GIVE THEM THIS DAY THEIR DAILY SOUP
Hanns F Skoutajan
There was a time in my life when I was nourished at a soup kitchen. Thankfully it was a long time ago and far, far away from here.
My parents and I and a lot of other refugees had flooded into the city of Prague, so much so that the Czech authorities were sending them back by trainloads into the arms of the SS. All were German antifascists on the run from Hitler’s forces and the minions that were supporting his takeover of the Sudetenland in the fall of 1938. The Nazis were intent on picking up the leadership and shipping them off to concentration camps such as Dachau. My father’s name was prominent on their list, I was later to discover.
We had very little money or possessions, only what we could carry when we arrived in the capital city. What money we did have we tried to save for even harder times ahead. We did not know what was to come. The future did not look promising.
Our accommodation was in an attic which had been supplied with straw mattresses on the floor, there was not a stick of furniture about. One toilet supplied the needs of all of us. Most of our neighbours were Jewish who had been able to read the writing on the wall. Their hope was to reach Britain, the US or perhaps Palestine. Our worst suspicions came to reality a few months later when the German forces occupied the rest of our country. We had reached a safe haven by that time.
Every day a large crowd gathered at the Labour Hall to line up at the counter where we were dished out a (thankfully) thick, rich soup and a hunk of heavy rye bread. and a piece of hard chocolate. It was better than what was served in Canada during the depression. We were grateful for these mercies.
What sustained our morale was the sense that we had one thing in common, that we were not alone. We were political refugees with a common enemy. This fear also united us.
I still recall the slogan on the wall of the hall - “Work and Democracy.” That’s quite different from the words over the entrance to the concentration camp that awaited many : Arbeit Macht Frei: (work will make you free). This was of course a lie for in those camps all were slave labour, and freedom would only come with death or if you were lucky to survive until the arrival of the allies armies.
Our family was among the fortunates inasmuch as my father was one of the most endangered and thus soon spirited out of the country to Britain. Mother and I followed three weeks later. In the meantime we continued to be guests at the soup kitchen and attic.
As I pass by the Shepherds Of Good Hope at the corner of Murray and King Edward streets in Ottawa, I observe the crowd, fortunate in their misfortune to receive food and accommodation. I have never been inside but can only imagine it to be pretty crowded and quite basic.
The clientelle is quite different from what we were back at the Labour Hall in Prague in the fall of 1938 There is only one thing we have in common: we are all victims. There are those who blame the victims for their victimhood, but many of them have histories of mental illness, drug abuse, first hand or second hand as in fetal alcohol syndrome, as well as a plethora of other causes.
We were victims of ideology. We believed in freedom and social justice, peace and security. We all suffered homelessness and fear.
I admire those who care for them as well as those who cared for us either through donations or with feet on the ground. It is not an easy task.
Today there are victims on every continent, especially in Africa and the Middle East but also some on this blessed continent. They are the poor, the displaced, the sick, children and the aged.
Those bowls of soup at Prague’s Labour Hall remind me how narrow is the trail from misfortune and how broad the stream of those en route. Much has changed from those days when my parents and I stood in line dependent on the compassion and generosity of our providers. Unfortunately much has remained the same. Fortunately there are many agencies and individuals dedicated to helping them whether at home or abroad. The need is dire. Support them generously!
SQ 14/09/2014
More writing may be found at MYQUEST
