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

我打算研究大英帝国在日本入侵东南亚期间和之后的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，为全球性、关联性、帝国主义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帝国境内流离失所者在战时和战后的殖民经历。另一方面，对东南亚难民和流离失所者的大多数专业研究集中在20世纪70年代印度支那难民危机，这场危机源于三次印度支那战争(1946-79)，高棉种族灭绝，以及后波尔布特越南人对民主柬埔寨的入侵。缩小这两部史学中的这些差距，对于更全面、更有洞察力地描绘二战期间人口流离失所的图景，以了解这些难民运动如何为人权和国际救济的发展奠定基础。第二次世界大战期间日本帝国在东南亚的扩张导致欧洲人和亚洲人流离失所。这导致了英国当局精心策划的大规模后勤行动，从东南亚撤离个人，并将他们重新安置在大英帝国和英联邦各地。英国人如何利用他们的帝国作为出口阀门，以减少人口大规模流离失所所造成的压力？难民在殖民等级制度中占据了什么位置？我的研究旨在弥合史学中的空白，它位于谁的十字路口。它具有重要的社会意义，因为它使我们能够全面了解世界不同地区人口流离失所和难民的近期和全球化历史。近年来，学者们的工作与他们的工作保持着连续性，开始理解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具体联系。它还响应了强调研究印度支那战争前难民流动的重要性的呼声。这项研究有助于更好地了解国际人权援助组织在围绕第二次世界大战的关键时期的发展情况。1943年，成立了联合国救济和复兴管理局，向流离失所的人提供救济，并帮助他们返回自己的“家园”。虽然社科所在欧洲的任务一直是广泛工作的对象，但关于他们在中国大陆以外的亚洲任务的研究很少。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下领土上的使命？他们是如何理解自己的角色的，即使他们与帝国列强并肩作战？这项建议在审查社发所参与东南亚流离失所者的救济和遣返工作方面具有新意。它将寻求回答关键问题，特别是救济和遣返组织如何阐明它们在殖民统治下领土上的使命，以及它们在与帝国列强合作时如何使自己的角色合理化。我打算通过分析伦敦大英图书馆拥有的大量英文资料语料库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，并提供了广泛的资料来源，详细说明了从大英帝国各地的东南亚殖民地搬迁过来的个人的疏散、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拥有的社发中心的档案。存储的文件涵盖了广泛的地域范围

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