Local Authorities

 

???????????????????????????????

American and Serbian Sanitation workers at Doyran, Serbia. (MSS 97 Item 56, Special Collections, University of Delaware Library, Newark, Delaware. , Special Collections, University of Delaware Library, Newark, Delaware.)

Though aid was entering Serbia rapidly in early 1915, lack of coordination between aid agencies originally prevented affective aid from reaching the Serbian people. With no official operating rights within Serbia, the Red Cross and the Relief Fund came across local Serbian officials who were defiantly resisting the advice of the aid agencies, often because they resented the intrusion of the foreign workers. Just as frequently, localities received advice on measurable steps to take to prevent the spread of typhus, but lacked the manpower to implement because of the strain that the disease had  already taken. British, American, and French officials held a conference in Paris to sketch out fields of operation for each nationalities’ agencies in Serbia in order to solve the problems of overlapping and wasted aid. The result of the conference was that the southern half of Serbia was under the responsibility of the American Red Cross, while the northern half was under the responsibility of British and French units. As official representatives, Sir Ralph Paget and Dr. Richard Strong of the American Red Cross addressed the Serbian Prime Minister.   After negotiating with the Serbian government, aid agencies secured official sanction to function within Serbia.

At the advice of relief groups, the Serbian government enacted laws to stem the spread of typhus.

  1. Members of the British-led Serbian Relief Fund and American Red Cross were named to a Central Committee to advise on the best ways to combat the disease.
  2. Notification and isolation of new cases became mandatory, after which compulsory disinfecting of the homes of the sick would take place. Third, all public places—theaters, churches, mosques—were closed and fumigated.
  3. All upholstery was removed from public transportation, hospital vehicles, and all trains.

By legitimizing aid agencies, the Serbian government granted authority and autonomy to neutral foreign aid agencies.

 

Fumigation and Sterilization                                                                                                               Red Cross Military Aid

 

Leave a comment