POLISH REFUGEES AT NEW ZEALAND PORT

Southland Times, Issue 25691, 28 June 1943, Page 4

POLISH REFUGEES AT NEW ZEALAND PORT

Generous Gifts Of Clothing Some time ago, quite unexpectedly, a ship arrived at a New Zealand port with 700 Polish refugees, mostly women and orphan children, released from prison camps. They were the first contingent of 10,000 to whom hospitality has been offered in Mexico, and while they were now very well-fed, they badly needed essential clothing. “Having already experienced the generosity of the people of Uew Zealand, who, through the National Patriotic Fund Board and the Lady Galway Guild, have in the past helped us so willingly, I felt confident that I could again ask them for help,” writes the delegate of the Polish Red Cross Society to the Red Cross Society of New Zealand (Mme Maria Wodzicka) in a letter to the Director of Publicity (Mr J. T. Pauli. “The response was overwhelmingly greater than I could possibly have hoped for. In the space of three short hours, the Wellington Red Cross and I the Joint Council, assisted by Junior Red Cross, Girl Guides, Boy Scouts and other kindred organizations, quickly and efficiently arranged magnificent assistance in the form.of large quantities of excellent clothing of all kinds. Deeply was this generous assistance appreciated by the Polish people, not only the material help, but also the kindly spirit which prompted it. “I was able to visit them on the ship and can bear witness to their needs. What I saw would leave an unforgettable impression on any heart. It was not only their physical appearance—nearly all of them had had malaria and half of them scurvy from malnutrition—but it was the expression in the children’s eyes. The captain of the ship told me: ‘These children never cry, they cause no trouble on board.’ and one of the Polish teachers added, ‘Nor do they laugh.’ “I am very sorry that the strict rules of security would not permit some of the people of Wellington to visit these children. Had they been able to do so, they would indeed have seen for themselves just what this war has done.”