GERMAN REFUGE.

Auckland Star, Volume LXXI, Issue 17, 20 January 1940, Page 11

GERMAN REFUGE.

PORTUGUESE INDIA. ; THREE SHIPS AND CREWS. ' ' i 'HERE "FOR THE DURATION." 1 (From Our Own Correspondent.) * MADRAS, December 15. One hundred and seventeen Germans pent the first fifteen weeks of war in ; lie Portuguese liuliun port of Marina- : on. an<l they will probably have to stay ; here for the duration. They ore the •llicers and crews of the three enemy . hips which ran into the Portuguese erritorial waters a day or two before var broke out to escape capture by the >atrols of the I loyal Indian Xavy.The vessels ;i re the Khrenfels, Dracicnfcls and Brauufels, two of which were lomeward bound, and the third carrying ■argo for British India when Great iritain declared war against Germany. Plie Khrenfels was the first to appear oil' he Portuguese Indian coast, as early as \ugust 2!). Two days later she was oined by the Drachenfels and the Braunels, and the three vessels lav out until lie Sunday that war was declared. Marmagoa lies in a peaceful bay vliieh, without it* crane and quays and breakwaters, would have some of the •nchanting beauty of the South Sea Islands. Old Arab dhows lie out in the stream, and in the late afternoons the small white yachts of the Portuguese •tlicials glide gracefully across the water. Behind the headland on the other side of the bay from Marmagoa harbour is Pan jam, which ban been the capital i>f Portuguese India for the past hundred years, and is the place of stately public buildings and official resident'*. Vasco de Ga-mu, the commercial centre of Goa, lies a few miles along the bay from These residential and bu«inesfi centres ami Old Goa, the 1 (itlt century capital, which has a hundred churches, have much of interest for the tourist to see, but after fifteen weeks of sight-seeing, there is nothing that the Germans can now do to break the dull, depressing monotony of the weeks and months—possibly ve.ns of waiting. They go about in small groups, most of them in the coarse garb of the seamen, a few in scanty attire more suited to the climate of Goa, and others in European dress. At the moment there is no shortage of money. At one of the few hotels in Marmagoa and Vasco de Gama parties of them may b.,* seen about midday drinking German beer and reading the English illustrated fortnightlies. Eager For Letters. In the early afternoon they again | collect near the agent's office on the quayside to t-ee what the mail train brings. Sometimes, there is a small bundle of letters, and they wait with pathetic eagerness for their distribution. A few letters are believed to liavo readied members of the crews; but apart from the wireless news received on the ships the majority are completely cut oft' from the outside world. Because of the easy and rapid communication between British India and Marmagoa, where the Germans enjoy complete freedom of movement, there lias been some speculation on the possibility of the wireless transmitting apparatus on the enemy ships being used for purposes detrimental to Allied interests. Immediately after the ships had entered Marmagoa, however, Portuguese officials went on board to seal their transmitters. It is a strange life that these exiles of war have to lead in Marmagoa and the strain is apparently beginning to tell. Attempts are known to have been made by some of the crews to escape as stowaways on neutral ships which trade along the western coast, but the sailors have not been very successful. There is a belief, however, that at least two seamen have managed to get away on visiting ships.