Giving Asian Women A Voice: University of Miami A&S Magazine

Click on image to read this article from the University of Miami's Arts and Sciences Magazine, Spring 2008. Laban mga Lola!

Lolas Join Global Action for Justice

FROM: LILA PILIPINA and GABRIELA
For Immediate Release
March 5, 2008

Reference: Rechilda Extremadura, Lila Pilipina Executive Director, 0915-5379579
Emmi de Jesus, GABRIELA Secretary General, 0917-3221203

The elderly women of Lila Pilipina, organization of former comfort women in the Philippines together with the militant women's group GABRIELA held a picket in front of the Japanese Embassy this morning as part of the Global Action Seeking Justice for Comfort Women.

"None can be a greater tragedy than to be denied justice half a century after being abused and violated," said Rechilda Extremadura, executive director of Lila Pilipina. referring to the elderly women victims of sexual slavery by Japanese Imperial Army during World War II.

Extremadura added that while the Japanese government has yet to give justice, they also hold the Philippine government accountable for the continued denial of justice for the elderly women. "Prior to People Power 2, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo promised to take up the issue of Filipino comfort women but she failed to deliver just as she failed to fulfill all her other promises to the people."

"The military abuses borne of the military culture of sexism and violence that drove them to commit sexual violence against women in WW2 continue to this day,” said Emmi de Jesus, secretary general of GABRIELA. De Jesus cited the recent case of sexual assault of a Filipina by a US serviceman stationed in Okinawa, Japan following the rape of a 14-year-old Japanese girl by a US Marine.

“By continuing to turn a blind eye on the violence committed against its women by foreign troops, whether recent or in the past and by perpetuating immense poverty that drives Filipinas into foreign lands, the Philippine government serves as accomplice in the sexual abuse of Filipinas everywhere," added de Jesus.

“For as long as the military of the superpowers deem themselves superior might over sovereign nations and peoples, for as long there are imperialist wars that seek to undermine the independence of a nation for plunder of their resources, peoples will be subjugated and women will be exploited and abused,” added de Jesus.

On March 8 International Women's Day, Lila Pilipina will be joining GABRIELA in the national women's action against Arroyo. “Pres. Arroyo lied to the elderly women of Lila Pilipina and abandoned the cause Filipino comfort women. For this, Lila Pilipina joins the growing number of women wanting her out of Malacañang."
###

WOMEN’S GROUPS PROTEST HOUSE “REVOTING” ON COMFORT WOMEN RESOLUTION

NEWS RELEASE
09 April 2008

Reference: Retchilda Extremadura, Executive Director, Lila Pilipina
Lana Linaban, Deputy Secretary General, GABRIELA

WOMEN’S GROUPS PROTEST HOUSE “REVOTING” ON COMFORT WOMEN RESOLUTION

Lila Pilipina, organization of former comfort women, expressed apprehension at the recent development regarding House Resolution 124, authored by Gabriela Women’s Party Representatives Liza Maza and Luz Ilagan. The House Resolution, demanding an official apology from the government of Japan regarding the sexual slavery of Filipino women during the Japanese occupation of the country in World War II, is being returned to the House committee on foreign affairs allegedly due to lack of quorum when it was adopted last March 11.

“We believe that the question of process is just an alibi to delay, if not, to overturn the positive decision. As they have done in the past, this is but another attempt to take away a significant gain in the long struggle for justice of Filipino comfort women,” said Retchilda Extremadura, executive director of Lila Pilina.

The women’s group GABRIELA, meanwhile, calls on the members of Congress not to succumb to any pressure coming from the Japanese government. “HR 124 is long overdue. Instead of delaying this, the Congress should be spurred to hasten its implementation. The legislators of USA and Canada have long adopted a similar resolution. It is ironic that such a resolution would meet such encumbrances here in the Philippines, where its citizens were the actual victims,” said Lana Linaban, GABRIELA spokesperson.

