Refugee

The MS St. Louis finally anchors just outside Havana Harbor. The ship isn’t allowed to sail into port until it passes a medical inspection. A Cuban doctor checks all the passengers for signs of disease. Josef’s father grows anxious, and Josef fears that the doctor will find his father mentally ill and turn the family away. As Landau’s panic increases, Josef slaps his father’s face. Josef warns his father that he must behave himself, or he will be sent back to Dachau: “In the past six months, Josef and his father had traded places. Papa was the one acting like a child, and Josef was the adult” (133). The ploy works, and Josef’s father settles down. Even though all the passengers pass the doctor’s inspection, Cuban police continue to hold them onboard. They promise that the ship will dock the next day.

In the Straits of Florida, Isabel dives off her boat to rescue Señor Castillo. It’s still dark, and she struggles to find him in the murky water. When she brings him to the surface, her friend Iván dives in to help her return Castillo to the boat. Everyone resumes the tasks of bailing and getting the motor started.