News and Updates from CARE: Grandmas, Glendale, Berlin, Exhibition Report, and media…
Closing Reception/Panel Discussion on “How to Teach Difficult History”
July 30, 2024
Arirang TV interview with “Within the Frame”
September 21, 2024
Dear friends,
The hot and long summer seems to be finally over, and here are our updates on the “comfort women” issue.
Another grandma passes away in Korea.
One of the nine surviving Grandmas who registered with the South Korean government passed away on Sept 7. Her passing leaves now eight survivors in South Korea. Her family wanted the Grandma’s identity undisclosed, and we want to respect the family’s wish. After thirty years of the struggle to bring out an acknowledgment and official apology from the Japanese government, the victims and their families are still suffering from the undeserving shame and trauma due to the Japanese government’s brazen denial and constant attempt to erase and whitewash its heinous crimes during the war. The struggle for justice for all “comfort women” victims and our efforts to raise awareness about this largest case of military sexual slavery in the 20th Century will continue even after all victims pass away.
Glendale, CA celebrates the 13th “Comfort Women” Day
Glendale is the only city that has been proclaiming July 30th the Korean “Comfort Women” Day every year since 2012, in commemoration of the passage of the US House Resolution 121, and in honor of the friendship between Glendale and Korean sister cities. The City of Glendale celebrated the “Comfort Women” Day again this year, which marked the 13th “Comfort Women” Day in Glendale.
THANK YOU, GLENDALE!!
Also, the Glendale Central Library’s ReflectSpace Gallery presented an opening reception of an exhibition that celebrates Asian diaspora experiences.
Glendale’s Mayor Elen Asatryan said that she was approached by the Japanese Consulate’s office relating to the Glendale’s Peace Monument to whom she said, “Some things are not up for debate. This (“comfort women”) history is not up for debate.” She said she is proud to be the Mayor of Glendale in which the “comfort women” Statue is standing. We are proud to have her as the Mayor of Glendale and deeply grateful to Glendale for standing her ground for the Grandmas.
Berlin, Germany – Are Germans giving in to Japan’s pressure?
A not so positive news is heard from Berlin, Germany. Max Kim of Los Angeles Times recently wrote an extensive report about what’s going on relating to the “comfort women” Statue in Berlin. See the full story here: How a memorial to WWII sex slaves ignited a battle in Berlin.
If the Statue of Peace (Berliners call the girl “Ari,” which means brave in Armenian because Armenians were one of the first groups that expressed support for the statue. Hey, that sounds familiar!!) gets removed, it’ll leave a shameful stain on Germany’s exemplary record of acknowledging and resolving its own war crimes during the same war where the Japanese military sexual slavery occurred.
Closing of the CARE Exhibition and the Panel Discussion “How to teach difficult history”
CARE and Museum of Social Justice held an educational exhibition for the “comfort women” issue, featuring students’ artworks, from March 2 to August 4 and closed the exhibition with a panel discussion about “How to teach difficult history.” The exhibition was a huge success: The total number of visitors during the five months was 10,134 and 20 school groups visited the exhibition. Thank you, teachers, for bringing the students!!
Panel discussion on “How to teach difficult history” included Professor Jing Williams, Thai CDC’s ED Chancee Martorell, San Francisco CWJC’s Co-chair Lillian Sing, and CARE’s ED Phyllis Kim. It was streamed live on FB and you can see the full discussion on YouTube here: How to Teach Difficult History Panel Discussion or Facebook: https://fb.watch/
Interviews
CARE’s Executive Director Phyllis Kim was interviewed by Arirang TV Program “Within the Frame”, to discuss the meaning of the International “Comfort Women” Memorial Day and the recent developments around the “comfort women” issue. Here is the YouTube link: Remebering victims of wartime sexual slavery
Professor Jing Williams and Phyllis Kim were interviewed by the Research Institute on Japanese Military Sexual Slavery for its web magazine Kyeol. We discussed the efforts to we’re making in the US to bring resources and teaching materials for US teachers to help them incorporate “comfort women” issue in their classroom discussion.
Part 1: Teaching the “comfort women” issue in the U.S. society: A global citizenship education to overcome nation-centrism
Part 2: Hoping for the publication of an English collection of testimonials on “comfort women” to prevent distortions and expand empathy in the international community
Please donate to support our work!!
We are working hard and there’s so much to be done. We need your support in order to continue our work.
Please make a donation to our work via PayPal or Zelle (comfortwomenaction@gmail.com)
Size of the donation doesn’t matter. We’re 501(c)3, and your donation may be qualified for tax-exempt.
To send a check, here is the address: CARE, 601 N. Grand Ave. #362, Los Angeles, CA 90012
Thank you for your continued support and we look forward to connecting with you soon!
Team CARE
