BOER CONCENTRATION CAMPS.

Auckland Star, Volume XXXII, Issue 259, 9 November 1901, Page 1 (Supplement)

BOER CONCENTRATION CAMPS.

V^ywpy^" HE following letter? TT 1 )%l< nave been receivetl *" JWI7S the Key. J. C. Harris )i | I \h^ of Johannesburg, who Qy^^Sl is now in England, *£^*=^*~ f rom Mr J. S. Seaton, deacon and secretary of the Congregational Church there: — Johannesburg Burgher Camp, July 25th, 1901;— The cuttings and reports you send make our blood boil; they] are so frightfully exaggerated, and, in many instances, not only misleading but untrue. HEALTH AND COMFORT. This camp is situated on the racecourse; and a more healthy spot it j would be difficult to find. The Turf j Club's rooms are used for offices, j stores, and hospital. The latter is a. long brick building and suitably adapted for the purpose. Six long wood and iron buildings have been erected by the military, and are occupied by "women and children, with the exception of No. 5, which is occupied solely by men, mostly single men, but married men, whose wives and families are in the other buildings, return to No. 5 to sleep at night. .. . Besides the buildings, we have some 500 bell tents. These are occupied by families, but we do not allow more than five or six souls in a tent. . . . . There is no overcrowding in this camp, and if families feel somewhat crowded they soon report to the officials and matters are satisfactorily j arranged. Many of the families have brought their furniture and effects. ..... Bake ovens have been built, and men appointed from themselves to attend to them daily. The people bring along their bread, which is i baked for them, and I assure you it •, looks fit for anyone to eat. They j have also built some of their own oH- j fashioned ovens near the trees, and about five o'clock any evening you can see these in full working order. You know the old ant-heap style. THE WATER SUPPLY. Hot-water tanks, each 800 gallons, have been erected, and hot water for drinking purposes can be obtained at any hour from sunrise to sunset if they will take the trouble to fetch it. Bath-rooms have been erected, both for men and women, but these are not much used. Water is laid on, at great expense by the authorities, from Johannesburg, We are now having a number of tanks built to enable us to have a supply in case

f emergencies. Washing" of clothes ' not permitted inside the camp, but iceial facilities are made for it near , y, about 600 yards from the camp, j iaughtering of stock is carried on at ' he Kosettenville end among the trees, and .so well is this managed that it is difficult to believe that about 1-100 : sheep or goats are killed there weekly. VISITORS. Friends of the refugees from the j neighbourhood were, up to n month ag-o, allowed to visit the camp freely, but we found that some kind friend was taking advantage of this liberty by getting up a petition condemning the camps generally; so visiting was limited to those who came to the office, signed the visitors' book, and obtained a ticket. This was naturally very hard on the officials, for we were tied from morning till night, Sundays included. Indeed they seemed to regard Sunday as the best dry for a pleasant outing, ancT we have had about 400 visitors on a Sunday. After to-day no visitors will be admitted, as scarlet fever is prevalent in the town, and as there am 1700 child-! ren here under twelve we want to run no risks of an epidemic. A limited number of refugees have also been allowed to visit Johannesburg and suburbs daily on passes issued from this office. This for the present is also practically stopped, owing to our fea^- of scarlet fever. ' SCHOOLING, MEDICAL ATTEND-j ANCE, AND NURSING. ! A school is held daily, in charge of the Key. Dnvies, an Army chaplain. He has a staff of teachers, mostly Dutch. About 250 attend—a small proportion, especially considering that it is free education. There is one sentry at the gate, and one at the stores and offices. We have a doctor and dispenser on the staff, and they are assisted by the matron in the hospital, with her nurses (Dutch), who are constantly outside in the tents and houses, working under the dontor's orders, and reporting- all cases to him. Most of these are refugees, and I think, with one exception, paid by the Dutch Committee. DIFFICULTIES OF SANITATION. Some weeks ago there was an epidemic of measles in camp of a very severe type, and naturally there were many deaths among the children. The doctor and nurses worked to the very utmost, and I am pleased to say the epidemic is stamped out. No doubt this is what caused the talk by the pro-Boers in the House of Commons and elsewhere, but it is I one of those epidemics which could

