Let's Begin at Home on the Refugee Problem
Pat, Jacob
Let's Begin at Home on the Refugee Problem By Jacob Pat jOSEPH CHAMBERLAIN has, in his article, discussed the general problem of the refugees in the W postwar world. It ia my desire to discuss...
...Now, howevei, I heii ? el in ? will be dependent upon thoir support or non-support of the new Soviet-controlled regimes established in their homelands...
...No less then five million Jews were annihilated by th* Nazis in Europs...
...The United States must set sn example...
...What i* th* answer to this problem ? It seems te me thst the following provisions should he made: 1. All persona who hstaass af the war landed in a different country than the one they lived ia prior to the worm hotscsist, should ha given fall right* to stay if they sa aoshr...
...Only if w« do this csn ws righteously make demand* of other countries snd thsir governments...
...We hope that these people will find adjustment over there...
...A long time hss elspsed since they left the lands where they were born, snd there is no place for them now in their native countries, of which they sre no longer citizens...
...and it is given greater recognition than decade* of productive labor in France...
...America should set an example for other countries, snd give ssnctusry here...
...It is our duty to end this wandet ing snd provide them with a very much needed horn* . This muat be don* by the United Nations—ths victors in World Wsr II...
...But they are still far from the fins) solution...
...They are desirous of returning to their homelands, and this is natural and understandable, but no working solution to their problem has been effected...
...There remain in Europe from 500,000 to 1,000,000 Jaws...
...At least half of the surviving Jews now in France, in spite of the fact that they hsve livsd there for msny years, sra not yet citizens, snd ths French Government believes that the so railed "foreigners" should return to their countries of origin sfter the war...
...Of course, ther* will remain a group of homeless refugees who will not be sbl* or will not b* permitted to return to their prewar countries...
...There here been suicides ia the eaaxp...
...it la more important than the aacriflcea that families of the "foreigners" have made during th* war for the freeing of Franc...
...George Hanlayana waa the recipient of the G*HI Modal, for hie eentrlsmtlen* to philosophy aad sdacs-ilea for th* peat ire years...
...A number of the Jews in France escaped to various other countries...
...The acci-dent of having been born in France is considered worth more than having participated in the underground struggle for France's liberation...
...But these people ar* still tied hand and foot, and hav* no hop* for permission to move from their present pieces of r*sid*nc...
...Some of them would like to return, but because of the fact that citizenship rights are, and have been in the past, available to only half of the Jewish population (many Jews have lived jn France for decades without becoming eligible for naturalization)—a substantial number of Jewish refugees from France are unable to return...
...This problem seems to be one of the most complicated ami most urgent, and calls for an immediate answer...
...Political leaders of our country are very liberal ag the expense of Palestine, but are very conservative when it comes to obtaining something involving the United States...
...It is even questionable whsther Rus-sis, or the countries which sre in her sphere of influence, will recognize snd sdmit them...
...Of close to 400,000 Jews who inhabited France prior to the war, about 200,000 managed to survive...
...I have sufficient ground to believe that these refugees are very anxious to return to their former homes, even if they ar* ruined, even if they ar* virtual cemeteries...
...Only then may th*y come to the** shores as accredited Immigrants...
...Consider slso those Jews—citizens of Poland, Lithuania, Estonis, Latvia...
...We can very well appreciate the feelings of th* Jews who are confronted with deportation from th* country which has I.e.mnt their home and with th* necessity of seeking new homes in th* countries of their parents, or where they lived in their youth—land* which they had long ago forgotten and where they are not wanted...
...many of their families died in the process of moving from one place to another...
...I COULD rite many more instances, but the ones I mention sre, I b*li*v*, sufficient for th* purposes of this article...
...Kurnama—now scattered about the world...
...No on* should be deprived of his citizenship rights unless he has betrayed his country...
...The Jewish ref*g*e* are aa lea* entitled te return te their lands than all other political exile...
...It is, however, being dragged 'out, thereby adversely affecting the tans ef thousands of stateless Jewish people...
