You will like to hear that David, Zaya, Paul and Ishaya fought most bravely in Dizan. Twice the Kurds were driven away with twelve killed, and the third time Paul and Zaya alone with four servants fought against the foe and saved the little ammunition they had. I intend to write a report of all that happened (what I saw and heard) in the mountains. But really I can’t, as long as I am with ten children playing in the small yard and making as much noise as a herd of the Kurds, poor little kids. I don’t think you know that David is father of two boys and four girls, and Romi is mother of three girls and two boys. Are not they old? The children are as happy as children ought to be, only they are disappointed at not having as many new clothes as they used to have at home, and especially the boys, for they are not going to have any new clothes for Easter as they had theirs at Christmas, and now it is the girls’ turn for Easter. The market is another difficulty for them—seeing new toys and sweets (they were free from that in Quodshanis) and with no money to buy them. However, they get used to it, poor dears.
I teach the four boys for two hours a day; they are promising pupils if properly taught. The little girls read their alphabet, too.
Romi and Esther have suffered very much under the circumstances. It was too much for them, although they have gone through it quite bravely, especially Esther, who was with child all this time, and during the last days of flight was expecting the child every hour. However, God was merciful, and the baby girl was born nearly a fortnight after we arrived in Diliman. She is baptised Helena. I am rather uneasy about Esther. She is very weak, and after Easter she will go to Urmia, both to visit her father’s house (the Mutran’s brother) and see the doctor.
I can’t say it was too much for me; if it were not for certain reasons I should have been rather enjoying the struggle between the Kurds and Turks and us. Thank God we are very well at present, except for being over anxious for our poor nation’s misery. The living here is very hard for us; we simply have no money for our ordinary necessities, and at times we have people coming to our door who can hardly stand on their feet for hunger; how could one turn them away?
However, all the world is suffering, and so must we and our nation.
Would you kindly tell Mr. Heazell that Mar Shimun got the £50 which he sent. I never wrote to him that the Mutran was let free by the Turks and has come to Urmia safely, although quite broken and very weak.
I rather enjoy the plan of going up to Bashkala after we have lost our country and home. It will suit us to turn into nomads, like the Israelites—Mar Shimun for Moses; can’t make David into Aaron, he has no beard, so dear old Peter for Aaron, with his white beard; I suppose I must be Miriam, and we must take a tent, too, for celebration, which we will call the “Assyrian Tabernacle”; and very likely we shall always be having skirmishes with the Canaanites to get to our fathers’ land. Wouldn’t you like to come and see us, the new Israelites?
The houses in Bashkala are all ruined.
Mar Shimun sends his blessing to you and Professor Margoliouth, and we our best regards.