Ah. Yet another presentation from a fellow SWCC Professor, Professor Duril. Today's discussion was on "comfort women". Well, the word "comfort" is connoted negatively in this case. It acts as a euphemism--an indirect word to replace one that is too harsh or blunt.
Enough of somewhat background information! So during World War ll, there were multiple women--Filipino, Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Thai, Vietnamese, Indonesian, and Malaysian--whom were forced into sexual slavery by the Japanese. It is, in fact, a rather disturbing topic for the reason that it's quite hard to believe, but as Professor Duril was saying, it should be heard. Honestly, I'm surprised that when typing "comfort women" in the search engine for Google, that related topics came up. Especially after learning that the Japanese were trying to deny it for so long, still are as a matter of fact. This case has been ignored and taken out of multiple history books and contexts. People such as Ikuhiko Hatu, a Japanese historian, are denying such a tragic event.
Okay, now I will explore this intense topic. I think I should start by letting you know that these women were not aware that they were going to be enslaved. Due to the Japanese who were light on volunteers, the women thought they were going to be factory workers or nurses. Boy did they think wrong. Instead, these women were being forced into sex labor. Another way how these women were "collected" was simply being abducted from their homes. Other women were just lured. The Japanese army basically recruited women by force. These women would constantly get raped. No warning. No secluded area. The filthy Japanese men would rape them whenever they had the chance; whenever they felt like it. Against barbed wire fences. Pulled aside for a quick fix. Just wherever. It didn't matter to these men pigs, whether it was public or not.
Above, you see a young Chinese (comfort) woman being interviewed by an Allied officer. She looks awfully weak and skinny. Luckily, the topic is becoming louder as women who were silent for about half a century are speaking up.
Thank you for your time everyone! :)
Truly an intense topic. I'm curious about the ways in which the creative non-fiction brought the issue to life in ways a standard history book could not. I'm also wondering about how hiya kept women silent? To what degree did marianismo/machismo make it difficult for women to be open about the experience? And I'm reminded - once again- about how much of (our) history has been ignored. I'm glad we have folks like Galang, Derilo, and now you, who are helping bring to light (liwanag!) vital issues. I mean, I wonder how much today's high suicide ideation stats among Pinays has to do with an inherited/generational trauma?
ReplyDeleteAs I mentioned in class, I think the creative non-fiction brings the events to life. Reading Lola's story in class angered and disgusted us, we felt her pain. It's as if we were actually filling her shoes. As opposed to a history book which would get straight to the point with no proper voice whatsoever, because it'd just be stating the facts.
ReplyDeleteI think that hiya (shame) brought women to silence because it is such a strong topic. They were shameful of the actions that happened to them--maybe ashamed at the fact that they couldn't stop these men. This whole situation of "comfort women" fit the whole marianismo/machismo concept. These men would be cruel to these women, and they could do nothing but abide by their wishes.