STARVING DEPORTEES.

Pelorus Guardian and Miners' Advocate., Volume 29, Issue 47, 19 June 1917, Page 5

STARVING DEPORTEES.

LETTERS BY EYE-WITNESSES TELL TERRIBLE STORY. Reuter’s Agency was recently informed that the Belgian Government had received a number of letters written in Germany by eye-witnesses describing the terrible fate of the Belgian deportees in various German camps. The following are some extracts: — February 25th.—Here the fate of the Belgian civilians is awful. The Germans are leaving them to die on a starvation diet. They are nothing but skin and bone. Yesterday thirteen bodies wore in the mortuary. This morning there were fourteen, and that of a total of 3000 to 4000 prisoners. If we are caught in the act of handing these unhappy people some soup or other food we are punished with five days’ gaol. Neutrals never come to see us. March 2nd.—The situation becomes unbearable. The unhappy civilians die by scores. The total of deaths for yesterday and to-day in this camp alone is seventeen. None of them die from illness. Evey day two or three civilians are found dead in their huts. The doctors repudiate all responsibility. The deportees are no longer able to walk without help. The Belgian civilians arc starving. They die at the rate of three a day. In another camp the deportees have devoured live rats. The treatment to which they arc submitted is beyond all imagination.