Past and Present
Much has been made of the humanitarian ship forbidden by the new Italian government from off-boarding the immigrants it picked up in the Mediterranean. The new Spanish government gave them the opportunity of stepping on firm land in Valencia, and processing there, and, after an agreement, in France, all the asylum petitions. Giving them a hearing doesn't mean all are going to be allowed to stay, but the alternative was letting them drown.
A small group of immigrant haters awaited the ship in Valencia, with the usual arguments of "Spaniards first!" In countless pages xenophobic themes run rampant; that the immigrants get all sorts of subsidies, that those subsidies allow them to buy expensive cars and phones, that they don't have to find any kind of work because the government pays their rents, etc. In other words, that they are living off the government without paying any taxes, while the Spaniards fallen on hard times don't get any help.
But that's not true. While some may get some subsidies, they don't last forever, and are meant to help adjust to a new life here while they find a job. Many who protest allowing these immigrants in, say, "If you're so keen on them, put them in your house." While, no, we can't have a complete open door policy, many have forgotten their own history. Once upon a time, in the port of Alicante, there were over 20,000 souls who desperately wanted out of Spain. They knew most of them were facing certain death if they stayed. Only one ship helped them, a British cargo ship whose captain had been expressly forbidden from allowing any of the refugees aboard.
Thanks to the saga of the Aquarius, the ship which picked up the people in the Mediterranean, history has been delved into, and the story of the Stanbrook brought back into the news. This was a steam cargo ship captained by Welshman Archibald Dickson, with 24 crew members. It had been sent to Alicante to pick up an assorted array of cargo. Because the end of the Spanish Civil War was coming about, and people wanted to escape Franco's troops from the last holdouts of the Republic, Dickson was firmly warned he was not allowed, under any circumstances, to pick up any civilians.
On the 28th of March, 1939, the port of Alicante was so full of refugees, it was standing room only in many places. The Italian troops helping out Franco controlled the town, and these people had nowhere to go. Franco's ships blockaded the port. These people, mostly those who had participated in fighting on the Republican side, or small government officials, or trade unionists, or International Brigade members, or simply people known to be vocal Republicans, most accompanied with family members, were facing death if they fell into Nationalist hands. They were desperate to be allowed on board any ship to escape that certain death. Dickson realized this.
He had been a blockade runner during the war, running cargo in and out of Republican ports under fire from Franco's guns. Various British ships had been sunk, but his had survived so far. He understood at this point, however, that the war was over, and his conscience was more important than his orders. He was going to come under fire one way or another. He decided to let as many people as possible on board.
They kept coming up the gangplank, and coming up the gangplank. At first, few wanted to go down into the cargo hold to make more room. In the end, some did, and the ship accumulated as many as 2,638 souls. Under cover of darkness, the Stanbrook left the port, and began its journey to Oran, Algeria, which was its next port of call. As they left, a ship fired guns in its direction, but missed. Behind, in the port of Alicante, some committed suicide. All those who were left behind were eventually rounded up, taken to a makeshift camp known as Los Almendros, where around 200 men were shot. From there, the rest were distributed to different prisons, where more died and were killed.
The ship was so full, the flotation line was beneath the water. There was almost no food, and very little water. Keep in mind that food for 24 will not be enough for over 2,000. After twenty hours, they docked in Oran, but the French authorities would not let anyone off the ship. Eventually, they let women, old people, and children disembark. The rest eventually were taken off and sent to a camp where they worked on the Trans-Saharan railway. There were plenty of deaths there, too. The French, while not actively shooting the refugees, did not make their life easy. Yet, many of those on the Stanbrook saved their lives, and those of their children.
Unfortunately, the Stanbrook was torpedoed in the North Sea by the Germans in November of that same year, and everyone aboard was killed, including Captain Archibald Dickson. Among those killed was a Spaniard. I don't know if he had already been on the roster before the rescue, but he probably had been. One likes to think that someone on board could have helped calm some of the refugees, upon their seeing a fellow Spaniard, speaking their language, perhaps sharing questions or comments about family. The man's name was Ramón Charlín. The only information I could find on internet about him was his parents' names, Benito Charlín Sabor and Luísa Ventoso Chazo. His wife was María Ozores Ventoso. He was born in 1898, and was from Vilanova de Arousa, just a few kilometers down the coast from here.
