LAST DAYS IN ADDIS ABABA

Evening Star, Issue 22442, 12 September 1936, Page 10

LAST DAYS IN ADDIS ABABA

EXPERIENCES OF A LEPER STATION ITALIANS COMING TO RELIEF Miss Dora Wheeler, lion, secretary ar.d treasurer for Dunedin of the Mission to Lepers, lias received two letters from Miss Ethel K. Templeton, sister at the leper home in Addis Ababa. Extracts from the first letter, dated May 8, are as follow: “ His Majesty Haile Selassie left the capital on Saturday, May 2, at 3 a.m. The native population, perhaps with the exception of a few who were foreigners’ servants, turned to a work of destroying everyone and everything. Many fires started in Addis and looting commenced. By noon ammunition and arms dumps about here were emptied and the shooting was all about us. “ The Lord graciously implanted such a peace in our hearts that we were able to keep about our work of caring for the wounded. By evening we had cared for some who were wounded in Addis in the morning. One man with a minor injury brought a machine gun with him and was going to show me how it worked. Then he added, ‘ But English people are good.’ Little did we know that this very gun was to be one to protect us that night. “By the evening there was war on all around, and one of the soldierpatients whispered to mo to flee, that all foreigners were to be killed. I replied ‘ Jesus still 'lives,’ and he said ‘ Yes, but you foreigners are all to die.’ Almoona and Tessema, two of the hospital boys, paid visit after visit urging ns to go. As the afternoon was growing late they came pleading with us to get out of out house. They said all the lepers were going to flee. Dr and Mrs Lambie had been in Addis in the morning, and looting was taking place there. They came and ordered us all to concentrate in the big house with barbed wire entanglements around 1 .

“At dark we were all there, Dr Skemp Hystrom and her husband, Mr Lewie, Mr Glover. Miss Milne, Miss Russell, and myself, and, of course, Miriam and Girima. We took what we could of our belongings. The bullets fell thick and fast. We had the Governor of Wallamo, who had just returned from the war, along with Bogallo (the hospital interpreter), and about .'3O men with rifles All night long the war raged. Mr Nystrom kept watch at one wing of the house, while Mr Lewis, kept watch at the other. We were all upstairs while the natives were all downstairs. We did get a little sleep, I think. Wo felt we must go to hospital in the morning, as wounded were still being brought in. The sound of rifles and machine gun fire filled the air, while Addis was just ablaze. Mr Lewis allowed some natives to come and bring their wives and children into the house for safety. Our guard with their rifles left early Sunday morning, but not in the arm of flesh is our trust. He graciously upheld us in His peace and covered us with His wings. Forty lepers had remained and we had as many wounded in the hospital. What a problem was the feeding of these, with all the maid servants away, but again He undertook. On Sunday night the three native men whose wives and families were with us came in and out looking very worried. We found out yesterday that 130 of their friends all with rifles, had banded together and were going to raid the house. They managed to persuade them to leave us in peace, using the argument that their wives and families were inside, too. On Monday afternoon a war raged outside the compound; a band were determined to take the loot from the passers-by, and shot them as they passed along the road. It ended with the leader of the gang being brought here in hospital with a lacerated wound of the shoulder and the shoulder blade badly fractured. “ We were glad when the Hainan troops entered Addis. They soon set about to collect all the rifles and guns. Wo had a visit from a general and Ins staff on Wednesday. He was _ most n-racious. He did not wish to visit our homes, but went to the hospital to see what work was going on there. Addis is badly gutted, very few places of business standing, and few foreigners homes. The largest general store was well protected with machine guns and is unharmed, also the bank. “ Dr Lambie called on the Governor of this province and received a> courteous hearing. You would hear of the death of Dr Melly, who was in charge of the British Red Cross. He was wounded by Shiftas in Addis and died at the British Legation. Also of Stedein, the wife of a Seventh Day Adventist doctor. A bullet came through the roof and killed her in her bed. We are wondering just where Mr and Mrs Oglesby are. We hear they were not in Laliballa when the Italians came through, but books bearing their names were seen in the streets. Mav be some of their native friends have* hidden them away, “ It seems the whole country is in a state of revolution. So, far as we know Mr and Mrs Glen Cain, Miss Cable, Mr Simponis, and Mr Starling are still at Debra Harkos. All these, as well as all our southern folk, may be in a place of danger. We can praise the Lord that nothing from our oiyn little home was lost, and neither did the mission family at Akaki have any loss. . “ The House of the Bible Society in Addis was interfered with, and poor Mr and Airs Bevnn, have lost much. The Bethel Fellowship Centre is absolutely gutted, and the two men have lost everything. We do not know if the B.C.N.S. have suffered any losses, but Air Buxton has a flesh wound in the leg. Gonial i Hospital was not touched, but we have not bad any news from the other missions.

