TURKEY: 1941 SINKING OF REFUGEE SHIP STRUMA: MEMORIAL скачать в хорошем качестве

TURKEY: 1941 SINKING OF REFUGEE SHIP STRUMA: MEMORIAL

(3 Sep 2000) English/Nat Jews sang, cried and read poems in an sea tribute on Sunday to relatives who perished decades ago when their ship - loaded with Romanian refugees - was torpedoed by a Russian submarine. 769 Jewish refugees boarded the Struma in 1941 to escape persecution from Romania's pro-Nazi regime, only one survived. Some 60 relatives were brought by boat to the location where divers believe the Struma lies, more than 240 feet (75 metres) down on the Black Sea bed. After a prayer for the dead read by the deputy chief rabbi of Istanbul, Nishak Haleva, and the sounding of the shofar, a ram's horn used in religious services, Tamara Harari Margulies read a poem she wrote to her sister upon arriving in Israel in 1949. Relatives from the United States, Israel and Britain threw flowers in the sea and sang traditional Jewish songs. SOUNDBITE: (English) "I feel very excited today because I stay here 58 years after what's happened to my family. I came to here to remind me and remind all the world what happened here in this sea 58 years ago." SUPER CAPTION: David Schaskani SOUNDBITE: (English) "I hope that Israel will declare all these people who didn't arrive, who are illegal refugees and didn't arrive in Israel that to declare them citizens of honour of Israel. This is my wish and also of the others." SUPER CAPTION: Vita Benvenisti The memorial was also attended by the Israeli ambassador who stressed the importance of laying the past to rest and ensuring that such political climates are never recreated. SOUNDBITE: (English) "That we are here and I am here representing the independent state of Israel, a Jewish state to make sure this sort of thing will never never happen again. The Jewish will not depend on anybody and have a place to go and have somebody who will always going to stand for them." SUPER CAPTION: Yuri Bar-Ner, Israeli ambassador The overcrowded Struma set sail from the Romanian port of Constanza in December 1941. Its motors quickly broke down, and Turkish authorities tugged the boat to Istanbul's harbour. Turkey, neutral during the war, refused to let the refugees disembark unless Britain granted them permission to enter what was then Palestine. London refused. At one point a pregnant woman and two families were allowed off the ship. Finally, Turkish authorities decided to tow the motorless boat back out to sea. The Struma drifted for hours until a Russian submarine torpedoed the boat on February 23, 1942. The only survivor was 19-year-old David Stoliar, who hung on to debris of the ship for 24 hours before being rescued by Turkish sailors. Stoliar, who now lives in the United States did not attend Sunday's service but sent a letter which was read aloud. He thanked Greg Buxton of Britain, whose grandfather perished on the ship, for launching the diving expedition to try to find the boat's wreckage. The ceremony at sea was followed by another on land as relatives lit candles and laid flowers in memory of their loved ones. Jan Anschell, a historian specialising in Romanian Jewry, says the Struma symbolizes the indifference of countries to the fate of Europe's Jews. He said that the ship looked like a wreck before it even left and underlined that the willingness of Jews to board it proved their total desperation. Whether the Struma is found or not, many felt the ceremony gave them finally a chance to be at peace. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...