Many Jewish refugees from Egypt have arrived at havens of refuge only to find themselves penniless due to the worthlessness of travelers’ checks or letters of credit bought from the Egyptian National Bank, according to information received by the World Jewish Congress in New York.
The checks were drawn on Thomas Cook and Co. , the British travel agency, and were purchased for Egyptian currency. When they presented the checks at Thomas Cook offices outside Egypt, the refugees were refused payment because the firm’s Egyptian offices had been sequestered by the Cairo authorities.
Informed of this additional hardship inflicted on the refugees, the World Jewish Congress London office took up the matter with the British Government, suggesting that the checks be paid out of Egyptian funds frozen in Britain. The New York office of the Congress has now been informed of British agreement to reimburse such check holders up to a maximum of 100 pounds sterling when presented either in Europe or Britain.
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