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HOME OFFICE
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Configurations to fit any room.

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1950 S. Telegraph Rd.,

on west side of Telegraph
1/2 Mile North of &pre Lake Rd.
Bloomfield Hills

810.332.8855

Youth or adult bedrooms in your choice of style and color.

Hours: 11-5:30 • Mon., Wed., Thurs., Fri. & Sat. Closed Sundays & Tuesdays

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1204 S. Woodward, Royal Oak (Just North of 696)

(CLOSET COMPANY)

INC.

Foremost in Design, Installation and Service

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Refinishing,
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Fabrics,
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626-5520
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810-548-9515

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Northwestern Highway • Between 12 & 13 Mlle Rds.
Southfield

MAURITIUS page 59

ly declare that "the Jewish
refugees now in Mauritius be al-
lowed to enter Palestine."
On Aug. 12, 1945, the refugees
left Mauritius; 14 days later, they
were back in Haifa, the port from
which they had been expelled
four years before. This time,
there were no British soldiers to
abort the consummation of their
journey.
Instead, the refugees were
welcomed to the homes of the rel-
atives who had been awaiting
them all this time, to kibbutzim
and to the houses specially built
for them in the Haifa area. Three
years later, with the establish-
ment of the Jewish State, the
Jews of Mauritius would become
citizens of Israel.
This, in briefer form, is the de-
thiled story I got from Mr. Grif-
fiths. The trek to Eretz Israel,
perhaps the longest since the 40-
year wanderings of the Israelites,
is little known in the Jewish
world, except among the sur-
vivors in Israel and those Mau-
ritians now living who had had
contact with them during in-
ternment. -
There are some Mauritians
who remember taking piano
lessons from Jewish musicians
— contact between prisoners and
outside Mauritians was eventu-
ally allowed. One such pupil, as
well, was the late Shah Rizah
Pahlavi, whom the Allies had de-
ported from Iran and also in-
terned in Mauritius.
There are countless other
anecdotes Mr. Griffiths can re-
late. And he can direct visitors to
the 15-foot-high stone walls of
the prison camp in which the
Jews were incarcerated and
where they supported a Liberal
and an Orthodox synagogue, ran
a newspaper, maintained a li-
brary, conducted a school for chil-
dren and a mini-university for
adults, held concerts — and from
which they sent hundreds of vol-
unteers to join the Allied armies
or the Jewish Brigade in the war
against Hitler.
Mr. Griffiths can also direct
visitors to the Jewish cemetery
in the center of Mauritius, where
they can place pebbles of memo-
ry, as I did, on the 157 identical
tombstones of the malaria vic-
tims.
Mr. Griffths' address is Sen-
neville, Riviere des Aguilles; tel.,
(230) 626-2503; fax, (230) 626-
2844. Another Jewish contact is
Andrew Slome, general manag-
er of the five-star La Pirogue Sun
Hotel at the beach of Flic en Flac;
tel., (230) 453-8441; fax, (230)
453-8449.
Cruise ships occasionally dock
in Port-Louis. More frequent are
Air Mauritius direct flights from
London. The national airline,
with an office in Englewood
Cliffs, N.J., offers beguiling
brochures: tel., (201) 871-8382;
fax, (201) 871-6983.