Thanks Russell for giving us the details of that case. I remember that
when I was about 13 years old I read a book written for teenagers by a
Swiss author which was a fictionalised account of that trip. It made a
deep impression on me and I was reminded of it over the past few days as
events are unrolling.
Hans.
russell@Ashdown.net.au wrote:
>
> I received a phone-call from a colleague in the USA who asked me
> if it was really true that the Australian government had sent a
> warship and was threatening to sink the Tampa rather than let the
> refugees land in Australia. He had heard the report on TV. He
> finished by saying that this is the stuff that makes great movies.
>
> Australia, and Australians are being portrayed by overseas media
> groups as a nation of callous xenophobes. To my mind, this is
> being caused by a federal government, out-of-control and racked by
> scandal, thrashing around to find an issue with which the media
> (and unfortunately the overseas media) can be entranced.
>
> It could be construed that the government has artificially
> engineered an international incident by opportunistically marooning
> 400 or so shipwrecked refugees on the Tampa. While this may be
> politik, the long term damage to Australia's international reputation
> is incalculable.
>
> For those of you who have forgotten the past, read on to relive it:
>
> In 1939, 907 Jews fleeing Nazi Germany sailed on the St. Louis
> from Hamburg, Germany, with entrance visas for Cuba. However,
> when they got to Havana, the Cuban government refused to
> recognise the visas. Latin American governments were
> approached, but all refused to take the refugees. The St. Louis was
> forced to leave Havana harbour and sailed north. The U.S.
> government's response to the ship was to send a gunboat to make
> sure that it kept away from U.S. shores. Finally, despite an appeal
> by some prominent Canadians, Canada declined to take in the
> refugees. The top immigration official commented that no country
> could open its doors wide enough to take in the hundreds of
> thousands of Jewish people who want to leave Europe: the line
> must be drawn somewhere.
>
> The St. Louis sailed back to Europe, where three-quarters of its
> passengers were murdered in the Holocaust.
>
> Russell Ashdown
-- Hans W. Groenewegen, Tel.: +61 3 9905 2672 Deputy University Librarian, Fax : +61 3 9905 2610 Monash University Library, Wellington Road. E-mail: Clayton. Victoria 3168. hans.groenewegen@lib.monash.edu.au Australia----------------------------------------------------------------
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