Shanghai and the experience of war: <br />The refugee problem

Shanghai and the experience of war: <br />The refugee problem

[SHS:HIST] Humanities and Social Sciences/History

China

Shanghai

city

war

refugees

Shanghai was probably the first large metropolis to experience large-scale modern warfare in its very midst. Bitter and brutal fighting raged for three months in and around the city, with intense bombings from ships and planes. The war threw literally hundred of thousands of people on the streets. As war expanded to the countryside, millions became refugees. This paper is concerned with the massive and sudden transformation of Shanghai residents into refugees and its impact on the city and its resources. In the first part, I address the issue of war in Shanghai and its past experience with refugee issues. I argue that 1937 created an entirely new situation no authority was prepared to meet. The second part is devoted to a study of the refugee population, both in quantitative and qualitative terms. In fact, those who found refuge in camps -- a small part of the refugees – do not reflect the normal structure of the local population. The last part is concerned with the challenges refugee camps had to face to maintain alive a huge destitute population with limited resources in an overcrowded urban space engulfed in war.

Henriot, Christian

Premier Congrès du Réseau Asie<br />24-25 September 2003<br />Paris

Premier Congrès du Réseau Asie<br />24-25 September 2003<br />Paris

Premier Congrès du Réseau Asie<br />24-25 September 2003<br />Paris

2003

ENG

conference, seminar, workshop communication

http://halshs.archives-ouvertes.fr/halshs-00004065

http://halshs.archives-ouvertes.fr/docs/00/03/23/80/PDF/Shanghai_refugee_problem.pdf