History's ribbons wind themselves in many ways with the present.
A small group of immigrant haters awaited the ship in Valencia, with the usual arguments of "Spaniards first!" In countless pages xenophobic themes run rampant; that the immigrants get all sorts of subsidies, that those subsidies allow them to buy expensive cars and phones, that they don't have to find any kind of work because the government pays their rents, etc. In other words, that they are living off the government without paying any taxes, while the Spaniards fallen on hard times don't get any help.
But that's not true. While some may get some subsidies, they don't last forever, and are meant to help adjust to a new life here while they find a job. Many who protest allowing these immigrants in, say, "If you're so keen on them, put them in your house." While, no, we can't have a complete open door policy, many have forgotten their own history. Once upon a time, in the port of Alicante, there were over 20,000 souls who desperately wanted out of Spain. They knew most of them were facing certain death if they stayed. Only one ship helped them, a British cargo ship whose captain had been expressly forbidden from allowing any of the refugees aboard.
Thanks to the saga of the Aquarius, the ship which picked up the people in the Mediterranean, history has been delved into, and the story of the Stanbrook brought back into the news. This was a steam cargo ship captained by Welshman Archibald Dickson, with 24 crew members. It had been sent to Alicante to pick up an assorted array of cargo. Because the end of the Spanish Civil War was coming about, and people wanted to escape Franco's troops from the last holdouts of the Republic, Dickson was firmly warned he was not allowed, under any circumstances, to pick up any civilians.
On the 28th of March, 1939, the port of Alicante was so full of refugees, it was standing room only in many places. The Italian troops helping out Franco controlled the town, and these people had nowhere to go. Franco's ships blockaded the port. These people, mostly those who had participated in fighting on the Republican side, or small government officials, or trade unionists, or International Brigade members, or simply people known to be vocal Republicans, most accompanied with family members, were facing death if they fell into Nationalist hands. They were desperate to be allowed on board any ship to escape that certain death. Dickson realized this.
He had been a blockade runner during the war, running cargo in and out of Republican ports under fire from Franco's guns. Various British ships had been sunk, but his had survived so far. He understood at this point, however, that the war was over, and his conscience was more important than his orders. He was going to come under fire one way or another. He decided to let as many people as possible on board.
They kept coming up the gangplank, and coming up the gangplank. At first, few wanted to go down into the cargo hold to make more room. In the end, some did, and the ship accumulated as many as 2,638 souls. Under cover of darkness, the Stanbrook left the port, and began its journey to Oran, Algeria, which was its next port of call. As they left, a ship fired guns in its direction, but missed. Behind, in the port of Alicante, some committed suicide. All those who were left behind were eventually rounded up, taken to a makeshift camp known as Los Almendros, where around 200 men were shot. From there, the rest were distributed to different prisons, where more died and were killed.
The ship was so full, the flotation line was beneath the water. There was almost no food, and very little water. Keep in mind that food for 24 will not be enough for over 2,000. After twenty hours, they docked in Oran, but the French authorities would not let anyone off the ship. Eventually, they let women, old people, and children disembark. The rest eventually were taken off and sent to a camp where they worked on the Trans-Saharan railway. There were plenty of deaths there, too. The French, while not actively shooting the refugees, did not make their life easy. Yet, many of those on the Stanbrook saved their lives, and those of their children.
Unfortunately, the Stanbrook was torpedoed in the North Sea by the Germans in November of that same year, and everyone aboard was killed, including Captain Archibald Dickson. Among those killed was a Spaniard. I don't know if he had already been on the roster before the rescue, but he probably had been. One likes to think that someone on board could have helped calm some of the refugees, upon their seeing a fellow Spaniard, speaking their language, perhaps sharing questions or comments about family. The man's name was Ramón Charlín. The only information I could find on internet about him was his parents' names, Benito Charlín Sabor and Luísa Ventoso Chazo. His wife was María Ozores Ventoso. He was born in 1898, and was from Vilanova de Arousa, just a few kilometers down the coast from here.
History's ribbons wind themselves in many ways with the present.
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