Petrit Latifi
Captured Albanian prisoners of war suffered more under the Serbs than they had done in the 14 battles fought during the Balkan war. This according to a letter written to Leipzig N.N. from Belgrade, published in an article in the “Tiroler Post” in 1912. Many Albanians committed suicide due to the Serbs treatment. According to an Albanian prisoner, the reason the Albanians lost the battles against the Serbs was because of the bad leadership of the Turkish commanders.
Të burgosurit e luftës të kapur nga robërit shqiptarë vuajtën më shumë nën sundimin serb sesa në 14 betejat e zhvilluara gjatë Luftës Ballkanike. Kjo thuhet në një letër të shkruar nga Beogradi drejtuar Leipzig N.N., e botuar në një artikull në “Tiroler Post” në vitin 1912.
Quotes from the article:
“A letter is written to Leipzig N. N. from Belgrade: The Serbian capital, which had become quite empty after the mobilization due to the transport of the deported, able-bodied personnel, is now gradually beginning to fill up with people again. I have already reported on the many wounded who still arrive here daily on long train journeys.
For three days, however, we have had the opportunity to observe other, no less interesting victims of the “war,” namely the Turks, Arnauts, and Malisors taken prisoner by the Serbian troops. Last Sunday, the first large transport of these wild fellows arrived here from the war headquarters.
Only when one takes a closer look at these people does the full misery and suffering of the war become apparent; the full fury of the “war” emerges clearly from the wild images of these defeated and now defenseless men In an unmistakably long procession, the 1,000 prisoners who have arrived travel the long way from the train station to the Belgrade fortress. Naturally, with the exception of the officers, the prisoners carry no weapons at all, but they are nevertheless guarded by soldiers on all sides as they march through the city.”
Starvation and four-day journey on foot
“If one didn’t know that these Turkish people marching before our eyes are captured soldiers, it would be difficult to tell from their appearance. The uniforms they are wearing are barely recognizable as such and mostly hang down in reddish-brown, smoky, and yellow colors. Many are completely unwashed and barefoot.
Their fez and their caps (bunoichuhe) have been left lying somewhere on a shaft. And in this state, these prisoners had to make the approximately four-day train journey from Macedonia here in a train car, not only freezing but also terribly shabby, for up to this point they had received only the bare minimum of food and bread, so that they were only just able to survive from starvation.”
Albanians committed suicide due to the Serbs treatment
“Some prisoners recounted that since the moment they fell into the hands of the Serbs, they had suffered far worse than in the fourteen different battles they had fought in. Many prisoners are said to have committed suicide during the railway journey because of the cruel treatment inflicted upon them by their vengeful guards.”
“The expression of unending contempt for their hated Serbian conquerors expresses unfathomable contempt and a wild retinue. They have resigned themselves to their fate, and are now only waiting for a single favorable opportunity to escape the shame of captivity by committing suicide. Now that the Serbs have taken possession of their mountainous lands, life no longer has any value for them. An Arnaute or Malissore without weapons means to him roughly the same thing as having his heart ripped out of his body!”
The Turkish commanders lost the battles against the Serbs – not Albanians
“One of these prisoners, with whom I was able to exchange a few words in Serbian, unnoticed by the guards, shouted to me: “Sir, it was not we Albanians, Arnauts, and Malesori who lost the battles against the Serbs, but solely and exclusively our Turkish leaders, the commanders-in-chief, who are to blame for our defeats! Only poor leadership has brought us to where we are today, made us lose the battles, and brought upon us the shame of being a slave. Now our fatherland is probably lost to us forever!”
Reference
Balkan Academia 