This essay is dedicated to one of the episodes in the history of post-revolutionary Russian emigration in Asia. An eyewitness and participant in the events surrounding a refugee camp on the Philippine island of Tubabao, to which about five thousand Russian refugees were evacuated in 1949 from civil war-torn China. The essay combines personal memories of the author and the facts reflected in the few surviving documents.
The tent camp of refugees from China. Tubabao, Philippines, 1950.
Wedding: a group of ushers and groomsmen at the church. Author N.V.Moravski on the far right. Tubabao, 1950.
Divine Liturgy in the open air. Tubabao, 1950.
From the Preface
Google translation from Russian: Chinese Red Army offensive against the forces of the nationalists in Northern China in 1948 forced many Russian emigrants living in Hankou, Beijing, Tianjin, Qingdao and other cities of the country, immediately move to Shanghai. They are moving to Shanghai and the unit there for a temporary residence permit in the former French barracks on Route Frelyunt engaged subordinated to the United Nations International Refugee Organization (International Refugee Organization (IRO). I will use the same reduction in Russian, that is, EDI, mainly because it is often used in Russian sources, which I refer.)
Given that the ultimate goal of the Chinese Red Army offensive was to seize the whole country, including, of course, and Shanghai, the IRO appealed to the governments of several countries of the free world with a request to provide temporary shelter were present in hostel on Route Frelyunt refugees and Russian immigrants and people of some other ethnicities who are domiciled in Shanghai. The only state responded to the call of IRO was Philippine Republic, which has contributed to the temporary settlement of refugees from China part of the small uninhabited island Tubabao, located at the southern tip of the island of Samar and the bridge connected to it. While the Philippine government has provided shelter to refugees, EDI has taken the lead in organizing and paying for the costs of their evacuation from Shanghai and content on Tubabao, as well as with “their further dispersal. At first, the Philippine government limited the term refugee Tubabao four months, but was subsequently extended it several times. Some of the refugees lived for more than two years Tubabao.
Archbishop John (Maximovitch) at Tubabao.