WW2-ANNIVERSARY/CHINA-COMFORT WOMEN China's WW2 sex slaves struggle with past, lack of support
Record ID:
144239
WW2-ANNIVERSARY/CHINA-COMFORT WOMEN China's WW2 sex slaves struggle with past, lack of support
- Title: WW2-ANNIVERSARY/CHINA-COMFORT WOMEN China's WW2 sex slaves struggle with past, lack of support
- Date: 12th August 2015
- Summary: XI VILLAGE, YU COUNTY, YANGQUAN CITY, SHANXI PROVINCE, CHINA (RECENT - JULY 18, 2015) (REUTERS) VEHICLES DRIVING ON ROAD TO XI VILLAGE ZHANG'S SON, GUO AIMIN, CARRYING FOOD INTO HOUSE FORMER COMFORT WOMAN, 89 YEAR-OLD ZHANG XIANTU, SITTING ON BED AND PUSHING FOOD AWAY ZHANG LOOKING ON ZHANG SPEAKING TO GUO ZHANG'S BOUND FOOT (SOUNDBITE) (Mandarin) FORMER COMFORT WOMAN, 89-YEAR-OLD ZHANG XIANTU, SAYING: "I was terrified. At that time I was just a child, and a major wrongdoing was committed against me. (My family) sold everything we had. I had nothing to eat, nothing to drink. From relatives they borrowed 800 yuan to redeem me. If it weren't for that money I would never have returned home. I suffered so much. There was so much suffering." ZHANG SITTING ON BED ZHANG'S HAND (SOUNDBITE) (Mandarin) FORMER COMFORT WOMAN, 89 YEAR-OLD ZHANG XIANTU, SAYING: "Only those from the mountain village who were abducted with me knew about it. No one else knew. No one else knew." YU COUNTY, YANGQUAN CITY, SHANXI PROVINCE (RECENT - JULY 18, 2015) (REUTERS) FORMER FACILITY WHERE ZHANG WAS HELD BY JAPANESE IMPERIAL ARMY BROKEN WINDOW DUNGEON INSIDE FACILITY WHERE ZHANG WAS HELD XI VILLAGE, YU COUNTY, YANGQUAN CITY, SHANXI PROVINCE (RECENT - JULY 18, 2015) (REUTERS) XI VILLAGE VILLAGERS STANDING AND SITTING AGAINST WALL (SOUNDBITE) (Mandarin) 67-YEAR-OLD RETIREE AND XI VILLAGE RESIDENT ZHANG FUYING, SAYING: "There are quite a few former comfort women in our village. For however many women were captured by the Japanese, however many people were killed, however many houses were set on fire... the Japanese have not acknowledged this history. That's completely Abe's fault." WOMAN DRIVING DOWN VILLAGE ALLEY ON MOTOR BIKE WOMAN ON MOTOR BIKE/VILLAGERS BEIJING, CHINA (RECENT - AUGUST 7, 2015) (REUTERS) LAWYER, KANG JIAN, AT DESK KANG LOOKING ON KANG LOOKING AT FILES ON CHINESE COMFORT WOMEN CASE (SOUNDBITE) (Mandarin) LAWYER, KANG JIAN, SAYING: "These plaintiffs, the pains that they endured were very serious, and the pains was not just physical ones, such as losing their ability to bear children, but there is also the mental damage done them, such as post-traumatic stress disorder, which has continually been bothering them. The Japanese government's excuse is that all cases against the old Japanese imperial government are outdated, but from the point of view of the law, as long as these mental damages continue to harm the victims, then there is no such an issue as being 'outdated'." XIPAN VILLAGE, YU COUNTY, YANGQUAN CITY, SHANXI PROVINCE, CHINA (RECENT - JULY 18, 2015) (REUTERS) LOCAL PRIMARY SCHOOL TEACHER AND INDEPENDENT RESEARCHER, ZHANG SHUANGBING, WALKING THROUGH CORN FIELD ZHANG WALKING THROUGH CORN FIELD ZHANG WALKING TO GRAVE OF FORMER COMFORT WOMAN LIU MIANHUAN ZHANG PUTTING OFFERINGS ONTO PEDESTAL IN FRONT OF GRAVESTONE ZHANG TAKING OFFERINGS OUT OF BAG (SOUNDBITE) (Mandarin) LOCAL PRIMARY SCHOOL TEACHER AND INDEPENDENT RESEARCHER, ZHANG SHUANGBING SAYING: "She wanted to speak out but she didn't dare all the way until 1992. From 1972 when I moved here to 20 years later 1992. I started my investigation in 1982, and only when she went to court in 1992, she started to tell me the suffering and hardship she had been through in great detail so I could help her file a lawsuit." PAPER MONEY BURNING SMOKE IN FRONT LIU'S GRAVESTONE
- Embargoed: 27th August 2015 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: China
- Country: China
- Topics: General
- Reuters ID: LVADKJV7EX5MFIRLG0UO6ZHXKJ1R
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: EDITORS NOTE, PLEASE REFER TO 0079-WW2-ANNIVERSARY/FILE-PART TWO SENT ON AUGUST 9 FOR FILE MATERIAL
For decades, China's World Word Two sex slaves have remained silent about their past.