Both groups vowed to remain vigilant and enjoins Filipino people to join the lolas in their action should the House Resolution be revoked due to pressures from the Japanese government.
###

V-Day for the Lolas in NYC

Mga Lola, dearest lolas,

Here are some photographs of the production of THE VAGINA MONOLOGUES in NYC. The women are Filipina Women's Network members and they are not professional actors, rather they are professional anti-violence advocates. They put in so many hours and so many weeks to raise awareness about your plight and the plight of surviving Katrina Warriors, women in New Orleans who suffered after Hurricane Katrina washed their lives away with baha.

Remember when Eve Ensler came to visit you, back in 2001? Nandoon din ako. She saw you at Lolas' House in the morning and I came later that day. You told me all about the way she interviewed you about your puki. How you all giggled when she asked you if you had ever had pleasure during intercourse. Of course, that's not exactly how your conversation with her went. I know you've given lots of interviews, but probably none like that. None about sensuality and sexuality and none about discovering the pleasure of the body: kasi lolas kayo, at seguro that's not usually what people want to know from you. They want to know your stories, they want to know what happened during WWII. Rape isn't the same as sex and its the antithesis of love making. But I wonder how often we realize how deep the affect of those rapes during WWII affected your love lives, the way you hold a man, or feel your own body, the way you think about sex at all. Too often we think about the past and are not conscious of what it has done to your present perceptions of your own bodies.

So anyway, that interview, that time she asked Lola Narcisa to explain what happened back then, so we could understand what happens now, in your fight, in your quest for justice and in the bedroom. The audience watched a clip from that film, listened to the giggling and the way you uttered puki. And after that lightness was gone, they got serious when they heard Lola Narcisa explain what happened to you then and what your rallies are about now.

The first time I saw that clip was when we ran the production of VAGINA MONOLOGUES in San Francisco. I was squatting on the stage, looking up at your familiar faces. I saw so many of you -- Lola Urduja, Lola Precilla, Lola Remedios, Lola Cristeta -- so many that I might list here and now -- so many smiling faces, serious faces, living and breathing there in 2001. After the clip, I was so moved because of the some thirty of you on that clip, all but 15 of you are gone. All but a small handful and even that handful has weak members -- in your late 80's and 90's you have good days and bad days -- your bodies give out too often now. Sometimes your minds too.

The audience fell in love with you all -- how could they not -- they were moved by you. And then I told them, many of the women you saw up there -- wala na at walapang justice -- are gone now and no justice, still no justice.


The directors cast me in your monologue, "Say It for the Comfort Women." You know these days, I am asked to speak about your stories and there is no hesitation on my part when I do. So I didn't think anything of it. But at rehearsal, when I read these lines, and I put myself in that woman's voice, her experience, I trembled. I could not get through the manuscript. I cried. I could not get through the manuscript. As close as I am to your stories, I cannot stand in your shoes. No one ever will. I cannot begin to imagine it. But come the night of the performance, I placed a shield around my heart and I took off my shoes and I read your part. I did it. I read it for you. Like the piece says, "Say it for the Comfort Women." No tears, but no shield around the heart either. Impossible.

Anway, the great thing about these productions is that they have chosen you to be one of their beneficiaries, and these great hearts will be sending funds your way soon. Marily Mondejar, president of FWN, was so excited to tell me they had chosen you to benefit from their work. I know you need the help too. I know your funding is dwindling and there is so much to tend to -- the rent at Lolas' House, the food and transportation for the lolas, the electricity and phone -- and that's just for the operation of your space. There is still your campaign for justice, the travels to Japan and other places where you must go, no matter how old or tired, to make your stories known.

Don't worry lolas, we are praying for you. We are here for you. Laban mga lola!

Postcard for the Lolas of LILA Pilipina

Mga Lola,
Kamusta kayo? We are busy doing so many things, trying our best to share with others your stories. Itong litrato -- kita ninyo? This is a picture of the young women from the University of Miami -- many of whom are part of the Yellow Rose Society -- at their Women's History Month event, In Her Shoes. They asked me to tell your stories so they could stand in your shoes and so they could know what you have been through. Of course, nobody can really stand in your shoes for your experiences are too horrific to imagine and KNOW. When we recount them, when we try to imagine them, when we dream of them, it is still too unreal for any of us. Maybe, when you think of that time, you feel the same way. Did that happen? How could anyone -- man or woman, Japanese, American or Filipino do this violence on anyone -- man, woman, Japanese, American, Filipina, Korean, Chinese, Indonesian -- WHOMEVER? How?

