Asian Journal- The Filipino-American Community Newspaper

NEW YORK—The Vagina Monologues, an award winning play by Eve Ensler, will be staged at the Kalayaan Hall of The Philippine Consulate-New York on Sunday, April 11, 2010 at 2:30pm and 6:30pm. This is a global event to raise funds and awareness in order to stop violence against women and girls.

Award-winning poet, community organizer and actor/director Grace G. Baldisseri takes the role of comfort woman in the SAY IT (For Comfort Women) monologue. Listen as she speaks about the harrowing experiences of thousands of Filipino comfort women who were cursed, drugged, twisted, punched, sterilized and forced to sexual servitude by the Japanese Imperial Government during Worl War II.

The survivors of the wartime rape and sexual abuse have suffered emotional, psychological and sociological pain especially guilt and shame. These survivors are now in their 80s and 90s and they were brave enough to tell all "before they are gone and their stories leave this world."

Grace wrote the poem, Bruised Flower, as a fitiing tribute to women and girls who are survivors of all kinds of sexual violence. She said, " As I say every line in the monologue, I feel, hear, and smell violence in my heart and soul. I couldn’t help but admire the courage of these remarkable women who until now keep fighting for justice from the Japanese Government."

V-Day New York 2010 is produced by Mia L. Fernandez, a homegrown CPA-lawyer whose passion is to give back to the Filipino community especially our female kababayans. A former top tennis player, she dreams that all Filipinas realize their full potential.

V-Day was founded by playwright Eve Ensler and today, it has raised some $80 million which has funded educational programs around the world. This global movement has been cited by Worth Magazine and Marie Claire as one of the leading US charities.

Tickets are sold at the door. General admission is $40 and students/seniors is $20.00. For more information, please call (917) 531-2014 at V-Day NY 2010.

( www.asianjournal.com )

( Published April 9, 2010 in LifeEASTyle Magazine p. 2 )