As I was reading through this selection, I came across the mentioning of brothels that were established in Okinawa for soldiers fighting in WWII; women in these brothels were called "comfort women." I've heard this phenomenon referred to as "comfort battalions" as well. As I researched this further, I discovered that for the most part, these comfort battalions were in China, Japan, Korea, Thailand, the Philippines, Vietnam, and Singapore. Women from all of these areas were transported between brothels all along Asia.
Over 100,000 women were made to be in these brothels. Many of them were encouraged by Japanese officials, thinking they would serve as great moral boosters for the troops. Many of these women were either forced into the business, sold into it, or lured into it under false pretenses. Some of these women were simply kidnapped by Japanese soldiers. They were expected to have sex with soldiers between 12 and 40 times a day, which often times caused harm to their genitals. Comfort women were ranked into several categories; the youngest, "freshest" women were the highest category, with virgins usually saved for high ranking officers. As these women got older and had more and more sex with the soldiers, they were slowly downgraded in status. One terrifying fact was that some of these women had to have their rotted uteruses removed due to so much disease and unprotected sex.
As I continued researching this topic, I wondered how the Japan and the rest of the world dealt with this when the facts came to light. I found out that Japan has offered verbal expressions of regret for the atrocities committed to these women, but has done little beyond that.
My question to anyone reading this blog post is whether or not there is a way of compensating women that have suffered like this? Can anyone make up for what they have had to endure? Can you put a monetary value on the pain and torture they were forced to undergo? I think the only way to truly compensate these women is to somehow totally erase their memory of the occurrences. If there is actually a way to do this, then I have yet to hear of it.
The fact that the Japanese military had a large hand in running these brothels is the most shocking; the very entity that is supposed to protect and serve its people is actually raping, mutilating, torturing, and killing them. This calls into question the role of the military in a national entity. Is the military supposed to protect the people, or protect the interests of the nation? Perhaps both? What if these come into conflict with each other, such as in this case? Do you protect the people of the nation, or do you protect national interests and investments?
I don't think this is simply a black and white issue; there is a lot of gray area to consider in situations such as these. In this case, these women and girls were treated horrendously and paid the price physically for their forced involvement in these brothels. The intended result was for soldiers to boost their moral, improving their performance on the battlefield. A necessary task, but the way it was gone about was atrocious.
What are acceptable sacrifices the people of a nation can make during war-time? When I think about this, I can't help but be reminded of America during WWII. People were encouraged to live frugally, send care packages of food overseas to fighting soldiers, and women were finally given the chance to enter the workforce. In my opinion, these are the sacrifices people should make during war-time; they should not be forced into physical abuse and sexual violence.
I agree that what the Japanese did to these women is horrible. It is hard to understand and comprehend anybody arranging these brothels and than imagining what the women went through mentally and physically. You are right that you cannot make what happened go away for these women, but something should be done. Unfortunately, I do not have an answer either. I think the people should listen to the women that were involved and see what they want to do or have happen. Some may want nothing and to just move on with their lives. Others may want money, memorials, or groups started in their honor. Either way I think the people should ask these women what they want to see happen. Also, I am sure culture plays a role in the way the Japanese have reacted towards the "incident". The way the Japanese may look at what happened could be very different than how we would look at the situation due to different cultures and upbringings. I agree physical abuse and sexual violence is not the right types of sacrifices people should endure during war-time. Again there are so many gray areas it is hard to decipher how far one can go befor it is too far.
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