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At Rio two of the refugees were allowed to land, two more were permitted ashore briefly. A man with a five-month-old toothache was escorted to a dentist. An old woman got permission to go under guard to the post office to see whether there was any mail for her. As her foot touched land at the foot of the gangplank she fainted.
Through the night that the ship lay at dock, the refugees milled about the decks. There were rumors that the Belgian Embassy, the Polish Embassy, the Brazilian Pausl Nuncio would intercede. The rumors were denied. Under the glaring floodlights the refugees shouted down to the strained upturned faces of relatives on the pier. The ship's captain told reporters that his passengers would undoubtedly commit mass suicide rather than land again in Europe. All night long a police launch cruised the far side of the ship to pick up anyone who might jump overboard.
Next day the Cabo de Hornos started the long voyage back to Europe.
In New York the American Joint Distribution Committee (U.S. Jewish refugee organization) was keeping the cables hot. In London a League of Nations refugee official talked to The Netherlands Government-in-Exile. The Netherlands Government cabled the Governor of Curaçao. Finally the Cabo's passengers got welcome word. They might land at Curaçao, stay there until permanent homes are found for them. When they landed, eleven were taken to hospitals.
Thus this week 79 of Europe's countless refugees found, if not heaven, at least haven.