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FOREWORD
After the Council of the League of Nations had repeatedly
discussed whether something could not be done for the
Armenian refugees, who were living in great destitution in
various countries, it requested the author of this book, as
the League’s High Commissioner for Refugees, to take up this
case with the rest. Realizing the burden of responsibility
that such an arduous task would involve, I declined ; but was
ultimately persuaded to try what I could do in co-operation
with the International Labour Bureau. The Assembly of
the League placed at our disposal a sum to defray our expendi
ture in making the necessary investigations and doing other
preparatory work.
The representatives of the Armenian refugees had submitted
to the Council of the League a project for transferring fifty
thousand refugees to the so-called Sardarabad desert, in the
Republic of Armenia, which was to be irrigated and cultivated ;
and they had asked the League to try to raise the necessary
money, estimated at one million pounds sterling. It was
obvious that before forming any well-founded opinion on
this or any other plan for transferring refugees to Armenia
and settling them there, the details would have to be studied
on the spot by our own experts. It seemed highly desirable
to find some such solution ; for by so doing one might hope
to do something, at least, to procure for the Armenians that
" national home " which the Western Powers of Europe and
the United States of America had pledged themselves to give
to the Armenian nation, and of which the League of Nations
had repeatedly held out a prospect.
Wc decided to send a commission to Armenia. The mem
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