Now these young women here, who heard the story of your friend, Urduja Samontes, (oh that lovely character of a woman) were so moved, that next week they are going to host a read-a-thon. I know you are asking yourselves, ano ba yan? Several of the women will get their friends to sponsor them to read one of your testimonies in a public reading. Say one peso per reading, or five pesos per reading. Really dollars, so maybe more like 100 pesos a reading or 500 pesos a reading. And they try to get as many friends as they can to sponsor them. Maybe get 25 sponsors. And if they do one reading that's 100 pesos times 25! We will gather in a public space at the University of Miami -- a place they call the Rock -- and the dalagas will read your testimonies into a microphone -- and your words will reverberate throughout the campus, hitting banyan tree barks, and library walls and reaching for the sky. We will speak your words with the reverence of prayer.

We want to share your lives experiences in order to learn from war. In order to be better warriors who fight for peace, for decency and justice.

We know that your Lolas' House has fewer inhabitants these days, but for those of you who still organize and protest and fight for justice, we know your resources are dwindling. In this way, we are hoping to raise funding for you. So you may continue your fight and we might join you.

I love you all, lolas. And the young women in this photo, who are meeting you through your testimonies and your photos and your experiences with me, they are falling in love with you too.

Mahal na mahal kayo, mga lola!

Evelina

PS: For the women and men at the University of Miami who are interested in participating in our event, Read it for the "Comfort Women," on Tuesday April 15th, please email Rhea Olegario (r.olegario@umiami.edu) or Elysse Phillips (e.phillips4@umiami.edu).

Get Busy for the Lolas

The next few weeks are crazy! I'll be at all the events below, except the SF show on April 5th, but the rest of them? I'm there! Come join me and hear about the Lolas of LILA Pilipina and our struggle for justice! Women's History Month is just winding down, but the activities are non-stop. 10% of the proceeds from the SF and NY productions of THE VAGINA MONOLOGUES are going to the lolas, so buy your tickets!

IN HER SHOES: M. Evelina Galang reads from her book in progress, LOLAS' HOUSE: Women Living with War.
Thursday, March 27 8PM Hecht Residential College on the Coral Gables Campus of the University of Miami. This event is co-sponsored by UM Women's History Month, Friends of Lolas and Hecht Residential College


LABAN FOR LOLAS with M. Evelina Galang
Friday March 28th 7PM Manilatown Center, 868 Kearny Street, SF CA 415-399-9580


The Vagina Monologues
March 31, 7pm @ the Herbst Theatre, San Francisco, CA
April 18, 7pm @ the Philippine Center NY, NY

Usaping Puki
(Tagalog version of The Vagina Monologues)
April 5, 2pm @ the Morgan Auditorium Academy of Art University, San Francisco, CA
April 19, 2:30pm @the Philippine CenterNY, NY
Questions? Email vday@ffwn.org or call 415.278.9410

Brandeis Women's Book Club and Luncheon
M. Evelina Galang reads from the Lolas' Testimonies
Wednesday, April 2 @ Crowne Plaza Hotel, Kendall, FL

FILIPINA WOMEN'S NETWORK V-DAY PERFORMANCES FOR THE LOLAS

One Year Ago Today, He said ...

A year ago today, then Prime Minister Shinzo Abe made the great false statement, "There is not enough evidence to prove coercion." He was referring to the way the Japanese Imperial Army took over 200,000 women and girls during World War II and forced them into "Comfort Stations." He began a revolution of minds a year ago today. He gave us reason, especially those of us who have been in this fight for so long, and for the lolas and other survivors who have been in this fight to get their message into the light their whole lives, he gave us reason to stand up, to speak out and to say, "No, you are wrong."