A LATER LETTER The second letter, dated June 10, contains the following;— “ Since last writing things have been more settled around about us, but wo hear the country below tho Hawash River is still very unsettled. We have a military camp of from 100 to 200 men a few yards from our house. They are well disciplined, so do not cause any trouble. “We praise the Lord for the deliverance of Misses Daisy Macmillan and Freda Horn from Marako. They earnestly ask for much prayer for the station at this time, as it is vacant, also for Ato Dumbal, the man whom God used to house them and to bring them up here. To their joy he asked that he might be baptised during the few days he was at Akaki, so on Sunday the 7th inst., ho was baptised. He h as returned to his own country now, we pray to be a real Raul. 'The girls speak well of his testimony in his home and in the whole district. During the time they lived in his house every morning they saw him in his

house door reading the Word and kneeling in prayer. Surely some of these prayers were mingled with yours and with ours for their deliverance. They said when their fears got the better of their faith he would say in his quiet, fatherly way: ‘ God still is,’ so time and again they” felt rebuked by the faith of the dark man whom they came to teach. “ We praise God too for a letter received by Dr Lambie from Mr and Mrs Oglesby- The story of books being found in the streets of Lalibolla bearing their names was apparently a fabrication, as the station had never Ijeon touched. An Italian plane dropped a letter inquirin'? who they were and what their business was there, and they answered by letter to a nearby village. Some time later the plane returned and dropped them a large parcel of food, for which they were deeply grateful. We have not hoard any more .news from Debra Markos nor from the south. Dr Lambic and Mr David Stokes, of the Bible Church Missionary Society, tell of his deliverance from Daggah Bur last Sunday evening. “At present wo have 40 lepers. When it is safe to travel we expect many of those who left at the time of the rioting will return. We have had three visits from the famous Sir Aldo Castellino. He was many years in charge of the Tropical School of Medicine at Colombo. He was also in Egypt and was knighted by our British Government. Lately he has been in New Orleans and _in England. We deem it a great privilege to have met this world-famous doctor, and it was our pleasure to meet the other doctors ho had brought with him. I rejoiced when Sir. Aldo Castellino told me I had permission to stay in the country, and they wanted to co-op.srate with our work in every way possible. “ My letter would not be complete if I did hot toll you of our little Ethiopians. Miriam passed her first milestone yesterday. It is hard to believe she is one year old. Girima celebrates his birthday on the 28th inst., and is a bonny boy. Then we have another little fellow, Tsagai. His mother was shot and died within two hours while going to a place of safety during the recent riots. His father is a helper in the B.C.H.S. His problem, ‘ 'What to do with the baby,’ added to his grief. Mr Alfred Buxton told him to come and ask mo if I would take it. I had to get permission from Dr Lambie. There was no other place to take the child, as the mother’s people would persist in giving him whole cow’s milk and he had become ill. The father, being more enlightened, could see that the baby could not go on with that kind of diet, as he was only three months old. “ I see a real need for children’s work. There arc doubtless many orphaned children about. Only yesterday we wore asked if we would take another child of six months. The past weeks my part with the babies has been to diet them. Miss Russell has two native girls to help _ with them— Tayooh, a young married woman, and Yeshie, a girl about 12 years of age. They love the children. Tayooh takes care of Girima, Yeshio of Miriam, and Miss Russell supervises and takes care of Tsagai. “ Our house is three rooms, with a verandah on the front. Dr and Airs Lambie very kindly made it possible for ns to build an enclosure on the verandah for a nursery, and they also paid Yashiei’s salary for two and a-half months. Some of our other missinaries have also given to the work at a sacrifice.”