California Bound

Once my father and his shipmates and fellow refugees were allowed to disembark they were once again greeted by the melancholic yet sweet strains of the Hungarian National Anthem being played by an Army band. Everyone stood with wide eyes and expectant hearts awaiting their next step in this new country.

The refugees were all assigned a number once off of the ship and had to line up numerically in order to pass through the checkpoint and register their status. Once through the checkpoint they walked out into a parking lot where several Army busses stood waiting to take them all to their next destination. After about an hour's ride, my father's bus arrived at Camp Kilmer, which was a large army base that had been converted into a refugee reception camp. My father was a assigned to a two bed room which he would share with a roommate and his sister and her family were assigned larger accommodations. They came together in the mess hall for lunch and everyone ate with gusto as the food was well prepared, fresh and plentiful. At the time my father had lost so much weight he was a mere 123lbs. and he was eager and ready to pack the weight back on!

After their lunch, everyone lined up once again to go to the commissary where they would receive a package with new underwear, shirts, socks, soap, toothpaste and toothbrushes. It wasn't much, but it felt luxurious and they were free and safe.

The following day, all of the refugees had to go through a thorough background check, health screening and official registration process. The refugees who already had family or relatives living in the United States were being allowed to leave the refugee reception camp sooner. Fortunately for my father, his cousin in California sponsored him so he would soon be on his way to Los Angeles. His sister and her family received an invitation to live in Boston where not longer after, Eva would gain employment at Harvard University in the International Affairs Office. So, once again, my father would be saying good-bye to family as he boarded the bus to the Newark railway station and his sister boarded another bus towards Boston. A new chapter was about to begin.