...They wer« not polit-lesl refuge**, sat "death refugees ' This is sll very simple, and th* best solution is ths simplest on...
...Yet, we hear very law voices in this country ssking that the / doers of Oswego be opened so that these unfortunate victims of the wsr may live peacefully snd in freedom...
...The Socialist Parly of France has introduced bills to solve this problem...
...Same fig Jewish refugees, hailiag from all parts ef the world, hsve been for muny months in (amp Oswego, fenced in under inferior living conditions...
...The realisation of these rights must bs msdo possible by provisions for the easy solution of transportation and settlement difficulties...
...Much propaganda is being disseminated to the affect that the problem of Jewish refugees could bo solved exclusively through a Jewish Commonwealth in Palestine...
...l hey feel as if they were confined in s prison...
...This means that a half of the total Jewish population was deported or murdered by the Nazis...
...SI0NIY HOOK honoiio «*vrv*is Sfwrwyis WW WW ¦ "J VVWV " ? ssissn ? mi ? J BUf SlDNEY ROOK, Professes ef Philosophy at New York Uaiveraity sad a Contributing Editor af The New Lewder, has keen awarded the Use Nichoia* Murray Batktr Silver Medal ef Coins*Ms University...
...It is inadequate, however, to grant mere life and residence rights...
...Since the problem of refugees is not that of one country exclusively, it must be dealt with on an international level and an international inatitute for refugees should be crested to solve the problem in a radical and decent way...
...I submit thst this-bureaucratic procedur* should b* abolished, and that th* refugee* who ar* anxious te remain In the United Stat** should receive all the rights of regulsr immi-giants, ss should the refugees who aie now interned in ('amp Oawcgo...
...It ia not sufficient for Americsns to csll attention to annonymoua points on s msp end say that this or that particular spot would be niea...
...The French libersls are also ready to be liberal in other countries, but not in Franc...
...in my opinion, they even h*v* a prior right...
...q With these refugees from France, there are tens of thousands of Jews from Russia, Lithuania, Estonis, Kumania, and other countries who are now living in Switzerland, Portugal, Spain and in various African colonies...
...Meanwhile, however, th* remnants of a great people are wandering in various parts of the world...
...Upon this, naturally, depends ths return of their right to citizenship...
...they lived throughout th* war period in th* expectation of being able to return homo...
...It is estimated that out of the 500,000 Jewish refugees from Poland who went to Soviet Russia, close to 260,000 survived...
...They are victims of the wsr snd should not ha drivaa eat against their wilL 2. Thoaw refagoe* who wash te return to the countries where they rssidii prior to the wsr— whether or not they wore lit lasas, whether or not their passports csssphj with all the regalatisns— should he given ths right te return...
...Formerly, refugees came to the United States s* visitors, sine* no other entry permits war* obtainable However, even though thes* refugees have maintained ? esi dene* here for thre* or «von fiv* years, to bscom* regular immigrant*, they must go to snolher country, such s* ' ana.ia, Cuba or Mexico, and register with the Americsn Consulate...
...Let me cite a concrete and outstanding •sample...
...The French Government to date has followed the principle that shs is no longer responsible for her ex-residents in this cste-gory, and believes thst these people should be taken cars of by the world and not by France...
...7'** some liberals who are to big-hearted when it comei-to opening the doors for Jew* in Asia, Africa, and the English colonies, and elsewhers, ars strangely silent when it comee to the refugees who are alrady in the United States...
...A majority of them have not found an adjustment anywhere...
...Their fste is still s subject primarily for political discussion and negotiation...
...Th* medal waa given to "th* gradaate who, daring the preceding year, ha* shsWa the meat competence ia philosophy or hi adaeatlaaal theory, prsctlee, or administration...
...The award WSS baaed on his hook The Men to Meter...
...Thess Popple went through months or yesrs of Nszi brutality, and finally landed on the steppes of Siberia...
...They demonstrate the peculiarities of the over-all problem faced by the Jewish 'sfugso...
...It ia my desire to discuss only ana isnaat of this problem—that of Jewish refugees...
Vol. 28 • April 1945 • No. 15
