On Christmas Day 1951 an overcrowded ship docked at Baltimore on the East Coast of the United States. From it disembarked nearly 600 Mongols, exhausted and dressed in rags and tatters.
When they first came to America the Kalmucks were utterly on their own. Welfare organizations in Howell Town, NJ, and Philadelphia, Pa, provided them with temporary accommodation, but their future livelihood was entirely in their own hands.
"At the beginning life was really hard!" remembers Martha, wife of World Mongolian Taipei Club chairman Giga Andreyev.
Racial discrimination was the first problem they faced. Many labor organizations did not welcome Asiatics, and since their refugee existence had deprived them of educational opportunities they had no specialized knowledge. So they just had to start from the bottom up, working in the building trade, in restaurants and factories, or running some small business.
Language was another big obstacle. The older Kalmucks could speak several different languages--Russian, Czech, Hungarian, Serbo-Croat or German--but those were useless here. Many worked by day and studied English at night. Others simply worked in German- or Polish-owned factories to skip the hassle of trying to make themselves understood.
Well built and willing to work, the Kalmucks toiled away cheerfully, only thinking of earning enough money to buy a home of their own.
Now, after nearly 40 years, most of the Kalmucks have nice homes, enjoy good social standing and live normal middle-class American lives. With the influx of more and more Asian immigrants into America these Mongols with their Western historical background are no longer discriminated against. In fact they have now become "big daddies" offering help to newer immigrants!
Naturally the younger generation of Kalmucks aren't content just to be blue-collar workers. Increasingly they are pursuing careers in medicine, law and engineering. But these careers are compelling them to move out of their communities to big cities such as New York, Washington, San Francisco. This is the "melting-pot" effect.
This rapid Americanization has many traditional Kalmucks worried. "In Kalmuck homes today the only signs of Kalmuck traditions are a Buddhist altar and Sutra inscriptions in Mongolian over the doorway," Nikolay Remilev, Philadelphia branch chairman of the World Mongolian Taipei Club, says with regret.
The Kalmuck language is going the same way as their religion. Few youngsters under 20 can even string together a couple of sentences in Mongolian, let alone read or write in it.
Education was not well developed among the nomadic peoples, so only a small minority were ever able to read and write Mongolian. "Our parents were illiterate, so how could we learn?" Meanwhile as their homeland in the Soviet Union, the "Kalmuck Autonomous Republic," now lay behind the Iron Curtain, teaching materials became inaccessible, and eventually all Mongolian classes had to be dropped.
Intermarriage outside the Kalmuck community has grown more common, making it even harder to preserve the traditional culture.
Despite their life of tranquillity and comfort in America, the Kalmucks still remember their homeland with a mixture of fondness and regret.
The genocidal cruelty Stalin inflicted on the Kalmuck Autonomous Republic in the Second World War has made them into outright anti-communists, estranged not only from their kindred in the Soviet Union but from their fellow countrymen in Inner and Outer Mongolia as well.
But their anti-communist convictions have led to friendly ties with the ROC government.
In 1952 the American government invited the staunchly anti-communist Kalmuck leader Dr. Sandscha Stepa to attend the Bandung Conference, where he bitterly criticized the inhuman nature of communism. At that time Wu Hua-p'eng, a Mongol who is currently chairman of the Mongolian & Tibetan Affairs Commission, was studying in America and the two men made contact. Eventually, in 1963, the Kalmucks sent a four-man delegation to Taiwan on ROC passports to attend the Double Tenth.
From then on a Kalmuck delegation has attended the ROC National Day celebrations almost every year. Kalmucks from France and Germany joined in too, bringing the size of the delegation up from four to last year's 26.
Today a new turning point has arrived with the breaching of the Iron Curtain and the imminent collapse of communism. Recently a delegation came to America from the Outer Mongolian capital Ulaan Baator. "We were so excited to find we still spoke the same language, even after three or four centuries of separation!" says Giga Andreyev.