When I heard his statement, a year ago today, I tried to stay cool. I remember coming out of a faculty meeting and one of my colleagues asked me, "So what are you going to do about it?" I told him not to get me started because if I got started, I would not stop. I got started.

So much has happened in this one year. This blog, which came out of that statement, was born. I addressed Prime Minister Abe then, I asked him to please consider the lives of the women and the fight they are in (to rescue not only their own dignity but to keep the lives of other girls, children and women living in war torn nations safe). So many of us signed the international online petition. And as I stayed awake nights, doing my best to fight this battle from Miami, my friends across the nation were doing the same thing in their home cities. There were activists on the west coast and east coast. There was Annabel Park and Eric Byler in DC. And members of the grassroots 121 Coalition began knocking on doors. In Congress we had Mike Honda and Nancy Pelosi, Eni Falemaovaega and the great late Congressman Tom Lantos, doing their best to educate their colleagues and pass House Resolution 121, a non-binding bill asking Japan to make a formal apology and to take full responsibility for these war crimes against humanity.

I started writing my own Congresswoman, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen on a weekly basis. She was the senior ranking member of the House Committee of Foreign Affairs and I desperately needed her to understand the plight of my lolas. When she rose in support of the bill last July and when the rest of Congress joined her and gave the bill a unanimous voice vote, my heart swelled.

I invite you to go through the archives of this blog. You will be amazed at the stories of human spirit and strength. So much evidence.

Japan has yet to apologize. The fight is not over. But there are so many more soldiers fighting this battle with us now. Canada has passed a similar motion. And others have written their own versions of the same plea: please say sorry, please own up to this history that is yours. The Netherlands, the European Parliament, Australia and the Philippines. Prime Minister Abe has stepped down, our dear ambassador of human rights, Congressman Tom Lantos has passed away and many of the women too have been lost in the year, but the truth has emerged. There was reason to say it and there were people willing to hear it; all because of one man's statement a year ago today, "There is not enough evidence to prove coercion."

Thank you, former Prime Minister Abe. Do you like the photo above? That is me and the evidence you were looking for, the survivors of Liga ng mga Lolang Pilipina. We are marching on Women's International Day, March 8 2001.

FWN'S V-DAY Proceeds To Benefit surviving Filipina "Comfort Women" aka: Mga Lola!

I'll be joining the casts in both NYC and SF as they fight violence against women around the world. 10% of the proceeds will be going to the lolas and this is a good great thing! Thank You, Filipina Women's Network! Below are facts about the production.

Mabuhay!
Evelina

Filipina Women's Network

Filipinas Against Violence: V-Day FWN 2008

Making San Francisco and New York City / New Jersey safe places for Filipina women and girls.

An All-Filipina Benefit Production of Eve Ensler's The Vagina Monologues and Usaping Puki (in Tagalog)

PREMIERE of A Memory, A Monologue, A Rant, and A Prayer (new play featuring Filipino men - supporters of Men Against Violence are community leaders)

Filipina Women's Network (FWN) joins V-Day in its global effort to stop violence against women and girls.

What: Filipina women and men coming together in solidarity to dialogue about violence, about the Filipino community's silence and shame about domestic violence,and about ways to break the cycle of violence against Filipina women and girls through performances of Eve Ensler's Obie award-winning The Vagina Monologues, Usaping Puki (Tagalog version) and the new play - A Memory, A Monologue, A Rant and A Prayer.

MEN AGAINST VIOLENCE Workshops: A discussion about masculinity, violence in our communities and how we can be allies with women to end family violence.

Why:
- Raise awareness through theatre, popular culture and education about the high incidence of violence in Filipino homes and intimate partner relationships.
- Help Filipina women in abusive relationships take action and seek help.

Why this Campaign Matters: Engaging the Filipino community through theatre and hearing the women's stories in Tagalog "hits home" and helps us understand the broader connections of Filipino values such as respect for women, dignity, family, equality and justice to social and economic issues and to class and religion.

Who: All-Filipino cast members are community leaders, actors, students,professionals, activists, and homemakers.

