Januaria Galang Garcia (Lola Naring) passed away on Friday, September 3, 2021.
Januaria Galang Garcia (Lola Naring) passed away on Friday, September 3, 2021.
Photo: p. 290 of publication about the
Women’s International War Crimes Tribunal on Japan’s Military Sexual Slavery
published by VAWW-NET Japan “‘Ianfu’ Senji Seibouryoku no Jittai II”
Statement by Fumihiko Okano, who
supported the Malaya Lolas in the Philippines:
“Januaria Galang Garcia (Lola Naring)
was a survivor of mass rape by the Japanese military in Mapanique that took
place on November 23, 1944. She was 13 years old at the time, so she must have
been born in 1931.
She was a very small Lola (endearment
term for grandmothers in the Philippines). Her memory was very intact. She was
always clear and consistent in her testimonies. The number of victims of the
mass rape in Mapanique was large, and we were able to hear many testimonies,
but there were significant discrepancies among the testimonies, including some
that were hard to believe to be factually intact.
However, Lola Naring’s testimony was
always consistent. It was apparent that she was speaking based on her memory
alone. It was one of the testimonies that served as an axis in our effort to
capture the full view of the Mapanique Incident.
When I was visiting Mapanique, I had a
chance to meet Lola Naring’s grand daughter. She was a university student then.
I believe she said she was 16 or 17. She looked very young so I remember being
surprised to hear that. I thought that if her grandmother was victimized at age
13, Lola Naring must have looked like a child at that time.
Lola Naring is mentioned on p. 290 of
Part II of the series of publications VAWW-NET Japan has published on the
Women’s International War Crimes Tribunal on Japan’s Military Sexual Slavery “‘Ianfu’
Senji Seibouryoku no Jittai II”
Excerpt of Lola Naring’s statement on that page from 1998:
“I testify my experience, so that history
would not repeat itself. My children are suffering because I am speaking up.
But I will continue to speak up so that people in younger generations will
never have to experience the what I did. I seek justice to the Japanese state
and Japanese government. I demand Japan to admit what it did to other
countries. I demand that the Japanese government punish those who have
perpetrated the crime.
What if Japanese people experienced
what I went through? What would the Japanese government do then? Wouldn’t you
demand compensation like we are?”
Newspaper
Clip featuring the interview of Lola Naring by the Malaya Lolas support network
in Japan. Asahi Newspaper article by Masakazu Honda, December 9, 1999 (copy of
article provided by Fumihiko Okano)
「The Women of Mapanique (Part 2) [video]」[マパニケの女性(第2部)ビデオ] https://fhl.omeka.net/items/show/1005?fbclid=IwAR3CZNoh3F-SC1AJKVx8i29DcAFA2pe5ypWGgRsL5LhZku7bbLWx2dXtuMk
The RODERICK HALL COLLECTION
on world war Ⅱ in the philippines
https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/8468007210964946167/2299280036801059339