Philippine E-Journals

Lolas’ Hope: Between Local and Global Experiences

Mariko Ozaki

 

Abstrak:

This paper is a field note of my observation of “Malaya Lolas”: their lives and activities after almost three decades of their participation in a global campaign for justice to the victims of sexual violence. Malaya Lolas is a group of victims of mass rape during the World War II in barrio Mapanique, Candaba, Pampanga. “Comfort Women” is a popular term for those sexually exploited by Japanese military in various parts of Asia. A transnational coalition of support groups began to persuade governments and international organizations such as the United Nations to seriously look into the war violence and reparation since the 1990s. Their voices are brought to the world arena, which in fact had been buried in memory of the war for nearly half a century. The progressive transnational movement, however, has not realized long-desired state compensation and apology although it contributed a lot to reveal state’s legal as well as moral responsibility. After almost two decades of global campaign on “comfort women,” lolas are less eager to talk to the public due to the frustration and also their memory gets more and more vague. I will write what I observed in being with lolas in Mapanique for nearly two years, for their current lives need to be paid an attention by support groups both domestic and international to carry on the campaign for another decade.