Imperial Refugees: Evacuating Southeast Asia during the Japanese Invasion, 1941-1948

帝国难民：日本入侵期间撤离东南亚，1941-1948 年

• 批准号: 2870626
• 金额: --
• 依托单位: University of Oxford
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Studentship
• 财政年份: 2023
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2023 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=studentship-2870626
• 关键词: Imperial; Refugees; Evacuating; Southeast; Asia

I intend to research the experiences and conditions of displaced persons of non-European origin in the British Empire during and following the Japanese invasion of Southeast Asia. My research aims to contribute to global, connected, imperial, and transnational historic fields by studying the ties between imperialism, colonialism, and human rights. While scholars of the Second World War have focused on the experiences of displaced persons in Europe, few have delved into the colonial experience of displaced people in the Empire during and after the war. On the other hand, most specialist studies of refugees and displaced persons in Southeast Asia have concentrated on the 1970s Indochinese refugee crisis that resulted from the three Indochina wars (1946-79), the Khmer genocide, and the post-Pol Pot Vietnamese invasion of Democratic Kampuchea. Reducing these gaps in both historiographies is relevant to paint a more comprehensive and discerning picture of the displacement of persons during World War II to understand how such refugee movements underpinned the development of human rights and international relief.The Japanese Empire's expansion in Southeast Asia during the Second World War caused the displacement of Europeans and Asians. It led to a vast logistical operation orchestrated by British authorities to evacuate individuals from Southeast Asia and relocate them throughout the British Empire and the Commonwealth. How did the British use their Empire as an outlet valve to reduce the pressure created by the mass displacement of persons? What place did refugees occupy in the colonial hierarchy? My research aims to bridge the gaps in the historiographies at whose intersection it lies. It is of social importance because it allows us to comprehensively understand the recent and globalised history of population displacement and refugees in different parts of the world. It is in continuity with the works of academics that, in recent years, have started to grasp the tangible links between the emerging policies on asylum seekers and refugees during and after the Second World War and colonialist thoughts and practices. It also responds to calls underlining the importance of studying pre-Indochina wars refugee movements. This research allows to better understand the development of International Human rights Aid and organisations during the critical years surrounding the Second World War. In 1943, the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration (UNRRA) was created to provide relief to displaced persons and help their repatriation to their "home" country. While the UNRRA mission in Europe has been the object of extensive work, little research has been conducted on their mission in Asia outside mainland China. How did the institutions established to provide relief and repatriation venues articulate their missions in the territories under colonial rule? How did they make sense of their role even as they worked alongside imperial powers? This proposal is novel in examining UNRRA's involvement in the relief and repatriation effort of displaced persons in Southeast Asia. It will seek to answer key issues, notably how relief and repatriation organisations articulated their missions in the territories under colonial rule and how they rationalised their roles when working alongside imperial powers. I intend to answer my research questions by analysing the diverse correspondence and official documents in the large corpus of sources in English held by the British Library in London. The records of the India Office and the Burma Office document these issues and provide a wide array of sources detailing the evacuation, reception, and assistance given to the individuals relocated from Southeast Asian colonies throughout the British Empire. Another crucial source's depository for completing this research is the UNRRA's archives held by the United Nations Archives and Records. The files stored encompass a broad scope of territories

我打算研究在日本入侵东南亚期间和之后，大英帝国非欧洲血统流离失所者的经历和状况。我的研究旨在通过研究帝国主义，殖民主义和人权之间的联系，为全球，连接，帝国和跨国历史领域做出贡献。虽然研究第二次世界大战的学者们关注的是欧洲流离失所者的经历，但很少有人深入研究战争期间和战后帝国流离失所者的殖民经历。另一方面，大多数关于东南亚难民和流离失所者的专家研究都集中在1970年代由三次印度支那战争（1946- 1979年）、高棉种族灭绝和波尔布特后越南入侵民主柬埔寨造成的印度支那难民危机。缩小这两部历史著作中的差距，有助于更全面、更清晰地描绘第二次世界大战期间流离失所的情况，从而理解这种难民流动如何支撑人权和国际救济的发展。第二次世界大战期间，日本帝国在东南亚的扩张导致了欧洲人和亚洲人的流离失所。它导致了英国当局精心策划的大规模后勤行动，从东南亚撤离人员，并将他们重新安置在大英帝国和英联邦各地。英国人是如何利用他们的帝国作为出口阀门来减少大规模人口迁移所造成的压力的？难民在殖民地等级制度中占有什么地位？我的研究旨在弥合历史编纂学中的空白，而这些空白正是历史编纂学的交叉点。它具有社会重要性，因为它使我们能够全面了解世界各地人口流离失所和难民的近期和全球化历史。与学术界的工作相一致的是，近年来，学术界开始抓住第二次世界大战期间和之后新出现的关于寻求庇护者和难民的政策与殖民主义思想和做法之间的切实联系。它还响应强调研究印度支那战争前难民流动重要性的呼吁。这项研究有助于更好地了解国际人权援助组织和组织在第二次世界大战关键时期的发展。1943年，联合国救济和善后管理局（UNRWA）成立，向流离失所者提供救济，并帮助他们返回“祖国”。虽然在欧洲的欧洲航天局使命一直是广泛的工作对象，很少有研究已经进行了他们的使命在亚洲以外的中国大陆。为提供救济和遣返场所而设立的机构如何阐明其在殖民统治领土上的任务？他们如何理解自己的角色，即使他们与帝国主义势力合作？这一建议在审查缅甸难民救济和难民署参与东南亚流离失所者救济和遣返工作方面是新颖的。它将寻求回答关键问题，特别是救济和遣返组织如何在殖民统治下的领土上阐明其使命，以及他们如何合理化他们的角色时，与帝国主义列强一起工作。我打算通过分析伦敦大英图书馆收藏的大量英文资料中的各种信件和官方文件来回答我的研究问题。印度办事处和缅甸办事处的记录记录了这些问题，并提供了广泛的来源，详细介绍了从整个大英帝国的东南亚殖民地重新安置的个人的疏散，接待和援助。完成这项研究的另一个重要来源是联合国档案和记录所保存的联合国档案馆的档案。存储的文件涵盖了广泛的领土范围