V-Day FWN Beneficiaries:
V-Day Spotlight 2008: Katrina Warriors - Women of New Orleans & the Gulf South,FWN’s Filipinas Against Violence Campaign, Comfort Women Survivors in the Philippines

V-Day Sponsors: NoVo Foundation, The Rockefeller Foundation, Dramatists Play Service, GLAMOUR, Oprah & Friends Radio (XM), O magazine, TBWA/Chiat/Day, Vosges Haut Chocolat, W Hotels, New Orleans

V-Day FWN Sponsor: AsianWeek Foundation

About A Memory, A Monologue, A Rant and A Prayer -
A groundbreaking collection of monologues by world-renowned authors and playwrights, edited by Eve Ensler and Mollie Doyle. These diverse voices have come together in a collective roar contributing original pieces and bringing their particular vision, talent and take on violence against women and girls - to break open, expose, and examine the insidiousness of violence at all levels: brutality, neglect, a punch, even a put-down.

When & Where: SAN FRANCISCO

Until the Violence Stops (film screening) - Friday, March 28, 7pm
The Vagina Monologues - Monday, March 31, 7pm (all-Filipina cast)
Usaping Puki - Saturday, April 5, 2:30pm (all-Filipina cast)
A Memory, A Monologue, A Rant and A Prayer - (two shows) Friday, April 4, 7pm
and Saturday, April 5, 7pm (all-Filipino women and men cast)

March 28 film screening and April 5 shows:
Morgan Auditorium, Academy of Art University, 491 Post St. @ Mason St. San Francisco
Tickets: $5 (students)- $50 (VIP) http://morgan08.eventbrite.com; call
415.278.9410

March 31 and April 4 shows - Herbst Theatre, 401 Van Ness Avenue, San Francisco
Tickets: $20 (students)- $100 (VIP) www.cityboxoffice.com or call 415.392.4400

NEW YORK: Philippine Center New York, 556 Fifth Avenue @ 45th St., New York
Tickets: $20 (students) - $100 (VIP) Call 917.720.7268
or go to http://vdaynyc08.eventbrite.com

Sponsorships, Advertising & Community Partnerships:
http://v-diaries8.eventbrite.com
Call 415.278.9410 (SF) or email vday@ffwn.org

San Francisco Director Team:
Senior Directors: Elena Mangahas and Ken Marquis
Assistant Directors: Genevieve Jopanda, May Nazareno, Esperanza Catubig

New York Director Team:
Christina Baal and Theresa Tantay-Wilson
Executive Producer: Marily Mondejar
Producer: Kai Delen Briones

About the Filipina Women's Network: A non- profit association for women of Philippine ancestry. The Filipina Women's Network's mission is to enhance public perceptions of Filipina women's capacities to lead, change biases against Filipina women's leadership abilities and promote the entry of Filipina women into positions of leadership in all sectors. www.ffwn.org.

About V-Day: A global movement to stop violence against women and girls. V-Day is a
catalyst that promotes creative events to increase awareness, raise money and revitalize the spirit of existing anti-violence organizations.

What are The Vagina Monologues?
Based on interviews with over 200 women about their memories and experiences of sexuality, The Vagina Monologues (Usaping Puki) give voice to women's deepest fears, guaranteeing that no one who watches the show will ever look at a woman's body, or think of sex, in quite the same way again. It is a celebration of female sexuality in all its complexity and mystery. In this stunning phenomenon that has swept the world, Eve Ensler gives us real women's stories of intimacy, vulnerability, and self- discovery.

Friends of Lolas at the University of Miami

At the University of Miami, a group of students have joined me in supporting LILA Pilipina through our own chapter of Friends of Lolas. We're holding an informational meeting next Thursday, February 28th 8PM at Hecht Residential College on the Coral Gables campus. Below is their call to action. For more information you can find their group listed on facebook. Read on!

This group, now FRIENDS OF LOLAS, emerged from Laban for the Lolas after the H.R. 121 passed in July 2007.

F.Y.I.: "Lola" means grandmother in Tagalog, the Filipino language.

