Letters by Ottoman soldiers held captive during WWI to reach families
The Turkish Red Crescent has taken initiative to deliver letters written by Ottoman soldiers who were held captive by the British Army during World War I.
Thousands of Ottoman soldiers were held captive after the British occupied the Iraqi city of Basra in early 1917. Most of those soldiers are believed to have died at prison camps in Rakhine state, British held India.
A pile of letters written by Ottoman soldiers held captive by the British Army during the First World War will be delivered to their grandchildren, according to the Turkish Red Crescent Society director-general.
Thousands of Ottoman soldiers were held captive after the British occupied of the Iraqi city of Basra in early 1917.
Most of those soldiers are believed to have been martyred at prison camps in Rakhine state – which was a part of India at that time.
The Turkish Red Crescent's Ibrahim Altan said the aid agency had already delivered letters of around 12,000 Ottoman soldiers, to their families.
Among the letters, one was written by 25-year-old Corporal Huseyin Mustafa from Turkey’s northwestern Kastamonu province.
Some of the letters which could not reach the correct addresses at that time have recently been archived by the Turkish Red Crescent Society, and will now be delivered to the soldiers’ grandchildren, Altan said.
"In this regard, Turkish Red Crescent was the most significant and safest bridge between the soldiers and their families."
Another letter belongs to Haci Dede from the capital Ankara who wrote he had been held captive for three years. In his letter, Dede was asking if his father was still alive.
The Turkish Red Crescent will celebrate its 150th anniversary in 2018.
The Turkish Red Crescent Society, since it was established in 1868, has been helping the wounded in the battlefield and has provided humanitarian aid around the world.
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