New Zealander Sees Life Behind The iron Curtain

Northern Advocate, 30 July 1949, Page 2

New Zealander Sees Life Behind The iron Curtain

“IN Rumania or Russia, those who have been outside, or had anything to do with the outside world, are moie 01 less living in fear all the time.” , . . , „ Together with a number of glimpses of life behind Russia s iron curtain, this comment is included in a letter from a young New Zealand seaman aboard the Shaw, Savill and Albion Line s S.S. Tropic to his grandparents in Whangarei. _ The Tropic recently made a voyage to Russia and the black Sea ports. “I was not able to write in Novorossysk and it was not much use in Constanta,” the letter says. "The Russian censors open anything that is written in English and are likely to destroy it it' it does not suit their suspicious minds. "The postage is also tremendous, and there was no guarantee when the mail would be sent

them off, but found it was hopeless, so we went back aboard and vowed we would stay there until the ship sailed. WORK HARD FOR LITTLE "This shadowing by the police is not done to only one or two. but to everyone who goes ashore. They are trailed from the time they leave the ship until they arrive back.

“We had a Rood trip to Novorossysk from Port Said, through the Grecian Islands and Aegean Sea. and then through the Dardanelles into the Mamara Sea and on to Istanbul. “Then we went through the Bosphorous into the Black Sea and on to Novorossysk. We were to have gone to Odessa, but shipping was very heavy and there was no room for us. “We arrived in Novorossysk early in the morning, to be greeted by a blizzard and the temperature 22 degrees below. This was Sunday. February 6

"The people in general seem very poor and miserable and terribly short of money, food and clothes. They work very hard and get little for it. "Wc left Novorossysk and were all looking forward to Constanta, as it was supposed to be a sailors' paradise before the war. We arrived there on Sunday and. although there was a little snow, it looked a lot more cheerful and the authorities (Rumanians) obliging. “The money in Constanta is in lei. and the exchange rate is 605 to the £. “This makes entertainment fairly reasonable. The beer was good anil fairly cheap. "There is a Communist Government in Rumania and. although the people arc very friendly, they are also very scared of the Russians.

NAVAL ESCORT “After being escorted the last 20 miles or so by an armed naval vessel and a very suspicious-looking tanker, we were tied up alongside a wharf that looked very much the worse for Jerry's bombing. “We lay there for an hour or two until the Russian Commission came aboard and went about their search. “First of all, we were lined up in our messrooms and compared with oui identity cards, to see if there were any strays among us. After this, the customs, or Gestapo, went around and had a little private search of their own.

“I met several people who could speak English, but were afraid to. openly, in case they were found out The difficulty was soon got over by ushering me into a back room or some such place. Conversations there revealed that the people will be very pleased when the Communist crowd is kicked out. DISAPPEAR "The Gestapo methods of a knock at the door are very prominent here at any time, and the person within just disappears and is not heard of again. The British Consul was one example. He had done three months in a concentration camp, and at least 200 of his friends had gone missing. "Another to whom I spoke was a tradesman, and only the night before one of his friends had gone missing.

“We were then sent back to out rooms and they gave our belongings another going over. After all this was finished, we were mustered back into the rncssroom and told we would be issued with passes and allowed ashore until 2 o'clock in the morning. BEER 5/- A PINT "Passes were issued on Monday, together with roubles at 20 to the £. "My mate and I decided to go ashore that night with 40 roubles each. Wc had no idea where the town was. although the population is 102.000. “However, after a to-do with the guard on the gangway and again on the gate, we trudged along in the direction we were given. After an hour’s walk we came to some lights. There were about a dozen shops in all. This, we found, was the main street.

“That is what they call Communism and freedom. "It would do some of our Communists. and those of Australia, the world of good to come and see this for themselves. instead of believing the tripe they read in books. "A football match was arranged. We were to play Constanta at the local stadium on Sunday. February 20. "It was arranged that we would. be picked up by bus jtt 1 o'clock and taken to the stadium and supplied with gear. We were all ready to go and no sign of the bus; wc hung around for a while, but nothing happened, so wc made our own way io the stadium, only to find that the Russians had cancelled the match between the English and the Rumanians for political reasons. Did you ever hear anything like it! CLEARED THE CAFE "At least we got our own back a couple of nights'later. “We were in a cafe having a drink. Two of the boys got up to go out for a while. While they were gone, two Russian officers came in and tried to lake their seats.

“Well, the next thing we did was to find a pub. There was none, but there were tiny cafes, which sold a watery fluid called beer. at five roubles a pint (5/-). “Some of the boys came in. and we decided to pool our stakes and look for something better. We found a night club, in which there was music playing.

“After getting seated at a table, the band, much to our surprise, played a couple of English tunes, while we drank more of this watery liquid.

OUT OF TUNE “We found next day that the band leader was severely reprimanded for doing as he did. It appears that these people are neither allowed to mix nor to speak with any foreigners. “While we were in this club, a couple of platoons of infantry were marched up and down, and I believe it was just a bit of show in front of the Englishmen.

“As usual, and with us not having any love for Russians, an argument started—the Russians in Russian and we in English, and one or two Rumanians chipping in. “We cleared the cafe of Russians, and when we had shown them the door a cheer rose from all Rumanians present. They were really astounded that we were not frightened of the ’Gestapo.' The truth is. we were a little, but nothing came of it. so all is well that ends well, and a victory to us.”

“After getting back aboard, we decided that would be enough of Novo rossysk for us for a while.

“On Wednesday night we heard there was an English picture on. so my mate and I decided to go and find it. After an hour or so we gave up the hunt and were on our way back when two girls, who could speak English, stopped us and invited us home for a cup of tea and a talk.

The writer continues by saying that the ship left Constanta and went down the Bosphorus. "I took several photos of Istanbul, the Golden Horn and the Palace. "Further down I took more of the Anzac memorial at Gallipoli. "These were all taken at a distance. I hope they come out. as I may never have another chance to see the place." he concludes.

"They told us to follow behind, ns secret police were about and were likely to trail us. “No sooner had we turned off the main road than a couple of them were behind, following. We tried to shake