BRODY'S REFUGEE CAMP
From Shores of Refuge: A Hundred Years of Jewish
Emigration
By Ronald Sanders, Schocken Books, New York, 1989
(Indented passages are direct quotations.)
The
camp
for several thousand refugees in the spring of 1882 was a yard outside
a textile factory. George Price, who was shortly to emigrate from
Brody with his parents, described in his diary a typical scene at this
camp.
Approaching the entrance to
the textile factory, I see thousands of people running back and
forth. When I entered the courtyard I beheld a mass of
hungry and thirsty tattered humans. Hawkers of soft
drinks run back and forth trying to sell their wares, but they find
no customers because no one has money.
At
the end
of the courtyard, Price observed a building with many windows.
Refugees
were attempting to get to this building, where, from random windows, a
relief committee official was distributing exit cards.
Price
noted that the outside of the building appeared to be
plastered with people . . .
From a distance, it looks as if the walls are covered with ants
moving one on top of another. Upon
closer
observation one is chilled at the sight. Here a Jew clad in rags
and perspiring, who seems to have been here many hours, has
managed . . . to get midway through the crowd. He tries
to figure out a way to get to one of the windows as quickly as
possible. He does a somersault hoping to hurdle over the
heads of several people and thus advance his position.
This causes chaos. He is beaten,
his clothes are rent and finally, still alive, he nears the
window, only to be pushed back by a strong, armed man who has
tried to clear a space. He falls and drags others with
him. Immediately the
space is occupied by others . . . The mob pays no attention and
goes on fighting and mauling each other to get closer to the
windows.
Copyright © 2006 M S Rosenfeld
