This cemetery is situated in the former Bataan Processing Centre (Manilla, Philippines). Record showed there were about 300 refugees were buried in this cemetery. The Centre was closed down in 1996. Cemetery was left deserted. This Processing Centre was the place where it was been used as a temporary stop-over from 1978 - 1996 for those who had been accepted to be resettled in USA. They stayed here for 6 months to be trained for English and Living in USA. This photograph is significant because it represents the high death rate at a Processing Centre The cemetery is linked with many other refugee cemeteries in the South East Asia. It is the evidence of the cost for Freedom, cost to escape from Communism in the world, during the 21-year event of Vietnamese boat people, where there were more than 500,000 Vietnamese lost their lives. The place should be well maintained as one of the heritage sites of this event.There are about 300 graves found in this cemetery. Bataan was a Processing Centre established in 1980 and closed down in 1994, now called Bataan Technology Park, in Subic Bay area (Philippines), 2 hours drive from Manilla. bataan cemetery, vietnamese boat people, processing centre in bataan,

Vietnamese boat people landing in Philippines during the first years of the events (1975 - 1996). They were grouped up from many different islands and transferred to the refugee camp in Palawan Island. There they were interviewed and waited for decision from UNHCR to be granted settlement approval. Then they would be transferred to Bataan Processing Centre in Manilla waiting for flight to a third country.It is one of the very rare black and white photographs collected during the first years of the Vietnamese boat people in Philippines.Black and whilte picture taken at Lubang Island, Philippines, 1978. A group about 50 Vietnamese refugees landing in Lubang Island, Philippines, 1978. Pictures taken on a beach of the island, in front of 2 huts covered with coco-palm leaves as temporary shelter, together with two nuns and government workers coming to pick up and transfer to a refugee camp.Nguoi Viet ty nan tai Lubang, Philippines, 1978.lubang island, philippines, vietnamese refugees