A RELIABLE ACCOUNT OF THEIR CONDITION.

not be prevented among the class of people we have here. They had absolutely no regard for sanitary conveniences, and the officials had the greatest difficulty in enforcing the most ordinary rules of cleanliness. Another difficulty we had was to get them to bring- their children when sick into the hospital, where there is every convenience. They prefer to disobey the doctor and try the old women's remedies, which, as you know, are very plentiful among- such people. The doctor has had a most trying position, and has worked like a slave. Nearly all the deaths have been from measles. A few women have died in confinement or from negligence at such times, and a few of both sexes from old age. Out of some 600 males over twelve years of age, I do not think there is at present a single case of sickness, whic1 will give you an idea of the healll ness of this camp. I am convince that but for measles there would have been very few deaths. CONTENTED AND HAPPY. The food supplied is of the very best quality obtainable; if it is not up to standard the doctor condemns it immediately, and it is not used. The meat is poor at this time of the year, for, as you know, there is no veldt; but it is the same kind of meat that Johannesburg lives on. We are having a fairy mild winter. About three months ago it was bitterly cold, but they are used tv outdoor life, and this is no worse than they have always been used to. The tents are all military tents, and there is no sign of leakage. I know they all want tents when they come here if it is possible to get them. On the whole the inmates, are contented, and the children are particularly happy. ! They skip and play about from morn i till eve. ". . The men are most ' anxious to get to their homes, and the women are just as anxious to see i them, and wish the war over. Every- : thing possible is done for the general welfare of the people. When a woI man asks us to try to iind where hex husband is, the correspondence goes from camp to camp until we find the long-lost one or news of him. We never refuse to help, and you would be surprised at the amount of correspondence caused. We are con^ stantly transferring1 people to the camps nearest their homes. Gener ally speaking, we have little trouble with the people! The staff is a gooc one, and a better superintendent, as sistant superintendent, and doctor '. do not think it would have been pos sible to find. We commence duty a

' 7 a.m., and are in the office until 9 p.m. every night, and often later. The journey of the refugees to the camp must have been sometimes trying, but it must be borne in mind that they are used to outdoor life, and are | much harder than ordinary English : women and children. I suppose the pro-Boers picture a South African i winter as similar to an English one, and think a tent must be a horrid place to live in. RATIONS. This is the scale of rations issued in burgher camps in the Transvaal. A child over twelve is counted as an adult. Children get the same weight in sugar as an adult, and children over six years get the same weight in (lour as an adult:—Flour, 7lb; coffee, 'oz; sugar, 12oz; salt, 4oz; meat, Üb; coal, 141b; wood, 71b; rice, lib; >r each adult per week; hildren half. There is little iiscontent inside the camps. The agitation is from without, for political ends. This is only a rambling statement, but I have no time for more. I have just tried to describe what I see dtiily with my own eyes, and know from my own experienjie.— Yours very sincerely, W J. S. SEATON. Mi- Seaton adds the news of the death of his own little child, a refugee at East London. "But,"' remarks Mr Harris, "British sorrows do not count." BETTER OFF THAN AT HOME. The Rev. R. L. Rogers, writing- from Johannesburg, under date July 11th, says:— "To one who recently came herej to Investigate the condition and treatment of the Boer refugees it was suggested that, to make the inquiry complete, a visit should be paid to the British Refugee Camps at Durban, East London, and Port Elizabeth. The suggestion, lAwever, was .\ met with a very significant shrug of [' the shoulder:—"They are only Brit.lishers." What is the use of persons •ignorant of the life and customs of ?' the Boers coming to investigate these >! burgher camps? I have seen, and do »; not hesitate to say, that most of f them are better housed, better cloth- . Ed, and better fed, than in their own . homes of wattle and daub, and mud > floors. Some there are who com- '- plain, not of food or treatment, but ; of being in the society of their brothj er Boers. These camps became a - necessity for the sake of the people [ themselves. Besides, every farm- . house was a commissariat store, and t many were small arsenals.