OPEN DOOR, OPEN HEART
A total of a little over 1,300 Jewish refugees were accepted by the country through the efforts led by then President Manuel Quezon
In observance of the World Refugee Day, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Philippines recently premiered a documentary on the plight of the Holocaust survivors accepted in Manila as displaced persons in the 1930s.
Titled “An Open Door: Holocaust Haven in the Philippines,” the documentary directed by Noel Izon and co-produced by historian Sharon Delmendo features the stories of survival and hope amidst a world in chaos during the anti-Semitic genocide in Europe and World War II.
A total of a little over 1,300 Jewish refugees were accepted by the country through the efforts led by then President Manuel Quezon, described by his daughter Zenaida Quezon Avanceña as a person with “a heart as big as a house” and “loved everybody and he was very demonstrative about it.”
A number of former refugees were interviewed for the documentary and shared their experiences in the Philippines, their adopted home.
“The Philippines is my adopted motherland because if it had not been for it, I would not be a person that I am now,” said Ralph Preiss in the special cut, shown especially for World Refugee Day which falls on the 21 June.
Fellow Holocaust survivor Hans Hoeflein said their stay in the country is an “important story because this shows that there are people that cared and people that are trying to do some good in a world that is really going crazy.”
Meanwhile, the current Philippine ambassador to Israel said that the Jewish refugee story “symbolizes the triumph of passionate hope versus hatred and prejudice.”
The documentary directed by Noel Izon and co-produced by historian Sharon Delmendo, featured the stories of survival and hope amidst a world in chaos during the anti-Semitic genocide in Europe and World War II.
The special online screening was followed by a discussion on the Philippines’ long history of accepting refugees hosted by UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador Atom Araullo and participated by panelists that included Izon, Delmendo, refugee historian Kinna Kwan, Paulino de Jesus of the Department of Justice, and Jack Simke, Jewish refugee descendant.
Simke has a special relationship with the Philippines since he was raised by a Filipina
(nanny) from Pangasinan who instilled in him Filipino customs and habits. “I think that life in the Philippines offered me the opportunity to understand life in its true sense,” he said.
Simke also revealed he maintains a Philippine passport, so do his children saying, “I am feeling very proud to call myself a Filipino.”
In the discussion, Kwan emphasized the importance of nurturing empathy and solidarity and the power of knowledge.
“When knowledge breaks barriers and these things change mindset of people, these are huge for refugees,” she said.
Kwan, who researched about the White Russian refugees in her hometown of Guiuan in Eastern Samar, added that “awareness fosters understanding and understanding quells fear” which “makes the lives of the refugees harder.”