By Wesley Chua, Managing Editor of Chinese Commercial News
On July 6, our team accompanied several volunteer organizations to the town of Mapaniqui in the province of Pampanga, Philippines, to visit a group of "comfort women" survivors, most of whom are over ninety years old and witnessed the atrocities committed by Japanese troops during World War II. They refer to themselves as the "Malaya Lolas".
The gathering took place at the home of the current "leader" of the "Malaya Lolas", Grandmother Maria Quilantang. We set off from downtown Manila at 6 a.m., embarking on a nearly 70-kilometer journey that required navigating a bumpy dirt road through fields to reach their small village. It was drizzling that day, making the roads slippery and filled with mud, which slowed our pace considerably. After three hours of travel, we finally arrived.
After a brief exchange of pleasantries, the renowned human rights lawyer, Virgie Suarez, who has been tirelessly advocating for the "Grandmothers of Freedom", arranged for us to conduct interviews in the room. To ensure that more people could hear the grandmothers' voices and demands, five of them agreed to be interviewed.
Suarez had advised beforehand to avoid mentioning the horrific events that took place in the "Red House", where they were held as "comfort women," in case it might overwhelm them. Thus, we carefully followed the prepared questions. However, when the grandmothers recounted the tragic stories of their fathers and brothers being locked in a school and burned alive, their emotions erupted. They broke down in tears, forcing the interview to pause momentarily. We journalists and their family members continuously relieved them until their emotions settled before resuming the recording. This fragmented interview process also made subsequent editing and transcription challenging.
The grandmother who was interviewed clearly remembers that it was November 23, 1944, when they were taken to the "Red House" and held for several days. She said, "We will never forget what they (the Japanese army) did to us." What broke their hearts even more was that after being released, they found their homes in ruins and their families had perished. At just eight or nine years old, they suddenly became orphans, and their once self-sufficient rural lives became a hellish nightmare.
During the interview, the photographer and other family members and volunteers present were moved to tears or felt heavy-hearted. Each interview tore open the long-buried scars and pain within the grandmothers. Throughout the process, the rain poured down relentlessly—was the sky weeping?
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The group involved in the commemoration includes "Flowers for Lolas" (literally means "Flowers for grandmothers"), an organization that regularly visits, comforts, and assists the remaining "comfort women" throughout the Philippines. They also provide legal consultation and services for these women and their families, including filing complaints with the United Nations demanding a formal apology and compensation from the Japanese government, as well as urging the Philippine government to preserve the historical facts about the "comfort women" and the "Red House" used as a brothel by the Japanese army.
The establishment of this organization stems from a winding past. On December 8, 2017, the Chinese community erected a bronze statue commemorating the Filipino "comfort women" of World War II near the Japanese embassy in the Philippines. This sparked strong discontent from the Japanese side, which pressured for its removal. The statue's management team requested the Manila police to provide protection. However, on April 27, 2018, the Philippine Department of Public Works and Highways forcibly removed the statue under the pretext of repairing drainage systems. When the management team and media arrived at the scene the next morning, they found it empty, with only the base remaining. Ultimately, the statue's whereabouts became unknown. The management team later formed "Flowers for Lolas", holding annual flower offerings and protests at the original site of the statue.
Due to Japan's insistence that Filipino women seeking compensation must have the support of the Philippine government, lawyer Suarez, representing "Grandmothers of Freedom", had previously made relevant requests to the Philippine government and even appealed to the Supreme Court, but was unsuccessful. She then filed a complaint with the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), which ruled in March 2023 that Manila must compensate these grandmothers and publicly apologize for their decades of suffering and discrimination.
"This is a symbolic victory for those victims in the Philippines who have been silenced, ignored, neglected, and erased from history," said Marion Bethel, a member of the CEDAW.
Suarez stated that since the CEDAW ruling, government agencies have provided her clients with thousands of Philippine pesos in assistance. However, she added, "We will never stop fighting for an apology from Japan."
Melodies weave tales of life: Awaiting the dawn of justice
After the interview, the sound of rain diminished to a light drizzle. We took out the prepared gifts from the car, presenting them with both hands to each grandmother present. However, some grandmothers, who had been bedridden for years, were unable to walk and had family members come to collect them on their behalf. The grandmothers composed a song about their experiences, passionately singing it to us, using slow, unaccompanied verses to narrate their life stories.
Before we left, the grandmothers tightly grasped our hands with trembling fingers, repeatedly expressing their gratitude in faint voices. They hoped that our coverage would help more people learn about their stories. Eighty years have passed, and they are still waiting for the day when justice arrives.
(Translator: Anson Lin)
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