A NATION'S TRAGEDY.

Press, Volume LII, Issue 15487, 14 January 1916, Page 10

A NATION'S TRAGEDY.

PLIGHT OP REFUGEES. SERBIA'S HUNGRY CHILDREN. (From tho Special Correspondent of the Melbourne ; 'Argus.'') MONASTIR, November 7. In clean, happy Australia we have never heard children crying in the streets for i'ood, while mothers begged scraps of bread and bones that a Cairo mongrel would scorn. But the Commonwealth has not known war either, and so it has been spared from all tho miseries that now assail stricken Serbia. To walk through the neglected streets of any city behind the firingline is to suffer a clawing at the heart that cannot bo conquered, and the appalling sadness of the scencs that are witnessed at every yard and during every minute of the day produce a sense of depression and injustice that sours the mind and puts tears into the voice. Incidentally curses are heaped upon Germany and its dupes who are the direct cause of women and innocentbabes dying by inches, starved, frozen, and exhausted by fatigue. From Belgrade to Monastir there lies one long trail of slaughtered humanity, while gaunt spcctrcs of a gallant race surge in a ghastly procession on and on in the hope of finding somewhere sanctuary and an existence. While the brave Serbian patriots arc fighting almost single-handed a relentless foe their families are struggling to live, but they would leave their bones to be trampled in the mud by the heel of the conqueror rather than that their men should show the white feather.

AVhcn 1 was at Nish tlic harrowing lino of refugees from Belgrade and Kragujevatss had begun to pour in, hoping against hope that tlic advancc of the invaders would bo definitely stopped further north, where the Serbians for the moment had gained the upper hand, compelling the enemy to send back for heavier artillery. It was a sorrowful crowd that swarmed into the temporary capital, serious, tired, and hungry, bespattered with mud and wildeyed, but tho people there were well off compared with tiie bedraggled, ter-ror-stricken multitude that had taken possession of Monastir. Some of these miserable beings had come right through from .Belgrade on foot, and they were worn out completely, but tho majority had taken flight from the eastern settlements, as the Bulgars had swept forward in an overwhelming mass. There have been stories of frightful atrocities, of hideous orgies in which young wives, girls, and mere children have been the unwilling victims, and of brutality that makes tho imagination reel. Although an important railhead and the distributing centre for an immense area, Monastir is not a largo city, and it is very old. In ordinary circumstances about 20,000 people make their homes there, but during the last few days something like 100,000 have gathered from all directions. As tho Bulgars seized Ivochana, Kumanovo, Uskub, Istib, and Yelles in turn a crowd of refugees surged ahead of them in panic towards the historic Babuna Pass,-with tho comitajis treading, on their heels. For days the rugged,, plouglied-up roadways that in ordinary times carry very little traffic became busy thoroughfares, with the whole of the human stream flowing,in tho one direction. "Waggons drawn, by oxen, mules, donkeys, and ancient horses, of tho sorriest type stuck fast in the sodden- soil and had to be abandoned with their loads of household belongings, while pack animals sank down and died from sheer fatigue. Every effective beast of burden in the kingdom had lone before been mobilised for military purposes,- and the rejects were not equal to the responsibilities thrust upon them. Not all the vehicles were drawn by four-footed power, however. A great many of them had grandfathers in the shafts, mothers and cider daughters dragging at tho tow-line, small boys spinning the wheels, and the toddlers shoving "behind. All the household property of the vil-. lagers seemed to be cither on their heads, in their arms, or On their backs, if they could not afford a cart of some description; but their loads. became steadily smaller as they advanced, and the less necessary articles were discarded in proportion to the weariness of the way, until tho last remaining, remnants were bartered for any conceivable thing that could be eaten. Long before the advance guard of the Bulgars began to approach • Perlepe, the roads were paved with debris that had once been the proud possessions of liappv homes, and when the first lines of horsemen came along to feel the way they stamped the packages, bundles, and miscellaneous scraps into the ground until t-hq concentrated, mass formed almost a solid foundation. Now and then the- body of a child was mingled with the mire—a tiny martyr to the horrors of war. Many dead were abandoned by the roadside, and as the desperate Serbian troops later moved back to Perlepe, fighting for every inch of the way against fearful odds, they buried those they found where they lay, unmarked and unidentified. In two instances mothers, paralysed* by ■fear and grief, were discovered shivering beside their little ones that had Eassed beyond all suffering,. and they ad to be carried off in strong arms. As the artillery came hastening to seek now defensive positions, ib£ gunners took babes in their arms, and horsemen carried tired children in front of them on tho saddles.

So tho mournful column came to Monastic and it was not broken until the field-pieces on the Babuna heights announced that the fighting had begun in earnest again and news came through that the Bulgars had been checked. In Perlepe hundreds of terror-stricken people had already prepared to flee. but the wonderful " determination of their countrymen 'in holding the pass and its approaches, which provide the only gateway to the town, for the time, being quelled their fear, and the hospitable residents did what they could for tho others who were worse off than themselves. However, the resources of Perlepe were quickly dissipated, and before tho van of the refugees had passed all the bread and meat had been absorbed. There was practically nothing /left for the later arrivals, and even tlioso with money were unable to satisfy their appetites. The remainder searched in vain through the refusebins of the cafes, collected from the drains, and begged for a speck of cheese or a pinch of macaroni. Water was plentiful— too plentiful, the grey skies and constant drizzle accentuating the plight of the unfortunates. Through it all a mutual kindness and consideration developed between the refugees that was pathetic. Mothers shared their troubles and the results of their foraging expeditions alike, and parents who had only a few small charges or none at all assisted those whose hands were full.