Contacts with home will no doubt grow ever more frequent. Last year Noron Adianov, an ethno-historian from the Howell Town community, visited the Kalmuck Autonomous Republic in the Soviet Union. He brought back picture books and magazines about their homeland and eagerly fetches them out whenever visitors come to call. . . .
"Communism is collapsing and then our people will be free!" For the past three months the Kalmuck community has been abuzz with excitement and hope.
But even if their homeland does regain its freedom, they know it will be nothing more than a piece of glad news. As for themselves, 40 years of freedom and plenty have accustomed them to life as American Kalmucks. Nomadic existence on the grasslands seems very far away now. . . .
"In 30 years time, perhaps none of our young people will speak Kalmuck, and they will all have forgotten the teachings of Buddhism. Naturally it's a tragic prospect!" Giga Andreyev comments sadly. But Mongols are tough and optimistic, and they don't like too much worry. They believe in keeping their feet firmly on the ground and letting the future take care of itself.
[Picture Caption]
A typical Lamaist temple, spiritual refuge of the Kalmucks.
This 76-year-old of Tsinghai lama casts a wistful glance towards his old homeland.
A life of freedom and plenty in the USA truly came as an undreamt-of blessing. Photo shows Giga Andreyev and his wife Martha on their wedding day. (photo courtesy of Giga Andreyer)
Noron Adianov's book collection reveals his deep affection for the Kalmuck homeland.
Dr. Stepa, now 91, never fails to visit Taiwan for Natnal Day and the ROC has become his second home.
The first batch of Kalmucks arriving in Howell Town in early 1952. (photo courtesy of Sandscha Stepa)
The wild singing and dancing of the broad steppes is a distant memory, but the occasional get-together makes for good fellow feeling. (photo courtesy of Giga Andreyev)
At the World Mongolian Taipei Club office, Lee Urubshurow and Natalie Abushinow discuss how to promote various cultural events.
Martha's father, now 82, never forgets his regular offering of incense in veneration of the Buddha.
Today the Kalmucks enjoy good political standing and are on friendly terms with all the town's "big shots."
Last year Howell Town was twinned with Hsintien, Taipei county, thanks to the efforts of people like Giga Andreyev. Picture shows a delegation from Howell Town touring Taiwan. (photo courtesy of the Mongolian & Tibetan Affairs Commission.)
Last year Giga Andreyev's niece adopted a little boy from Taiwan who has now become the family favourite.
A typical Lamaist temple, spiritual refuge of the Kalmucks.
This 76-year-old of Tsinghai lama casts a wistful glance towards his old homeland.
A life of freedom and plenty in the USA truly came as an undreamt-of blessing. Photo shows Giga Andreyev and his wife Martha on their wedding day. （photo courtesy of Giga Andreyer）
Noron Adianov's book collection reveals his deep affection for the Kalmuck homeland.
Dr. Stepa, now 91, never fails to visit Taiwan for Natnal Day and the ROC has become his second home.
The first batch of Kalmucks arriving in Howell Town in early 1952. （photo courtesy of Sandscha Stepa）
The wild singing and dancing of the broad steppes is a distant memory, but the occasional get-together makes for good fellow feeling. （photo courtesy of Giga Andreyev）
At the World Mongolian Taipei Club office, Lee Urubshurow and Natalie Abushinow discuss how to promote various cultural events.
Martha's father, now 82, never forgets his regular offering of incense in veneration of the Buddha.
Today the Kalmucks enjoy good political standing and are on friendly terms with all the town's "big shots.".
Last year Howell Town was twinned with Hsintien, Taipei county, thanks to the efforts of people like Giga Andreyev. Picture shows a delegation from Howell Town touring Taiwan. （photo courtesy of the Mongolian & Tibetan Affairs Commission.）
Last year Giga Andreyev's niece adopted a little boy from Taiwan who has now become the family favourite.
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