Mission:
- To raise public awareness on the issue of women and children in war through the testimonies and experiences of surviving WWII "comfort women"
- To befriend and support surviving Filipina "comfort women" at Lila Pilipina (an organization of survivors now in their 80's and 90's).
- To launch fundraising initiatives to support these women.


History:
- During WWII the Japanese Imperial Army abducted over 200,000 girls and women from nations like Korea, China, Indonesia, Taiwan, the Philippines and subjected them to military rape and enslavement.
- Over 1,000 women were Filipinas and 173 have publicly come forward.
- During the Spring 2007, Prime Minister Abe stated not enough evidence to prove coercion, and Laban for the Lolas -- now Friends of Lolas -- lobbied to pass House Resolution 121. H.R. 121 urged the Japanese government to apologize and take full responsibility of these war crimes.
-On July 30, 2007, H.R. 121 passed.
-The Japanese government has yet to respond.

This group supports Surviving Comfort Women of WWII and asks Japan (through the US Congress House Resolution 121) to take full responsibility for the pain and suffering of 200,000 young women and girls abducted and forced to serve in military sex camps.

Let's honor the women -- Comfort Women, abused women, our mothers and sisters, ourselves. Let us honor all women by taking a stand and letting the world know abduction of women, systematic rape and sexual slavery is unacceptable and inhumane behavior.

WHAT CAN YOU DO????

We are inviting UM students, organizations, and faculty to host one month of activities.

Each month, we would like an organization to sponsor these Lolas and fundraise for their community center which helps them with everyday needs, like food, transportation and the upkeep of LOLAS' HOUSE, their community center.

Organizations/ student groups would:
- do one fundraising activity of their choice, such as bake sales.
- host one event or forum that raises awareness to the Miami community about the "Comfort Women" issue.
- create a "care package" that highlights the activities that would be sent overseas to the Lolas.

Other Notes:
We can't stress how this cause is a timely issue. These grandmothers are getting very old and their memory is slowly getting worse. These women are looking for support and any little act of kindness helps and means the world to them.

Please feel free to contact labanmgalola@yahoo.com for further questions or concerns.

On Congressman Tom Lantos

What an honor to have heard Congressman Lantos speak,to have met him and know his hands supported House Res. 121, the non-binding "Comfort Women" bill requesting Japan make a formal apology and assume full responsibility for those crimes against humanity. House Res. 121 was just one of the many struggles in his fight for human rights. In July, I sat in the galleys and heard him speak so eloquently about the plight of over 200,000 women and girls throughout Asia. His words brought tears to my eyes. He really understood the plight of surviving “Comfort Women” on so many levels — his own experiences as a survivor of the Holocaust gave him the kind of wisdom and power to fight for all of humanity — and I am very grateful for his work. I hope to continue the fight for human rights, for the lolas, knowing he was on their side, knowing he supports this call for justice. His commitment to human rights was truly the work of a great heart.

Peace always,
M. Evelina Galang
advocate of Liga Ng Mga Lolang Pilipina
Friend of the Lolas

Comfort the Women

I come to you because you are a woman too. You understand best what it means to be a woman who has suffered unjustly. You understand what it means to be a mother who sacrifices her own happiness for her children. I come to you. I make an appeal to you because in your own darkest hour, you were able rise above and comfort the women, despite your own sorrow.

I know they come to you too. The women. Some at least. I have talked to so many of the women – at least forty of the 200,000. I have come to know and love at least half of the forty and their supporters too. When I ask the lolas how they were able to endure the pain, how they could find reason to live beyond the barrage of indignities – the lines of men waiting to rape them, the insults to the body, the mind and the spirit and then to survive that kind of war only to return to homes that did not want them – for the shame of being women used, for the shame of being with the enemy in ways no woman should be touched – when I ask them how they can look at me with such love and want me to know love – love of family, of husband, of country – do you know what they tell me?

Each one says, “Sa awa ng Dyos.” As if God carried them through that tumult of abuse in miraculous ways and despite the assault of Japanese soldiers, the scars of bayonet wounds and cigarette burns, despite the nightmares that recur each night and the husbands who never forgave them and the children who will never understand them and presidents who refuse to acknowledge them – the women I have met are full of love. Like you they are full of grace. That is true strength to survive all that and to come forward in our culture of tsmis and hiya – of gossip and shame -- in order to reclaim their dignity and to make sure this kind of war can never happen again.

