Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1947-09-21

NOHkNlGtSc OedlluS WIN QlSplaceQ
persons. Cigarette rations work out
to i've per day per person. the issue
being q local cigarette much like
a mild American variety.
While the cook houses and mess
huts aye used by the ma jority, there
Is no barrier to refugees preparing
meals in or outside their own living
huts and many do so. Likewise
there are no regulations imposed as
to hours Of eating or sleeping. Each
camp has a canteen but since all do
not have money its benefit is limited.
Some Of us can just 60 and look, A."
one refugee explained.
Water is of the greatest concern
just as 1t Is for most of the island.
At the present time the Xylotym-
bou area has water from 6 am. to
8 PM, but this supply is diverted
from camp to camp At different
hours. The end result is that each
camp has water for one hour be-
tween 6 and II am. and for two
hours additional before 8 pm. BY
and large this supply is adequate
for cooking and washing OF clothes
but individuals must stand in qeues
for an opportunity to battle.
Sea Bathing Restricted.
Although the camps are only
miles from the sea the authorities
have permitted bathing privileges
only to those in the children's camp
In two-hour shifts the children,
ranging In age from 8 to II are
walked TO the beach for about 90
minutes Of relaxation.
Ofhcially there are no radio sets
in the camps but the British COM
mandant indicated no illusions that
the immigrants have not built some
hidden receivers. In any case news
papers are distributed and the de-
tainees are well informed on the
course of world news. Mail passes
through a censorship in Palestine
but the camp spokesman told me
that the time for a letter to or from
Palestine had been cut from more
than a month to about Is days.
The British commandant de-
scribed the health of the refugees as
almost strangely good" with preg-
nancy and a high birth rate being
the principal medical problem at
present. Expectant mothers are
taken to the British hospital in
Nicosia for their confinement. In
the earlier days of the camps
Caraolos was opened in August, 1916
the health conditions were rather
serious. There was at least one out
break of typhoid and skin diseases
were rather general.
Boredom Is Problem.
One Of the great problems Is that
of morale and the prevention of des-
perate boredom on the part of in
dividuals who are facing an intern
ment of indeterminate length. In
background they range from the
lowest ghetto types to cultured
Jewish professional men and the
reaction to extended confinement
obviously is not uniform.
Virtually all of the refugees belong
to one or another Jewish political
group and their entire journey has
been backed by the respective groups
with all or portions of each ship load
being collected on this political
basis. In nationality they represent
nearly every country of Europe with
the central Europeans predominant
ing. Poles probably are the largest
single national bloc.
The political organizations Is
carried on In the detention camps
and a form of camp council is set
up by the refugees for their own ad-
ministrative purposes. Wisely, the
British military authorities deal al
most entirely through the camp
leaders and there Is an obvious re-
spectful dignity maintained on both
sides. .a,.S
Escorted Through Camp.
My own trip through xylotymbou
was under escort Of one Of the camp
leaders, a young Polish Jew who had
been detained for five months. He
spoke fairly good English and said
the military actually stretched reg
ulations to provide anything they
could or had available to provide.
He told me that some medical sup
plies are short and that more shoes
are needed. His greatest concern
is the morale problem and an in
crease in the potato ration.
Behavior of the detainees, accord
ing to the British commandant,
varies with the background of the
individual and frequently is affected
by some outside news development.
The refugees have protested specific
grievances on several occasions by
brief hunger strikes and the author
tiles have imposed mass disciplinary
action by curtailing cigarette "a
tons and hating intercamp visits.
On the day before my visit the
children's bathing privilege was
suspended because OF an incident
during return Of one of the parties
from the beach. Unwisely, 1t seems
to me, the British have some Ger
man prisoners of war working on
the highway approaches to xylo-
tymbou and encamped not far from
the bathing beach. The Jewish
youngsters spotted a group of the
POWs on the return hike and pelted
them with stones. The commandant
said the bathing privilege probably
would be restored in less than
week although other comparable
disciplinary restrictions have ex-
tended for considerably greater
periods.
The children's camp, incidentally,
is on the highest elevation of the
Xylotymbou area and covers about
80 acres. Approximately 1000 are
in this camp today and nearly an
additional thousand have been sent
on to Palestine in recent months.
A school administration has been
set up at this camp under a COM
mittee consisting of three Palestine
teachers and five refugee teachers.
DANCING.
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