starve the Ottomans out with a naval blockade. The southern regions the Armenians were mostly transported to were particularly affected, as they were largely dependent on importing their food primarily from Egypt.

Ironically, if dying from famine and disease constitutes "genocide," Great Britain and France helped commit the "genocide" against their beloved Armenians. (As for the Armenians' "Great Protector," Russia, at least one Armenian scholar has concluded that "The Armenian Genocide was organized by Russia and Turkey equally.")

Disease was a big killer, as well. Lack of hygiene, hospitals and medical personnel served as chief culprits.


"Since the beginning of the war even bread is almost unobtainable."

U.S. Consul Leslie Davis, The Slaughterhouse Province, p. 38.

In conclusion, we have Ottoman ineptitude and a British and French starvation strategy that contributed to this enormous human loss. But as if these reasons were not bad enough, there was another reason that added fuel to the fire: Plague.


Let's have Dr. Oylar Saguner take it away:
The Epos of the Grasshopper

The Epos of the Grasshopper

(In 1915 Gaziantep and surroundings were faced with a terrible grasshopper plague. This epos was told by someone named “Yetim Ali”[1] at that time)
Turkish
English translation


Murad’i geçti de yeridi eri,
Passed the Murad [2] and ate all belonging to men,

Orul’da Mizar’da da,
Also in Orul, also in Mizar

Ne yapsin elinden su yetim Ali,
What can this Orphan Ali do?

Allah bin belani versin çekirge!
God damn you one thousand times oh Grasshopper!


Ekiz guyuyu asdi, Sihli’ya geçdi,
Passed the Twin Wells, arrived at Sihli,

Zemge’nin, Zevkir’in arpasin biçdi,
Harvested the barley of Zemke and Zevkir,

Sipke’deki bütün hasisi içdi,
Smoked all the opium poppy,

Dervisligin de mi vardi çekirge?
Were you also a dervish oh Grasshopper?


Çekirgeler geldi gondu yaziya,
The Grasshopper came and landed on our faith,

Ot galmadi goyununan guzuya
No greenery left for the sheep and the lamb,

Duva edin de bugdaylar ucuzlaya,
Pray that the wheat be cheaper,

Allah bin belani versin çekirge!
God damn you one thousand times oh Grasshopper!


Ag sayali, mor sayali gelinler,
White gowned velvet gowned brides,

Çekirgeyi hellemeden gelirleri,
Come from fighting the Grasshopper,

Pambik tarlasini gabal alillar,
The Sacks of Cotton of the field were also taken,

Malimnan ortak misin çekirge?
Do you share all my belongings oh Grasshopper?


Mericmek hac’olmus durma möhzürü,
As if the lentils went to pilgrimage, there is no trace,

Fikaralar olmus zengin yesiri,
The poor turned to be the slaves of the rich,

Söylediklerimin var mi gusuru?
Is there anything wrong with what I say?

Allah bin belani versin çekirge!
God damn you one thousand times oh Grasshopper!

Bulguru etmisler hazne katibi,
They promoted crushed wheat to the treasury secretary

Mas çorbasinin heç yok mu dutumu?
Why isn’t the soup of the salary thrifty?

Neçe aglatirsin sefil yetimi,
How much you let the poor orphans cry,

Yeni bugdayi göreydik çekirge.
We wished to see the new grain oh Grasshopper!

Beyle halin varmis ekin eksene!
You have ties to the Landlord so why don’t you sow?

Ganadini kurup sehre çeksene,
If so why don´t you span your wings to fly the town?

Köy aasi geliy garsi çiksana,
Why can´t you face the hastening Aga of the Village,

Iki disli dört ganatli çekirge.
Oh the Grasshopper with twin teeth and four wings!


1.Turkish word Yetim means "orphan" in English.
2.The river Murad


What a pity the Western world is so bigoted against Turks and Muslims; they don't like what happened to a favored "Christian" folk, and thus invented and keep perpetuating a hideous "genocide" lie. What a pity they refuse to accept the universalism of human rights, and don't wish to understand these were tragic times for everyone concerned.

----------------------------------------------------
© Holdwater
The source site of this article gets revised often, as better information comes along. For the most up-to-date version, and the related photos, the reader may consider reviewing the direct link as follows:

www.tallarmeniantale.com/famine-disease.htm
-----------------------------------------------------