posted on 04 Sep 2016

Refugees 1960 : A report in words and drawings by Kaye Webb and Ronald Searle

I really should start off by saying that this is much more a fascinating book than a beautiful book. It was published in soft cover by Penguin in 1960 and all the proceeds from the sales were directed towards the UK Committee of the World Refugee Year.

There is a danger that each generation thinks the problems it faces are unique and also uniquely insoluble. We can see this mindset today in relation to the current European refugee crisis which has been prompted in part by war, terrorism and civil strife but also by predatory economic exploitation that has left the poorest unable to sustain themselves in their own countries. Each day seems to bring new tragedy and drama as desperate people make life threatening journeys from North Africa, the Middle East and Afghanistan. So, it helps sometimes to step back, take stock and learn the lessons of history – and books like this can show us that we’ve faced these problems before and even found solutions.

At the end of the Second World War the devastation of towns and cities along with the realignment of political power to reflect the new world order of winners and losers created a world of refugees – and over 100,000 of those were homeless or stateless Europeans. This  world of refugees in this post war period had some haunting similarities to what is happening today with countries like Italy and Greece having to accommodate large transit camps to house a population of people on the move to avoid oppressive political regimes and punishing economic deprivation. Clearly, as with today’s problems, this wasn’t something that would be solved overnight – the lack of easy answers is something that this booklet illustrates graphically given that it is describing the refugee crisis a full 15 years after the end of the war.

You’ll find here stories that are all too familiar today as well – children making their way on their own; huge makeshift camps; wives or husbands grief-stricken from the loss of a spouse; and, most astonishingly of all, the ability of the human spirit to endure even in the most shocking conditions.

This booklet sounds very much like it’s talking to us across time and what it’s got to say is something we should be listening to. When we think about our refugee crisis its worth asking ourselves if we’ve been here before and, if we have, what did we do to solve it.  Let’s leave the author of this booklet, Kaye Webb, with the last words:

“ What is needed to empty the camps this world Refugee Year? The answer is simple. Every country with room to spare should ease open its bureaucratic door to accept without ifs or buts a percentage of sick or economically useless human beings, to balance what they have gained from the young healthy immigrants who will be benefitting their economy without any cost to education or training.....It is a risk a nation can afford to take. For the children will flourish and put down roots, and the dank, dismal, hopeless camps of Europe will no longer be on the conscience of what we like to call the Free World.”

Copies of this pamplet/booklet can be picked up quite easily on the second hand market and there are plenty for sale online. Astonishingly, for this piece of extraordinary history illustrated by a famous artist and written by the woman who went on to be the editor of the Puffin series,  you will only have to pay around £5 including postage.

Terry Potter

September 2016