Shakir Hirmas, aged 85 from Bethlehem discussing the Ottoman period and World War I

Shakir Hirmas (85 years old, born in 1910, from Bethlehem) interviewed by Wafa' Ahmad on 9 March 1994. <br><br>He discusses the following: military conscription during World War I – whoever could pay 50 jineih (pounds) was able to avoid going to the army, likewise anyone married to a woman from the Ta‘amra Bedouin tribes as they moved around a great deal and were exempt; deal between Sherif Hussein of Mecca and Britain; locust plague; his mother raised him alone when his father was in the military – she had to sell her gold to have enough money to raise her children. <br><br>Original audio recording: cassette tape. <br>Transcript: word for word. <br>In the original collection at Bethlehem University this cassette tape was categorised as File 3 of Box 9. <br><br>This fileset exists as part of the Ottoman Empire and World War I collection within the Bethlehem University Oral History project of the Planet Bethlehem Archive.