Newspaper Page Text
Graduation
by
ABRAHAM
PENN
Eubanks Auto Supply Co.
Cecil M. Eubanks Edward P. Eubanks
AUTOMOTIVE PARTS, SUPPLIES AND EQUIPMENT
ENGINE REBUILDING
507 Broad Street Phone 2-0449
AUGUSTA, GA.
Du hi risky
—Paris—
This is graduation time in Paris
as it is in New York. But it is
hardly likely that anywhere in
the U.S. are there commencement
exercises like those taking place
at the ORT school in Paris.
Take for example Georges Che-
moun, who is about to receive his
diploma. Georges is 18, but his
slight build, small face and size
makes him look more like 13.
Physically, he is the product of
a stunting diet, never enough and
hardly of a kind to help a young
man grow properly. One did not
choose in the “mellah” of Meknes
in Morocco, from which Georges’
family migrated four years ago.
They were drawn to Paris by
the same lure that has brought
thousands of others from Africa,
in recent years, the hope of steady
employment and an opportunity
to better himself. Along with
other North Africans, Moslems
and Jews, the eight members of
Chemoun family crowded into a
tiny flat in Montmartre. They now
lived in the City of Light, but the
way in which they lived was
hardly different than in Meknes.
In one respect, however, there
has been an improvement. Georges
has been getting an education.
Each morning, for the past three
years, with the exception of Sat
urday and holidays, he rode the
“metro” to Montreuil station then
walked the tree-lined block to
the imposing six-floor structure
that dominates the quarter. Oc
casionally he would glance to
ward the top, with its three foot
high letters: ORT.
Once inside, Georges is com
pletely at home. This is his world
—his friends, his teachers, the
work that has now become sec
ond nature—and the air of ac
ceptance; he has long since un
derstood that here he belongs. If
these days he feels a tug of sad
ness, it is at the realization that
all this is coming to an end soon.
Graduation time is at hand.
Georges is now a pretty good
machinist and he has been pro
mised a job in the engineering de
partment at the Renault Works.
His father and brother already
call him an aristocrat. As indeed
he is, since his starting pay will
be more than any of them have
ever earned. His family is also
proud and hopeful for the first
time.
Another member of the class of
'58 is Sandor Koskas. He is 42.
A little over a year ago, when the
revolt broke out in Budapest, he
gathered his family and made for
the border. Whatever happened
in Hungary, he knew there was
no future there for him. His
health had been broken at Aus
chwitz, where like most other
Hungarian Jews he had been de
ported by the Nazis during the
war, and he never really recov
ered his energies.
He was lucky then in escaping
with his life. He was lucky again
when he crossed over into Aus
tria last year. After only a few
weeks, he was emigrated to
France.
Sandor had been a clerk in the
Hungarian post-office, hardly a
useful occupation for a newly ar
rived refugee in Paris. He was
directed to the ORT school in
Montreuil to learn a new skill.
Never in his wildest fantasies
had he imagined a welder, but
that is what he had learned to
be. Sandor smiles wryly at the
thought of graduation at his age.
Yet, he will miss the school. But
he is sure of work; good welders
are in demand.
Sandor Koskas and Georges
Chemoun, coming from almost op
posite ends of the earth, have
shared a common experience of
rehabilitation through this Jew
ish institution. Both have been
brought closer to the community
as a result. For one of the by
products of the Montreuil school is
the enhancement of Jewish iden
tification among its students.
Ten years ago, on Bastille Day,
July 14th, 1948, French Premier
Leon Blum, Labor Minister
Daniel Mayer, the U.S. Ambassa
dor Jefferson Caffery and David
Dubinsky, president of the Inter
national Ladies Garment Workers
Union, formally opened a new
trade school of ORT in the in
dustrial suburb of Paris known as
Montreuil.
The building, a gift of the ILG
WU, had been transformed into
an up-to-date center for vocation
al instruction. In a short while,
the school became a beehive for
GEORGIA POWER CO.
W. E. HOLLINGSWORTH
AUGUSTA, GEORGIA
PINNELL HEATING & AIR CONDITIONING. INC.
Sales — Service
PHONE 4-4904
855 Walker Street
AUGUSTA, GEORGIA
Augusta's Only Hank Slrictly for Savings
REALTY SAVINGS BANK
^ per cent Interest Paid on Deposits
YOUR SAVINGS ACCOUNT INVITED
Member of Federal Insurance Corporation
$10,000 Maximum Insurance for Each Depositor
827 Broad Street AUGUSTA, GA.
McGowen
PRINTING & OFFSET COMPANY
Letter Press and Offset Printing
Phone 2-5410 103 Eighth St.
AUGUSTA, GA.
MAXWELL BROS.
FURNITURE
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The Southern Israelite
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