Palisades Park library hosts plaque unveiling
The plaque unveiling dedicated to the ‘comfort women’ at Palisades Park Library cites: ‘In memory of the more than 200,000 women and girls who were abducted by the armed forces of the Government of Imperial Japan, 1930s-1945. Known as ‘Comfort Women,” they endured human rights violations that no peoples should leave unrecognized. Let us never forget the horrors of crimes against humanity.
By Robyn Nadel
PALISADES PARK – On Saturday, Oct. 23, Mayor James Rotundo, Palisades Park Council president Jason Kim, the Korean American Voters Council who gave funds to pay for the plaque, in total, and artists Steve Cavallo, Arin Yoon, Juhee Kim from Palisades Park and Sei Ryun Chun will unveil the first memorial dedicated to these women in the Western World at the library, 1 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 23 at 257 Second St., here.
To accompany the unveiling of the first U.S. memorial for Comfort Women, forced sexual slaves of WWII, will be an art exhibit, “Come from the Shadows.”
“There is no way they can bring my life back. They can’t make up for the terrible way they ruined my life”, said Hwang Keum Ju, and former Comfort Woman, speaking to author Dai Sil Kim Gibson, in a 1991 interview for the book Silence Broken. The phrase “Comfort Women” is a euphemism for young Asian women and girls (mostly Korean) who were abducted or coerced by the Japanese Imperial Government during WWII and sent to “Comfort Stations” where they were repeatedly raped and beaten for years by Japanese soldiers. After the end of WWII most of these women were massacred, but some survived to tell about their story. But no one was there to listen. It became a little known secret of Asian history that was not spoken of. That is until 1991 when the first former Comfort Woman came forward and spoke out against this crime.
Years have passed, since Hwang Keum Ju spoke out telling the world what injustices were done to her and an estimated 200,000 others. But in the 20 years that have passed, this atrocity still remains somewhat unknown to the Western World.
“Reclaiming my Identity,” a watercolor by Steve Cavallo, on exhibit at the library as part of the comfort women project.
Korean women have gathered in front of the Japanese Embassy for over 900 consecutive weeks demanding an apology, however, news of this has not reached the American media.
Among the artwork will be works by Arin Yoon, a photographer who grew up in Leonia who will display a series of photographs she took last summer of former comfort women, which will also be included in the catalog, along with an essay from Ms. Yoon about her experience at the House of Sharing, a home and medical facility in Gwang Ju, South Korea..
In February 2009 Steve Cavallo, art coordinator at the library and organizer of the memorial activities and curator Sei Ryun Chun exhibited a series of paintings at the Friends of Grace Society Gallery, in Englewood, on the topic of “Comfort Women” and Reporter Yoojin Sung reviewed the exhibition on Korean Broadcasting Network (KBN) evening news. Two weeks later, Mr. Cavallo was invited to Korea to visit with eight of the women at the House of Sharing.
Before leaving for his visit, Mr. Cavallo was approached by the KAVC (Korean American Voters Council) and together with Mayor James Rotundo the idea for a memorial plaque outside the town library was born.
Interns from the Korean American Voters council canvassed the streets of Palisades Park, collecting petitions, artists gathered for a benefit fundraiser to help bring money and awareness to the comfort women issue and the mayor and council had a unanimous vote to set a memorial in Palisades Park.
A short theatrical production will be staged by Mono Drama Theater and poems will be read by Audrey Kim from Bergen Academies as well as a speech by Mr. McNerney. Over 50 paintings and photographs will be on display during this event and refreshment will be served. There will also be a 28-page catalog that will be given out free to the public featuring photographs, poems, essays and paintings honoring these women.
The art exhibit will be on display through Monday, Nov. 15 when it will be moved to Nahrah Gallery, 1605 Center Ave. in Fort Lee. The exhibit will travel for most of the upcoming year and will be shown at the Queens Holocaust Center in August of 2011.
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