Many White Russians plan to visit Guiuan next year, says PA Nierras
TACLOBAN CITY — A large group of Russians will visit Guiuan, Eastern Samar next year to reminisce their stay in Tubabao Island, a place that once served as temporary camp for over 5,000 White Russians some 60 years ago.
Presidential Assistant for Eastern Visayas Cynthia Nierras said that she found out in her recent visit to Guiuan that the group has been planning to visit the town this year but it has been postponed due to news of Philippine typhoons.
“Last month, some Russians visited Guiuan to check the area. They served as an advance party. They have to check if its convenient to travel to the area. Many want to come back with their families. Some of them are old already,” Nierras told Leyte Samar Daily Express.
Nierras said that the Russians were happy to hear that the government is asking Philippine Airlines and Cebu Pacific to consider serving the Manila-Guiuan or Cebu-Guiuan route.
Wikipedia, the online encyclopedia, recorded that the Russians were survivors of the Bolshevik Russian Revolution of 1917 and Russian Civil War of 1922-1924, when the Tsarist autocracy was overthrown by the socialists. Some Russians managed to escape and took refuge in the foreign land.
Some of them moved to Shanghai in China. Most of these refugees survived the Second World War but the communist took power in China and thus the International Refugee Organization requested to all countries around the world to provide accommodation to the Russians.
The Philippines volunteered and offered the Tubabao Island. The Russian refugees later were granted citizenship in the United States and Australia.
“I was one of the White Russian refugees on Tubabao in 1949. I was only a small child and my recollections are good. As a kid I had a wonderful time swimming in the warm waters and going to Russian Scouts every morning for flag parade. On Sundays there was a huge scout campfire. For us young ones life was great but not so wonderful for my mother and other adults who endured the heat, humidity, fevers and living in a hot army tent,” recalled one of the refugees in a social networking site.
Leon Gottfried, a naval transient in Tubabao back in 1946 remembered that though World War II had ended they still had a lot of naval personnel around. After few weeks, he was moved to a small naval base near Guiuan where he was one of those who established a temporary school named “Magellan University.”
Guiuan Mayor Annaliza Gonzales-Kwan said that since last year, they’ve been asking information from Russians and other foreigners through the internet so that local government unit can write a the history of their stay in Tubabao Island.
Nierras said that the beautiful scenery and historical sites of Guiuan will make the town as tourist haven. However, the government should work more to encourage more tourist-friendly facilities in the area. (Sarwell Q. Meniano)
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