RUSSIAN REFUGEES

Evening Star, Issue 19198, 15 March 1926, Page 7

RUSSIAN REFUGEES

IMMIGRATION TO SOUTH AMERICA Tho International Labor Office at Geneva is. to open in a few weeks in llio do Janeiro and Buenos Aires two ollices to deal with the settlement in South America of Hussian refugees who either left Bolshevist .Russia or were left without means of existence iu_ t lio countries in which they had resided when the Bolshevist revolution broke put. Official statistics estimate at 1,000,000 the number of exiles in Europe, and nearly 75 per cent, of them succeeded in finding employment and are now able to support themselves. But there are altogether over 200,000 destitute 'Hussian refugees in various European countries; they are penniless and can only exist thanks to the care of charitable institutions and individuals. Of these destitute and unemployed refugees, Germany has about 80,000, Poland 42,000, jugo-Slavia 19,000, China 18,700, Bulgaria 8,800, Esthonia 7,200, Turkey and Austria 2,500 each, Latvia 1,900, Greece 1,600, while several thousands are distributed among other countries, chiefly Great Britain, France, Italy, Czecho-Slovakia, ami Switzerland. Thanks to the efforts of the International Labor Office, which took the matter in hand last year, about 16,000 refugees were found employment during the first seven months of • 1925, and a few thousand wont overseas, with the nelp of the International Labor Office, and settled in various countries, mainly in Canada, whore sonic 10,000 have found permanent employment either in trade and industry or on the land. The mission which was placed under the direction of Colonel Proctor wont to South America and reported very favorably on the possibility of sending Hussian refugees to Brazil and Argentina. Both the Brazilian and Argentina Governments have promised _ to help in tho establishment of Russians in their respective countries, and it is now fairly certain that the State of llio do Janeiro will contribute to tho establishment of 200 families per year on free farms. There is in these two countries a demand for colonists, for farm laborers and agriculturists, and for trade and industrial workmen. This scheme has every chance of success (says a writer in ‘The Times’), provided the necessary funds can bo found. So far tho expenses of tho refugee employment scheme have been paid from the remains of the fund collected by Dr Nansen, but they are now getting low, and, moreover, the settlement of thousands of persons ’ in South America will involve great expense. A sum of 303,000 Swiss francs (about £12,120) was included in the Budget of the International Labor Office for 1926 for the refugee service, and it is now proposed to create a fund of not less than £IOO,OOO to assist tho immigration of Russians and also Armenian refugees. It is expected that as soon as they are in a position to earn their living tho refugees will repay by means of monthly or yearly instalments tho sums they have been granted to enable them to start business or farming.