Lending My Voice to Silent Voices of Comfort Women is This Week's Langue Dans La Joue

What do you say to a government that abducted women in hundreds of thousands and forced them into sexual slavery, and proudly announces that these repeatedly raped victims don't deserve compensation? For this week's langue dans la joue, I am lending my voice to over 200,000 Comfort Women who were forced into sexual slavery for Japanese soldiers during World War II.

Prior to end of World War II, Korean Peninsula was occupied by Japan. It was a brutal occupation that robbed Korean people of their wealth, heritage and dignity. Many Korean freedom fighters were tortured and killed, and many more suffered silently during the Japanese occupation. Of all that happened during the occupation, one that turns my stomach the most as a Korean-American woman is the Imperial Japanese Army and Navy that kidnapped young women from Korea, China, Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Taiwan and Indonesia to "serve the needs" of their men and provide "comforts" of home. Many young women were kidnapped or lured with job opportunities at factories. Once these young women arrived at one of many Comfort Stations throughout Asia, they were beaten, tortured and gang raped throughout the day and night as long as there was a line of Japanese soldiers. Jan Ruff-Hearn, a survivor among ten Dutch women kidnapped in Java testified to a U.S. House of Representative committee: "Many stories have been told about the horrors, brutalities, suffering and starvation of Dutch women in Japanese prison camps. But one story was never told, the most shameful story of the worst human rights abuse committed by the Japanese during World War II: The story of the “Comfort Women”, the jugun ianfu, and how these women were forcibly seized against their will, to provide sexual services for the Japanese Imperial Army. In the so-called “Comfort Station” I was systematically beaten and raped day and night. Even the Japanese doctor raped me each time he visited the brothel to examine us for venereal disease."

Yasuji Kaneko, one of the Japanese soldiers during World War II, testified that "The women cried out, but it didn't matter to us whether the women lived or died. We were the emperor's soldiers. Whether in military brothels or in the villages, we raped without reluctance." According to research by historians, it is estimated that only 25 percent of the Comfort Women survived. Among those who survived, most women were unable to have children as a consequences of the multiple rapes or the disease they contracted.

I cannot imagine what it would be like to be raped... I don't even want to imagine what it would be like to be raped, beaten and tortured day and night. My heart sinks every time I read or hear about it. It is estimated that over 200,000 young women were forced to become sex slaves, and it only took the Japanese government 56 years to apologize. This apologize was revoked in 2007 when Shinzo Abe, Japanese Prime Minister, denied the allegations. 24 days later, he again apologized for the violations of human rights with regard to comfort women.

Although the Japanese government setup Asian Women's Fund funded by private donations from Japanese citizens, many Comfort Women have declined to take the compensation. Apologizes from the Japanese government have been less than sincere. One Japanese government official stated that Comfort Women do not deserve to be compensated. Most Comfort Women want wholehearted apology from the Japanese government. Most Comfort Women survivors are dying... and all that they ever wanted were acknowledgment of what happened to them and a sincere apology.

Please lend your voice to silent voices of Comfort Women from those who died in the Comfort Stations to those who survived. Click on Washington Coalition for Comfort Women Issues to learn how your voice can un-silence the voices of Comfort Women.