Campaign May Save Girls in Turkish City

Sun (Auckland), Volume IV, Issue 946, 12 April 1930, Page 28

Campaign May Save Girls in Turkish City

Brave English wo ma n Leaves for Near East FIGHTING ’‘WHITE SLAVERS” j A woman with greying hair and kindly eyes is the main force behind the most courageous cam--1 paign that has been made to stamp out the terrible evil of the white slave traffic in the Near East. i She is Commandant Mary Allen, bead of the Women’s Auxiliary Force in Britain who is journeying to Egypt, Greece and Turkey, to discuss with the authorities of these countries methods to be adopted in this great new onslaught on the worst and most dangerous trade in the world. PIONEER OF FREEDOM England gave the lead to the world in getting rid of slavery. Millions of coloured people have blessed the British for granting them the freedom for which they and their ancestors had been struggling for years, writes an English reviewer. We have led the way in putting down the menace of that other—and even fouler —form of bondage, the white slavery of girls. The countries of the Near iiast had always seemed beyond the scope of our efforts. Down by the docks in Alexandria, in the shadows of the minarets of Stamboul, systems that were abhorred by us and yet were accepted as a matter of course by the people of these countries, seemed too deep-rooted ever to be disturbed by

the protests of England. Turkey, the land of the harem, has always been regarded as the last place to conie under the sway of Western ideas of morality. Now the country where till recently women were regarded as mere chattels has felt the influence of England, and women police may soon be treading the sun-baked streets of Stamboul. The veil will be exchanged for the helmet and Turkish girls will enjoy a new protection. It will be a starting change, and Commandant Allen is going there to help to bring it about, to banish for ever the vast organisations of immorality that have brought countless young girls to a fate sometimes worse than death. STILL MANY VICTIMS Her mission will make a personal appeal to every mother in England, not only because of its wide aims, but because even today English girls are being dragged into the nets of the white slavers. Commandant Alien’s work in England is already well known. The war brought the women police into being and they have steadily gone on in-

creasing their activities, waging ceaseless war on behalf of wome and children. At Cologne, while the British Arm; was in occupation, women police wer stationed tliei-e, pitting their wit against the traders who were prej ing on the girls who flocked into tlx area.

Last June, Commandant Allen told me, she was .at the Women’s International Alliance at Berlin, and it was as the result of revelations made there that Egypt, Turkey and Greece have asked her to help them to solve their problem. “Already,” she said, “two of our policewomen have left for Egypt. It is merely a beginning in the campaign. They are pioneers, and it will be on the results of their work that the future of women police in Egypt will rest. •“Their task will be most difficult, and unfortunately the position there is very bad. They have to face powerful white slaving organisations. “Cairo and other places are becoming popular holiday resorts. People who have large sums of money to spend go there, and girls are attracted. LURE OF MONEY “They may be out of a job, and the piospect of making money appeals to them. Once a girl has fallen into the hands of the traders she thinks only of the money she" can mtike. Morality doesn’t enter into it. ‘That adds to our difficulties. We want to help these unfortunate girls lhat is our chief aim, for it is by helpmg them and leading them to a bettet lite that we can put down the traffic. Tlle i° b °f the women police is to get hold of these young girls before they fall into the clutches of the tiaders and are sold into slavery. “The policewomen, continually moving about the lower quarters of the town, will be able to spot the girls at once, and try to put them back on the right path. . The y ill be advised and guided, given shelter, and, where possible, sent back to their homes. That is the most effective way of with the problem. ° “The women we have sent to Alexandria will deal with girls of every nationality, for it is a city of manv races. One of the requirements of the Egyptian authorities was that the

women should be good linguists. Those who have gone out can speak French, Italian, German and a little Arabic. PLAIN-CLOTHES WOMEN “How, exactly, they will operate I do not know ’Vet. That is a matter for the chief of police there. They have taken their uniforms with them,, but I expect that at first they will work in plain clothes.” Certainly, the task of these two policewomen, Mrs. Tindal and Miss Barnwell, is one that requires tact, vitality and courage. Alexandria, like all great seaports, is a city of danger. It atracts the worst types from every corner of the earth, and the laxer outlook of the Eastern mind on morality has made it a happy hunting-ground for the vampires who prey on the young and innocent. The policewomen are going to rely on the simplest of methods, and Commandant Allen believes they . will succeed. “I am going first to Egypt,” said Commandant Allen, “and then I shall go on to Stamboul and Athens. I do not know yet whether in these places they will want to bring in

! English women, or ask us to train \ Turkish women. “Tn Turkey today the position is serious. Since the emancipation of women and the abandonment of! harems, many women have gone on J the streets. Something must be done to help them.’j. As she spoke there was a gleam of sympathy in the Commandant’s eyes, for humanity knows no nationality. “I know we could get women here who would be willing to go to Stamboul on this great work. “I think it is a wonderful thing that Turkey has been roused to take an interest in this work, and w r e should be proud that they have appealed to England to assist them in their task.”