Many live in utter poverty and still suffer physical ailments and psychological damage from the experience of being forced to work in Japan's military brothels as "comfort women" a euphemism for sex slaves.
Zhang Xiantu, was 15 years old when she was abducted from her home by soldiers of the Japanese Imperial Army and held for 20 days in a military barracks where she was raped repeatedly. Her family gathered what money they could from friends and relatives and eventually bought her back from the Japanese.
"I was terrified. At that time I was just a child, and a major wrongdoing was committed against me. (My family) sold everything we had. I had nothing to eat, nothing to drink. From relatives they borrowed 800 yuan to redeem me. If it weren't for that money I would never have returned home. I suffered so much. There was so much suffering," she said of her experience.
Zhang said it took nearly two years for her to recover physically, but the psychological damage has lasted until this day.
"Only those from the mountain village who were abducted with me knew about it. No one else knew. No one else knew," said Zhang.
The building where she was imprisoned is dilapidated but still stands nearby.
The 89-year-old is becoming increasingly frail and is unable to eat proper meals and is mostly confined to her bed these days.
She has received no help from either the Chinese or Japanese governments for her ordeal.
She once joined several other women from Yu County in Shanxi province to sue the Japanese government for an apology and reparations in the late 1990's, which they were denied. Their attempt yielded nothing. With no help from Japanese or Chinese governments, Zhang is looked after by her son, Guo Aimin and lives quietly in a small shack on her daughter-in-law's property.
There is little reliable data on how many women were taken and used as comfort women.
Chinese experts estimate that the Japanese Imperial Army captured and coerced around 200,000 women into providing sexual services before and during World War Two.
"There are quite a few former comfort women in our village. For however many women were captured by the Japanese, however many people were killed, however many houses were set on fire... the Japanese have not acknowledged this history. That's completely Abe's fault," said Xi village resident Zhang Fuying, 67.
Japan acknowledged in 1993 that the state played a role in forcing Korean and Chinese women into military brothels and set up a fund to provide compensation to survivors in 1995. However, Japan has refused to pay direct compensation to survivors.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, a former critic of the 1993 statement, now says he will uphold it. Many Japanese conservatives say there is no proof that authorities directly coerced the women.
Beijing-based lawyer Kang Jian, who has represented many of China's former comfort women in lawsuits filed against the Japanese government with a team of Japanese lawyers, said that the cases have failed to produce any results.
"These plaintiffs, the pains that they endured were very serious, and the pains was not just physical ones, such as losing their ability to bear children, but there is also the mental damage done them, such as post-traumatic stress disorder, which has continually been bothering them. The Japanese government's excuse is that all cases against the old Japanese imperial government are outdated, but from the point of view of the law, as long as these mental damages continue to harm the victims, then there is no such an issue as being 'outdated'," said Kang.
Although comfort women in South Korea have been provided with official aid from the Korean government, most Chinese comfort women have not received such help, said Kang.
Some local governments across China, such as in Hainan province, have provided the comfort women with some support, Kang said. But it is difficult for the government to take care of most of these women due to the remoteness of the locations in which they live.
Many of their families also would rather not have them speak openly about their experiences due to the shame it might bring, Kang added.
But time is running out for these women who are now well over the age of 80 for compensation and closure.
Zhang Shuangbing, a retired primary school teacher has been researching the subject of comfort women, inspired by a neighbour and former comfort woman, Liu Mianhuan, who died of cervical cancer nearly three years ago.
Liu remains nearly forgotten in her small village of Xipan in Shanxi province but Zhang frequently visits her grave and provides offerings.
Zhang said that most Shanxi comfort women such as Liu did not speak openly about their experiences due to fears of persecution.
"She wanted to speak out but she didn't dare all the way until 1992. From 1972 when I moved here to 20 years later 1992. I started my investigation in 1982, and only when she went to court in 1992, she started to tell me the suffering and hardship she had been through in great detail so I could help her file a lawsuit," said Zhang.
In a separate case from Zhang Xiantu's, Liu, along with three other former comfort women from Yu County in Shanxi province, sued the Japanese government for an apology and reparations of 20 million yen ($160,410) in 1995, one of the first in a series of four cases by former Chinese comfort women against the Japanese government.
Sixteen of the plaintiffs in those cases were women from Shanxi province. None of the lawsuits were successful. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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