Page 236 - LEIBY

236 Leiby – Border Smuggler

was being sliced and to keep them for himself !

“In Poland, even the scarecrows are dressed better than the
Russian citizens,” Grisha had told him. “When we came on
the train from Samarkand to Lvov, we could easily identify the
exact location of the border: in Russia, everything was desolate,
dry, and peeling, but as we traveled westwards to Poland, the
fields became greener, the huts nicer and better kept, and the
grazing cattle we saw looked fat and satisfied.” Grisha always
made sure to add a caveat. “Poland is not our country any more
than Russia is, far too many Jews were killed here. Jewish blood
flows in the Polish rivers and ashes of burnt Jewish bodies are
spread about over the forests. Poland is one gigantic Jewish
cemetery, and no one lives in a cemetery. We have to go away
from here too.”

“But where can we go?” Sandy had asked.

“We’ll go to Eretz Yisrael, the land that Hashem has promised
us. My aunt will take me there.”

Yanina had only harsh words to say about the foolhardy people
who left beautiful Poland for the distant, backward Palestine,
only to die there at the hands of bloodthirsty Arabs. “Today, we
Jews are Polish citizens with legal rights just like anyone else,”
she insisted. “The new communist regime brings only good
tidings for the Polish Jews. Here, Jews will be able to reach
the most prominent of positions that they could never have
dreamed of in the past.”

“Baloney!” Sandy interrupted, covering his ears. He got up and
left the classroom, slamming the door behind him.

“Where are you going, Sandy?” Yanina called after him. “Come
back and pay attention to the lesson!”

“Lesson? You call this ridiculous nonsense a lesson? Try teaching
it to old grandmothers,” Sandy retorted, and went to the Jewish
committee building where he was fascinated by the numerous
refugees crowding in the corridors.