The Haj - Leon Uris [117]
Although he greeted my father with traditional warmth, one could tell he was not very happy with the situation. Behind his small storefront was an office and warehouse permeated with the smells of hundreds of flavors of spices and coffee and guarded by Bassam el Bassam’s personal cadre of six men.
When the coffee was brewed, the two tried to sift through the rumors and make sense out of the sudden mass flight of the Arab population.
‘I don’t know where it started or how it started,’ Mr. Bassam said. ‘The mayor of Haifa was the worst fool. He was ill-advised to take a hundred thousand of our people out of the city.’
‘But his alternative was to submit to a Jewish victory,’ my father said.
Mr. Bassam threw up his hands. ‘I have cousins who remained. They are a hell of a lot better off than you are at this moment. I’ll tell you when it really started, Haj Ibrahim. It started two minutes after the partition vote, when our rich citizens bolted from Palestine to protect their comforts.’
‘What is the situation here?’
‘There are seventy thousand or more Arabs in Jaffa. We are well armed. However, Jaffa is like a piece of meat wrapped inside a piece of pita bread. Tel Aviv is to the north and below us is the Jewish city of Bat Yam.’ He leaned close to my father to give a confidence. ‘I have spoken to one of the Haganah commanders who has been a good friend. The Jews say they have no plans to attack Jaffa. This has also been confirmed by my very good British friend, Colonel Winthrop. Jaffa is outside the partition boundaries of the Jewish state and the British are determined, as their last act, to see that it remains in Arab hands.’
‘Tomorrow, first thing, I must go to Barclay’s Bank,’ my father said. ‘You will come with me?’
‘Of course.’
‘And tomorrow, when Farouk arrives, we will have a great number of stores to sell, as well as livestock. There are also family valuables. We want to convert everything into cash and charter a boat for Gaza as quickly as possible.’
‘Leave everything to me and be assured, my brother, that I do not take one lira in commissions. I will buy back your stores at a fair price and I will find you an honest trader for the livestock. The personal items would be better disposed of on the open market.’
‘I hope our stay in Jaffa will not be an extended one,’ my father said. ‘What are the possibilities of obtaining a boat to Gaza for a humane price?’
Mr. Bassam meditated aloud as he ran through the possibilities in his mind. ‘A number of small Greek ships are working the coast. Many of them from Cyprus I know personally. But one cannot be too careful. You know how the Greeks are. They are taking deposits and never showing up. Other boat owners are letting passengers starve. You let me do your bidding, Haj Ibrahim.’
Letting Bassam el Bassam do our bidding was not what my father had in mind, but the transaction would be impossible without him. ‘How much will it take?’
Mr. Bassam perspired over that one, talking to himself, arguing with the right hand against the left hand. ‘Well over three hundred and fifty pounds with that crowd you have.’
‘But that is thievery. Gaza cannot be more than a day’s sail.’
‘It is not the length of the journey but the dangers. The boat owners are running the game. It would be better to pay a bit more and have a reliable charter. I have been on this waterfront all my life. I will find a safe boat. Unfortunately, I might have to put up a deposit.’
‘We shall sort that matter out after Farouk arrives and when I have been to the bank. A final question. Is there any possibility of shelter?’
‘It is not out of the question. The neighborhood that is closest to Tel Aviv has been virtually abandoned. There is quite a bit of sniping going on, but the area is generally safe. I have scouted out two or three streets close together that are all but empty. I advise you to sell everything for cash as quickly as possible. Look at my warehouse. It has been almost stripped. There are four or five separate