Das Arabische Buro: der Grossmufti
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to go back because we fought on the side of Pavelich. The
International Refugee Organization offered us a choice of going to almost any country. When the Arab League promised
to take care of three thousand Moslems, I picked Syria because the Arabs are my religious brothers. But I am disappointed."
"Did you fight in Palestine?"
"Of course. Where do you think I got these clothes? Nowhere except from the Jews! Those who didn't fight have no
clothes today. I fought four months. Many of my friends are
still with the Arab armies. Those with technical ability are
working for the Syrian government. Others are working as
servants and laborers, receiving half of what an Arab gets. I
have been offered farm work for 2.50 lira [70 cents] but I
cannot buy shoes and clothing which will need replacement,
and the heavy food I will have to cat for the heavy work. It's
more economical to stay here and do nothing. Our future is
absolutely dark," Hayredin said resignedly. "No one wants us
now. We can not get a visa to go elsewhere. We are stateless,
homeless, friendless."
This was their reward for helping fight the Jehad.
NAZIS UNDER COVER
LATE in the afternoon Stefan took me to the Orient Palace,
Damascus's leading hotel, to meet Captain Mahmoud Zanovitch. "Mahmoud's real name is Keil," he confided. "Many of
our boys use Arab names."
In the small barroom of the hotel we saw a powerfully built
man with a thick neck, his head bald, round, and shiny. He
was working over a notebook with the aid of a dictionary.
When Stefan asked him about Zanovitch, the man—with a
suspicious look at me—told us he was in Palestine. The baldheaded man—whether he was a German or a Yugoslav Nazi I