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“AT HOME WITH REFUGEES FROM EUROPEBv LINDSLEY 11 CROCKERi:aIRvt \ l» FeaturesiOSWEGO. N V —Five questions are uppermost m the minds of the 98-. European refugees who are makinb ie Fort Ontario emergency reiugee heir home for the wars duration. What is the news. particularly from the Russian front? May we hate rad'os0 May we write letters? May we visit our relatives lt;or town). What about our schools?Dillon S. Myer. national director of the war relocation authority.under whose jurisdiction the sheltei was set up by presidential order,answeis in this fashion:They will be given the news. They mav listen to radios-their own 01 if radios are given them—but the government will no*, furnish radios.letters may be written, subject tocensorship, bnelter occupants movements will be restricted to the 80-acre camp area, at least for the present. They may have visitors after Sept Schooling probably will be provided on a volunteer basis—we hope, with re-fugee teachers The shelter was set up, Myer says, with the basic idea of a token mou-nunt to help relieve the pressure in Europe resulting from reiugee influxes. . .The establishment is be-ng n-nanced, Myer explains, through Uu president s emergency fund under allotment to the WHA.Each refugee gets a basic aliotmem off $4 50 to $8.50 a month, depending on age and needs, to cover essentials Food cos s about 431 a cents a day petccttrirdiiRCPThere are no plans for other suchcamps in this country. Myer said.Operation of the shelter, under the interior department, has been strictly in civilian hands, since the aimy released the refugees to WRA officialsiAug. 5. , ^ . .There is a permanent staff cl aoout45. plus some 150 temporary employes About 15 from WRA's Washington headquarters, on hand for the shel ter’s opening, will depart as soon as operations are underway.As soon as possible, maintenance work of ‘he camp will be hanu.ed by the refugees. Myer says it is hoped to organize volunteer fire fighters, to supplement the trained staff ofnine menRecreational facilities include tennis and basketball courts, a library md lour clubrooms supplied with f rn ure donated by B iiia BRith the YWCA, the National Council of Jewish Women, the National Refugee Servic-'. the Oswego Elks and other ..rgnizatlons. For the ill, there are 05 hospital beds.The 982 are of 19 different nationalities. Since they came in out-.s:de he immigration quotas, none is ‘•x’xeted to achieve U. S citizenship They were selected by the ^ state departin' nt representatives in Algiers ,ith the aid of the army’s displaced . er.vjns commission. They had to be free of contagious disease, unable ’o support themselves fully, and ove’ military age if male.Selection was made after application bv tlie refugees from a group of about 3.000 over two weeks. About 250 came from Rome, after the Allies liberated the city. A total of 150 speak English in varying degrees.I is ho;ed. shortly, to establish a self-government among the refugees a- least to the extent of having them choose a committee to represent their body with the administration headed bv Joseph H Smart, shelter director The refugees include 262 famil groups and 298 single persons The family groups are housed in 30 barracks which have been converted into apartments of one. two or three bedrooms each, plus a kitchen. The bedrooms are furnished with army cots, blankets, sheets and ma?tresses. The kitchens have sinks with running water. At present the 982 are eating in five mess halls seating 200 each The unmarried men live in dormitories; the single women in apartments.Most are more than 40 years old there are slightly more males thai:
Newspaper Details
Somerset Daily American
Somerset, Pennsylvania, US
Sat, Aug 19, 1944
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History M.
OH, USA 26 Oct 2016
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