" PRPC, located in the mountains of Bataan, was about a 3-hour bus ride from Manila. The PRPC opened in 1980 and closed around 1995. I worked there from 1984 to 1988. More than 400,000 Indochinese refugees (Vietnamese, Khmer, Lao, ethnic Chinese, and some other minority groups) passed through its gates. Almost all of them had already been accepted for resettlement in the U.S., and almost all of them had already spent months and years in first asylum camps in the Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand, Hong Kong, and Indonesia. During their stay in the PRPC, the refugees underwent final processing, health screenings, and studied English and U.S. culture. Most of the photos in this album were taken on one day...the day before I left. They're not the most beautiful, and they don't include ceremonies or friends' faces. I took the photos to remember the look of the camp. What the photos can't express is what the PRPC felt like...the amazing mix of languages, backgrounds, and cultures, the old hatreds and loyalties, the night sounds from the forest, the steam rising from the earth after a sudden downpour, the sound of students repeating an English phrase, the sound of prayers from a temple at sunset..."
~Gaylord Barr~
WE ARE HAPPY TO SHARE ALL OF THE PHOTOS PRESENTED HERE. HOWEVER, IF YOU DO RE-POST ANY OF THEM, PLEASE GIVE US CREDIT.

Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Pictures of Bataan PRPC by Gaylord Barr (14)

66: A scene in Neighborhood 3
Chụp tại Vùng 3




67: Brahma Bayon, the Khmer Monument in Neighborhood 7
Tượng Bayon xây dựng bởi dân tị nạn Khmer năm 1984 ở Vùng 4


68: Neighborhood 7
Chụp tại Vùng 7


69: The back side of the Khmer Memorial 


The front side of the Khmer Memorial



70: The refugees in this barrack are selling food and drink to their fellow refugees. This is the backside of a typical billet.  The thatched roof has been added.
 Khu nhà của nhưng người tị nạn làm ăn buôn bán trong trại.  



Thursday, November 10, 2011

Pictures of Bataan PRPC by Gaylord Barr (13)

61: Hammocks were hung outside where it was cooler and there was more space than inside. However, there was no sleeping outside after the 10 PM curfew.
Dân tỵ nạn thích giặng võng bên ngoài, vừa mát vừa rộng rãi. Chỉ ngồi ban ngày, 10 giờ khuya thì không ai được ở ngoài. Tất cả phải vô bên trong





62: A camp 'jeepney'. Jeepneys are an inexpensive and popular mode of  transportation in the Philippines. Originally, these were jeeps left by the American troops after World War II with extended bodies and benches. 20 people can cram inside easily , though not very comfortably.
Xe chở khách thông dụng ở Phi. Đây là xe jeep của lính mỹ thời Đệ Nhị Thế Chiến, họ đóng thùng xe gắn lên, chở được 20 người bên trong dễ dàng



63:  Teachers and Assistant Teachers (English-speaking refugee volunteers) having a meeting in the AT World gazebo
Một cuộc họp của các thầy tại tòa nhà AT World




64: A Buddha sculpture next to the water lily pond outside the Cambodian Buddhist Temple
Một tượng phật cạnh hồ hoa sen bên ngoài Chùa



65: The boat in Freedom Plaza symbolizing the perilous escapes of the Vietnamese 'Boat People'.
Dân tị nạn Việt đem chiếc tàu này trưng bày ở vùng 1