Many harrowing tales were toid. There was one instance in which a family had started out from -Uskub, carrying what they could on their shoulders. '('hey were overtaken by Bulgar f-omitajis, who compelled the two elder girls to entertain them, and to cook their dinner, while the mother and smaller children were detained under a guard. When the mother begged the raiders to spare her daughters and to permit her to wail upon them, she was l)-ickiiami?d over the mouth bv a brutal ruffian, who k.ughed r.proiiriousiy when she toil in tiie mud. The comitnjis. after dark, seized-some resinous wine

ar.fl ral;ia from a deserted house at Starigrad, and bct-unio so intoxica.ted that, with the assistance of a sympathetic member of the band, the party managed to escapc and push on to lisvor. Another story is related with reference to a family of five who became detached in the flight from "Vcllos. The mother and youngest child reached Perlepe three days later, to find that two of her sons had been drowned, while a third was brought in, holloweyed and delirious with fright and deprivation. It is stated also that an elderly father sought in rain lor his fifteen-year-old daughter, who had been taken by the comitajis, on the pretence that thev would expedite her way to safety, and wiien later on word was brought in that she had died, the old man collapsed and expired soon afterwards. There have been rumours also to the effect that a great many refugees have been intercepted by the Bulgar outlaws and compelled to perform the most menial tasks. Instead of receiving the morsel of food that had been promised them, these unfortunates had been forced to watch their torturers eat. and they were eventually turned back towards the invaders' lines. In some instances the unhappy people were urged by their c-rtptors to dance and sing, and when they protested, embers from the camp fires and revolver bullets were used for persuasive purposes.' Villagers are said to have been ill-treatod and summarily shot on the pretext, that they were favouring the Serbians in their retirement, and near Zeleniko the cpmit-ajis are alleged to have seized a farmhouse and to have made themselves at home, treating tho members of the family as their servants, much in tho same way as Australian bushrangers of the "old days. Immediately Serbian patrols came into sight the comitajis always beat a hasty retreat, but so many small parties of them have been ravaging the country that they are able to do almost as they like. When everything available had been eaten in • Perlepe, the refugees • made their way to Monastir, passing through Topoltsha, Noshpal. and Mogila en route. The way was not otxitq so trying as the first stages of tho journey, because empty commissariat vclrieles were travelling back all the time, tfpd many of the most deserving cases were given a lift by the kind-hearted soldiers. However,' when the fighting around Babuna Pass commenced in earnest the seriously wounded took up whatever room was availablo in the waggons, while those who could hop, hobble, or crawl made their way as : bcst they mijjhfc back to where assistance was awaiting them. In Monastir a town guard had been formed,- 400 resident, Greeks having enrolled for tho service, and it was as well some precautions of the kind were taken, because a strong' Bulgarian plot was discovered there. and might have had embarrassing- results l but for tho presenoo of tho armed civilians. As it was,, the Bulgarian and Turkish sympathisers at Monastir attempted to communicate with tho _enemy, but prompt and summary punishment was served 6ut to the traitors.

Tlie guard, in co-operation with the municipal authorities and the police, tried to control the food supply as far as : possible, but their efforts proved futile. At tho end of October practically the whole of the flour in the Monastic zone had been exhausted, and even black bread was bringing most extravagant prices, as -much as three francs (2s 6d) being paid for a-single small, loaf. Half an hour after the bakers had finished their work it was impossible to buy bread even for its weight in gold. Every other class of foodstuff became scarce, and except for grapes. 'macaroni, and lentils, very little was offering even in the larger restaurants, and # then at high prices. In the streets children cried tor a crust and women begged, with half a dozen moist-eyed little ones clinging'to their skirts. The scavenger dogs were denied tho privileges they had enjoyed-for ages, because starving .bumtn beings sought eagerly the scraps that could-be picked up on tho roads. Time- and again small boys and girls could be seen fighting with a - mangy cur -for a putrid bone, and often they struggled with each other.:

Ai> the windows of the restaurants an eager crowd of famished women and children and old men pressed their noses to tho glass, asking by signs for the waste on customers' plates. For a leathery crust a score of people would scramble, anjl even a slice of loinon was eagerly seized. Often soft-hearted diners would, wrao half their meal in a newspaper for the benefit of some family that was unable to battle with the others, and still moro frequently those who had ample money found their appetites destroyed by the horrible scenes of deprivation that met their eyes .everywhere. Emaciated girls, with cavernous cheeks and . protuding bones, collected cigarette butts in the public places in order to exchange the accumulated tobacco with some kitchen helper for a mouthful of food, and others begged for newspapers that had been read in order that they might dispose of them'a.second time. ' Even for the rich thero'wero no. beds a,t, Monastir, and advantageous positions on the flooi; were eagerly bought up, so the penniless slept in the open under the doubtful shelter of walls, with the moist ground as their pillows and a temperature near, to freezingpoint. Many young children died from exposure, although the Serbian soldiers often sacrificed . "their own' overcoats to lend the outcasts a little comfort. For abject misery there can be no moro striking example in history than the results of tho Bulgar rush across Eastern and Southern Serbia. Fortunately, the defenders hav ( e held them up at Perlene, or the horrors would have been accentnated tenfold. As it happened the delay in the advance afforded.an opportunity .for the authorities to desnatch a great many of the refugees to Fiorina and Salon ici, while others soueht- succour at .Vodena and in Albania. A.lnise crowd, however, still remains stranded at Monastir. -living in indescribable filth, and on whatever may be dropned from the tables of the more fortunate. In Fiorina and Salonica the sudden rise in the population has had- a most embarrassing result, bread, meat, milk, and eges being practically unobtainable, ard touching scenes constants mako the tender-hearted inarticulate;"