"Our history is truly heartbreaking to recall—those painful years under Japanese occupation. We were jolted awake at dawn by the thunder of artillery and gunfire..."
In Mapaniqui, Pampanga, Philippines, a group of "comfort women" survivors who call themselves the "Malaya Lolas" gathered at the home of their current leader, Grandmother Maria Quilantang, singing of their past. Their village was once a stronghold of anti-Japanese guerrilla forces, working closely with Chinese resistance fighters. For this reason, it became a prime target of Japanese military bombardment in 1943.
"Children and elders screamed together, and men and women could only pray endlessly. But no matter how much we prayed, the gunfire never stopped—and women became their prey." On November 23, 1944, Maria, then just 8 or 9 years old, along with other women and girls, was dragged by Japanese soldiers into a red villa used as a "comfort station"—a place they called the "Red House." Many women and young girls were sexually assaulted there.
Three days later, the Japanese troops retreated, and Maria and the others escaped. But by then, their homes had been reduced to ashes. Her father and three brothers had been taken to a school and burned alive, while her mother was abducted and never heard from again. From that day on, she became an orphan.
For years, human rights lawyer Virgie Suarez has fought tirelessly for the grandmothers. She filed a complaint with the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), which ruled in March 2023 that the Philippine government must compensate the survivors and issue a public apology for their decades of suffering and discrimination—yet no action has been taken. Of those forced into sexual slavery by the Japanese military, only seven survivors remain today.
"How could I ever forget?" Even in her 90s, the trauma still haunts Maria. "That's why today, we demand that the Japanese government take legal responsibility—give us justice. Give us answers for the suffering we endured." Above all, she hopes future generations will never experience the same horrors of war.
(Source: Chinese Commercial News; Video Editor: Yuge, Davanee Zhuang; Editor: Clara Chen; Translator: Cheng Yurui; English Editor: Darius; Producer: Tracy)
Related News:
Deepline | What price did Japan's infamous war criminals pay?
Comment