This has been a miraculous year, beginning on March 1, 2007, when then Prime Minister Shinzo Abe brought the injustice to 200,000 Comfort Women of WWII to the attention of the modern world. When he came forward and invited this international dialog and the women were brought to radiant light. This moment, when the whole world listened because of Abe’s indiscretion ignited our hearts to action. Thank you. I know you were witness to that moment. I know you blessed it. I know you smiled.

So many men and women came forward in support of the women. So many opened their eyes and let down their guard and came to know the stories of the women one by one. So many saw the relationship between these acts of the past and the role of women and war in our present day and we all feared for our daughters’ future.

Through the work of the lolas and other survivors, through the efforts of so many local activists – like my students at the University of Miami and my dear friends Annabel Park and Eric Byler of Washington DC and Allyson Tintiangco Cubales, Mariana Villanueva and Barbara Jane Reyes of the Bay Area – we, like so many others -- educated our communities. Our communities responded with hand-written letters, phone calls, checks, their time and their resources and one by one, our nations’ governments took note.

They took note! First, on July 30th, 2007, the United States Congress stood up as one body and they asked their good friends in Japan to pay attention to their past, to right the wrongs of the past. They asked the Japanese government to apologize to the 200,000 women and to take full responsibility for these acts against humanity. House Resolution 121 passed by a unanimous voice vote and this blessing urged other nations to rise and make their own requests for justice – other nations have passed similar bills – Canada and the Netherlands and the European Parliament. Even the Philippine Congress has a bill asking for reparations and redress on behalf of the women.

Small and large miracles everywhere -- for the world now understands the history of the surviving Comfort Women of WWII. The more the Japanese government resists, the more the people know. During the campaign for House Res. 121 several private Japanese citizens expressed their own desire for their government to come forward with an apology to the women.

After fifty years of silence, several of the 200,000 women around the world stood up, representing their sisters in Korea, the Philippines, China, Australia, New Zealand, Dutch Indies and even their sisters in Japan – yes, Japan – and they asked the world to listen. After 15 years of protests, appeals, marches, letters and sworn testimony, the world is stepping up and backing up the women. Thank God.

But what of my lolas at LILA Pilipina? All the work they have done and still no apology. No reparations. No signs of remorse. Many have died without witnessing these small miracles. Lola Cristeta Alcober, who pulled my hands through the streets of Antipolo and made me sit on her balcony and tape her testimony, died before seeing any of this. And Lola Catalina Lorenzo, my kababayan from Pampanga was in her eighties when I met her in 1999 – she’d get so mad that her hands talked faster than her mouth and her words were like bullets. When will there be justice, she wanted to know. Who answered her? No one. Lola Priscilla Bartonica, a beautiful woman who taught me to dance the tango, once held my hand and said no words, but looked into my eyes and there I saw the tear forming and falling even as she smiled at me. She fought so hard for so many years never sleeping a full night’s sleep after that war. What of these women and the others? Is it not time to comfort them? To give them peace?

I write you on this public space, where some know you, others ignore you, and still others do not recognize you, but I have written to almost everyone with power. Almost everyone. And though this conversation may be best served in the privacy between us, I am asking you to please comfort the women. Bring them peace. Bring them hope. Sa awa ng Dyos. Comfort the women

EU Parliament Adopts Resolution On Comfort Women

Thursday, 20 December 2007, 6:58 am
Press Release: Amnesty International

European Parliament adopts resolution on comfort women

Amnesty International welcomes the adoption of resolution on survivors of Japan's military sexual slavery system (the so-called 'comfort women' system) by the European Parliament (Resolution B60525/2007) on 13 December 2007. The resolution, which was passed with a clear majority, contributes to the global voice calling on Japanese authorities to take the concrete step of apologising to the survivors of Japan's military sexual slavery system before and during the World War II.

