Refugees From Europe

Press, Volume LXXXIV, Issue 25610, 27 September 1948, Page 6

Refugees From Europe

New Zealand, having done nothing to help solve the world problem of homeless refugees and displaced persons in Europe, has now agreed to receive a number of refugees, including children, as immigrants. The Government’s decision, although long overdue, is welcome. It removes the reproach that New Zealand, which did as much as any country to persuade the United Nations Assembly to set up the International Refugee Organisation, j has so far offered excuses of housing ■ and shipping difficulties instead of i practical assistance. Other Dornin- j ions, with similar difficulties, have ■ admitted large numbers of displaced : persons. Britain, Canada, and Australia have taken thousands of these ■ people, but the need to find per- . manent homes for Europe’s homeless is still imperative. Oi the 8,000,000 found in Germany when

the war ended, about 1,000,000 are left, and it is hoped to resettle i 800,000 in the next two years. But the longer it takes to find new homes for those in the permanent camps and assembly centres in Germany, Austria, Italy, and- the Near East, the greater must be the drain on the already inadequate resources of the International Refugee Organisation, which has to feed and maintain the refugees, and convert them into skilled workers. By taking some of them, New Zealand will make a small but valuable contribution to the work of the 1.R.0. and meet part of her urgent manpower needs. Before the prospective new citizens are selected, however, the public should know more about the immigration scheme. So far the Prime Minister (Mr Fraser) * has merely confirmed an announcement by the council of the International Refugee Organisation, and said that the scheme will be further discussed in detail by Cabinet before his departure for Britain. The Government has taken a lon# time to act on the principles it has preached to other members of the United Nations. Now that it has acted, the public should be fully informed of its intentions.