American Friends Service Committee Study of Spanish Refugee Colony at Santa Clara
During the Spanish Civil War and well into Francisco Franco’s regime the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) played an active role supporting peace efforts. With the fall of the Republic in 1939, attention turned to refugees leaving Spain. The AFSC helped people emigrate to Mexico, where upon entry Republican refugees could receive citizenship if they were fleeing Franco. Mr. Jenson, researching relief possibilities in Mexico at the request of John Rich of the AFSC, had outlined potential goals that specified that the AFSC was dedicated to helping the exiles fleeing Franco’s regime both before and after the war. These goals included helping the refugees to maintain their morale and incorporating them within Mexican society in order to make a sustainable living community. Interestingly, the report featured here illustrates that in a documented visit to the Santa Clara community, Jenson concluded that the communist sympathisers were of a majority within these created colonies and that they tended to oppress the ideas of less represented political bodies.