13 Mart 2019 Çarşamba

TNT Matchbox Diary: A Turkish POW in Russian Prison Camp (1915-1918)/Part XXXVI

//Ed. Note: Though a captive, Fuad Bey's time seems to 
be very much his own, to do with as he pleases.  A far cry 
from other POW reports about Turkish POWs in other
Russian camps and those in Greek camps during the 
Greek-Turkish war of 1919-1923, both of which TNT 
will be presenting in the near future.//

vetluga russia ile ilgili görsel sonucu
At least until the end of July 1916, Fuad Bey's life in Vetluga
has been about as pleasant as incarceration can be.



25 July 1916 Tuesday
The weather is bad, rainy. Again we couldn’t go to the river. There’s a 
mild coolness in the air. In the evening the Commander came to the 
house and said that Arap Hamid and the other Arab, Cemil, would go 
to the provincial capital (Kostroma). We were glad to hear this. At the 
same time they are the enemies of the Turks. When they heard 
yesterday’s news (about Russian and Arab advances) they displayed 
pleasure. In fact, they congratulated one another. Lowdown bastards…
in the evening I chatted briefly with Kör Mehmet and although he 
said that yesterday’s news was based on rumors I didn’t feel any 
better about it. My day today was filled with distress.

26 July 1916 Wednesday
The weather was cloudy, especially in the morning. There was rain 
now and then, too. News: the Russians have retaken Ardahan and 
Gümüşhane. May God help the Turks. Today I sewed a nice epaulet 
with silver thread I bought from the market. I got 120 kopeks from 
the money that Osman gave for the needs of the fellows. At night 
Zühdü went over to Salah’s bed for a long chat and Selahaddin 
talked about himself and me at length. With his words Salah revealed 
the truth about himself and his friend Ethem. What I understood 
(based on what Zühdü said) was that Salah is a chatterbox, a lowlife 
who will engage in all kinds of scandalous activity and who doesn’t 
give any thought to his relations with his friends nor their dignity. At 
the same time he’s a dreadful trouble-maker. May God reform Turks 
like him who have no humanity and act dishonorably.

The Turks Have Taken the Chief Russian Army Commander Prisoner

27 July 1916 Thursday
The weather is nice, sunny and just a few clouds. Nevertheless, a 
coolness from before Remains. According to news that Osman heard 
from Germans who are Russian subjects, the Turks have taken the 
Chief Russian Army Commander (in the Caucasus), Nikola 
Nikolayeviç, prisoner. May God make this true. We’re inclined not 
to believe it. In the evening Osman gave us a brief conference about 
life and society. I eagerly listen to valuable things like this.

28 July 1916 Friday
The weather is bad, the sky is cloudy (completely) and there’s a slight 
chill in the air. No rain. Today the Russian newspapers are writing that 
Erzincan has fallen and that there’s been a truce signed between the 
Turks and Russians. I didn’t belive yesterday’s news and I don’t 
believe today’s either. It’s all contradictory. Which one should I 
believe? May God give us strength. Today again two jerks, on our 
side and the other side, busied themselves with some foolish things. 
These fellows showed just how ignorant and shameless they are,
creating antipathy and disturbance. They embarrassed us in front of 
the Russians. May God give the likes of them some sense. Everyone 
is envious of the ever-growing closeness and friendship between 
Halis and myself. In fact, some of them can’t bear it. At night Halis 
and I made a joint decision about our future and we imagined that we 
will live quite well thanks to diligence and determination.

29 July 1916 Saturday
The weather is nice. Few clouds. But because of a slight coolness in 
the air we can’t go for a  bath (to the river). Again today, according 
to the Russian newspapers, Erzincan has definitely fallen to the 
Russians. But they will regret this. The Turks are about to surround 
the Russians on both sides…I wonder if it’s all true. Before noon I 
went to see Şerif and we talked. When he insisted I ate lunch over 
there. Today Salah wanted to test his strength with sarcasm but his
hopes were dashed. In the evening Halis gave me some information 
about how trees are grafted, both practical and theoretical, and we
 talked about quite a few other things relating to agriculture.

30 July 1916 Sunday
The weather is nice and clear. The coldness in the air was felt more 
in the morning. The hot rays of the sun give the weather a nice feel. 
I went to see Şerif in the morning and we spoke a bit. He didn’t like 
the letter Hakkı wrote to Zühdü at all. He was right. In it there’s 
neither a statement nor a method of writing. I returned in the 
afternoon. Today was depressing, uncomfortable. Halis is quite upset 
about the fall of Erzincan because his family and all his property and 
holdings are there. No one’s looking after them. I share his distress and 
I’m upset about not losing the country and the way the Turks are being
 jostled about. I advised him at length not to think about these things 
and I was somewhat able to console him. In the evening I spoke a bit 
with Kör Mehmet again.

31 July 1916 Monday
Today is a holiday…one that is passing sadly, among the biggest 
calamities that have befallen me in my lifetime. It’s a holiday filled 
with nightmares but such a sacred day can’t contain a nightmare. Yes, a 
revered day is always cherished. But I’m stuck in, and overwhelmed by,
horrible ugliness and violent grief, my heart and soul are occupied by a 
deep distress. Since I’ve tried to erase all of them from memory this has 
isolated my being from just about everything, to the point where it 
makes me forget the difference between ordinary days and sacred days.
I can’t comprehend whether today is a holiday or whether it’s a special 
day that will refresh all kinds of hands, pierce my heart and crush my 
soul because as today has come about I feel joy within me and yet a 
feeling of being crushed under terrible distress. On all days like this I 
will always be crushed because today my beloved grieving parents and 
brother aren’t smiling, they’re moaning in the face of constant pressure.
It hurts to smile while they cry, to feel glad while they moan. Today ten 
people from the majors group came as the result of the invitation we 
made yesterday. We celebrated the holiday in a downhearted fashion. 
It was lunch time and there was pilav, meatballs and pudding. Major 
Murad greeted us heartily and said that his great wish, which he 
recommended, is that we live with a fierce feeling of revenge toward 
the enemy. I got angry at Salah again in the evening and I hurt his 
feelings with some choice words. Today the weather was gloomy.

//END of PART XXXVI//


Hiç yorum yok:

Yorum Gönder