Joan Abril, Saint Cyprien, 16 years later, I went back to the beach of Saint-Cyprien on a hot August morning. There was nothing left of the concentration camp, no trace of the horrible enclosure that surrounded it. Instead, there were large avenues lined up with elegant cottages, luxurious homes and apartments with beautiful gardens. I enjoyed watching the sea endlessly coming and going on the smooth beach. The people who now live there cannot possibly imagine that this beach was once watered by the tears of thousands of unfortunate souls. Many of those people died from disease, hunger or grief. The happy masses of swimmers do not know anything about these tragic events, nor do they know of the inhuman scenes that took place on those beaches. Only a few kilometres away, on the road to Elne, there is a space surrounded by low walls and protected by an iron door. On a section of the portal, a marble tablet recalls these events. There lie the Spanish refugees who were killed in the camp of Saint Cyprien. Among the wild grass, wooden crosses mark the location of the remains of hundreds of anonymous Spaniards. (Pp.50-51)
Tag: frontera
Joan Abril – Saint Cyprien
Joan Abril – Saint Cyprien
Beyond the Pyrenees, an army of policemen were guarding the border which the refugees were crossing at a snail’s pace. All the fugitives were treated like prisoners and led by soldiers under the orders of harsh officers armed with sticks. The walkers formed a pitiful, endless procession. At dusk, the cortege went through the streets of Palau-del-Vidre, where the villagers were waiting with benevolent respect. I’m sure they saw us as thousands of souls who had been on the losing side, swept away by the storms of war. The next day, we arrived at the concentration camp of Saint Cyprien. It was surrounded by barbed wire, and a group of policemen controlled its only entrance. The Senegalese were armed with machine guns that they pointed directly at the masses. This is what troubles me most when evoking the camp ; it was a place of pain, misery and despair.
martes 28 de enero de 1939
Para bajar la presión que ejercían los miles de refugiados agolpados en la frontera, el Ministro del Interior de Francia, Albert Serraut, ordenó: “Dejen pasar a las mujeres y a los niños, atiendan a los heridos y devuelvan y cierren la puerta a los hombres válidos”. Era martes 28 de enero. ( En Los españoles del Winnipeg, J Ferrer Mir, página 33)