The resolution urges the Government of Japan to 'formally acknowledge, apologise, and accept historical and legal responsibility in a clear and unequivocal manner for its Imperial Armed Force's coercion of young women into sexual slavery' and to 'implement effective administrative mechanisms to provide reparations to all surviving victims of the 'comfort women' system and the families of its deceased victims'.

This resolution joins the growing worldwide call for justice for the survivors of Japan's military sexual slavery system. In July 2007, the US House of Representatives passed resolution 121. In November the Dutch unanimously passed a motion calling for justice for comfort women. The Canadian Parliament unanimously passed Motion 291 on 28 November.

Amnesty International urges Parliaments in other countries to take a similar stand and welcomes recent moves in the Philippines, Germany and the UK to consider tabling resolutions.

Amnesty International strongly urges the Government of Japan to heed the international voice calling for justice for the survivors of Japan's military sexual slavery system and to:

* accept full responsibility for the 'comfort women' system in a way that it publicly acknowledges the harm that these women suffered and restores the dignity of the survivors;

* apologise fully for the crimes committed against these women;

* provide adequate and effective compensation to survivors and their immediate families directly from the government;

* include an accurate account of the sexual slavery system in Japanese education text books on World War II; and

* publicly denounce sexual violence against women whenever and wherever it occurs

Background

Tens of thousands of women were forcibly abducted and deceived into sexual slavery into Japanese military controlled "comfort stations" organized in the different occupied countries before and during World War II. Amnesty International believes that the crimes perpetrated against these women amount to crimes against humanity. To this day, the Japanese government has refused adequately and unequivocally to acknowledge its responsibility for the crimes committed against former "comfort women".

European Parliament Demands Japan Apologizes Too!

The Lolas must be dancing at this news! Thanks to the European Parliament! Here is an article from Bloomberg.

European Parliament Demands Japan Apologize to `Comfort Women'

By Stuart Biggs

Dec. 14 (Bloomberg) -- The European Parliament passed a resolution demanding Japan apologize and accept legal responsibility for forcing women to serve as sex slaves during World War II, according to a statement on its Web Site.

The resolution called on Japan's government to provide more compensation to the former sex slaves, known euphemistically as ``comfort women,'' and condemned recent remarks by Japanese officials seeking to distance the government from responsibility.

As many as 200,000 women from China, Korea, the Philippines, Taiwan and Indonesia were forced by Japan's Imperial Army to serve as sex slaves in 2,000 centers before and during World War II, Japanese historian Yoshimi Yoshiaki wrote in his 1995 book ``Comfort Women.''

The system ``included gang rape, forced abortions, humiliation, and sexual violence resulting in mutilation, death or eventual suicide, in one of the largest cases of human trafficking in the 20th century,'' the European Parliament's resolution said.

The resolution called on Japan's parliament to enact laws recognizing individuals' rights to claim reparations against the government and said compensation to former sex slaves should be ``prioritized, taking into account the age of the survivors.''

The U.S. House of Representatives agreed on a similar non- binding resolution on July 30 calling on then Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to apologize for the Imperial Army's actions.

Causing Controversy

The resolution was introduced by Representative Mike Honda, a California Democrat and chairman of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus.

Abe caused controversy on March 1 when he said no evidence exists to show the government and military were directly involved in forcing the women into slavery, contradicting the findings of a two-year government study in 1993 that formed the basis of an apology by then-Cabinet Secretary Yonei Kono.

Abe backtracked on his remarks during a parliamentary session on March 26.

``Some Japanese officials have recently expressed a regrettable desire to dilute or rescind'' the government's previous apology, the European Parliament's resolution said.

A group of 44 Japanese lawmakers were signatories to a full-page advertisement in the Washington Post in June denying the Japanese military's responsibility for forcing the women into the camps and to protest the introduction of Congress's resolution.

The advertisement was signed by 29 members of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, 13 members of the opposition Democratic Party of Japan and two independent lawmakers, including Hiranuma Takeo, the former Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry.

To contact the reporter on this story: Stuart Biggs in Tokyo at sbiggs3@bloomberg.net .