Japan's Comfort Women (17 page)

Similar incidents happened at internment camps on other islands of the Dutch East Indies at about the same time. For example, at Padang Camp in Sumatra, the Japanese attempted to secure some women as “barmaids” on several occasions between the latter half of 1943 and early 1944. In fact, as early as February 1943, the Japanese tried to procure some women from this camp, but the attempt precipitated an uprising at the camp. Surprisingly, in this case, the kempeitai took the internees’ side, and the Japanese abandoned the plan. However, in October 1943, the camp leaders were forced to agree to transfer a few hundred women from the camp to a building in the town of Padang. The camp leaders insisted that the detailed conditions of the work that these women were to be engaged in should be set out in writing, and that any form of forced prostitution should be excluded from these conditions. In addition, they set another condition that some of the camp leaders should be allowed to accompany the women when they were transferred.29

Once these women were taken out of the camp, however, the Japanese requested 30 “volunteers” for work as “barmaids” at a comfort station in Fort de Kock. Four women responded to this request and “volunteered.” Another 17

women who subsequently “volunteered” were taken to a Japanese officers’ “restaurant” on Nias Island, but for unknown reasons they were all returned to Sumatra a few weeks later. The Japanese selected a further 25 women who had not volunteered and tried to take them to Fort de Kock. The accompanying camp leaders managed to stop the bus which was to transport the women.

However, the Japanese eventually succeeded in persuading 11 of these women to go to Fort de Kock. It seems that these women could not bear to return to the camp with its malnutrition and disease. In the end, the Japanese procured 15

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women altogether for a comfort station in Fort de Kock. The rest of the women were returned to the camp. In December 1943, the Japanese attempted once again to “recruit” women, but this time no one came forward.30

It seems that, whether because of effective internees’ organization or Japanese fears of using violence against white women, the situation differed from that faced by Asians.

Enforced prostitution at comfort stations in

Semarang

The most detailed information concerning enforced military prostitution using Dutch internees is about the case in Semarang.

On May 17, 1943, the South Army Cadet School was established in Semarang.

This school was set up to train young Japanese soldiers with relatively high academic background for eight months. On the completion of training, they were sent to the front lines as Second Lieutenant-class officers. Due to heavy casualties in the battlefields of Southeast Asia, it became necessary for the South Army to produce many such “lower-class” officers within a relatively short period.31

About October 1943, some teaching staff of the Cadet School contemplated setting up comfort stations in Semarang by procuring young women from the internment camps in the area. The main reason for the establishment of comfort stations in the area was the high VD rates among the cadets at the school. Two of the instructors at the Cadet School, Colonel
i
kubo Tomo and Colonel Ikeda Sh
d
z
d
, submitted the plan to the head of the Cadet School, Lieutenant-General Nozaki Seiji. They thought that, by using young, unmarried Dutch women (who were the least likely to be carriers of VD) as comfort women, the VD problem could be limited and treated at the station. Nozaki endorsed this plan contingent on obtaining the permission of the 16th Army Headquarters in Batavia as well as from the authorities of the military government. In early February 1944, when Nozaki visited the headquarters in Batavia for discussions on other matters, he consulted the Chief of Staff, Kokubo (his given name is unknown), and another staff officer, Lieutenant-General Sat
d
Yukinori about this plan to set up comfort stations in Semarang. Kokubo and Sat
d
told Nozaki that permission would be granted if a formal request was submitted, but they insisted that the Dutch women had to be “volunteers” in order to avoid any possible legal problems.

Upon returning to Semarang, Nozaki instructed his junior officers to discuss the matter with the administrative staff of the military government and to submit a request to headquarters.32

Major Okada Keiji, who was
i
kubo’s Aide-de-camp, went to the 16th Army Headquarters in Batavia and submitted a formal request for permission to set up five comfort stations in Semarang. On the way back to Semarang, Okada visited Bandung and inspected some comfort stations there, in which Dutch women were working as comfort women, in order to study how such facilities operated.

A few days later, permission to set up four comfort stations was sent from
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73

headquarters to the cadet school on condition that the comfort women were all “volunteers.”33

In late February 1944, Major Okada instructed Captain Ishida to be responsible for “recruiting” young Dutch women from internment camps in the vicinity of Semarang. Seven women’s camps were targeted for this purpose. Ishida met fierce opposition from the camp leaders of the first three camps he visited – Sumawono Camp in Ambarawa, and Bankong and Lampersari Camps in Sompok. Consequently he failed to “recruit” anyone. Ishida, who was a Chris-tian, was reluctant to carry out the job that had been imposed upon him. In fact, he asked Okada if he could be released from this duty, but Okada insisted that Ishida continue the work. It seems that
i
kubo, Ikeda, and Okada soon realized that they could not leave this job to Ishida on his own. They decided to use more coercive methods by commanding other Japanese staff to accompany Ishida.

When Ishida visited four other camps – Halmaheila, Ambarawa No. 6 and No.

9, and Gedangan – Japanese civil administrators of the Semarang region and other Japanese civilians, who were commissioned to be managers of these new comfort stations, accompanied him. Ishida was probably a person of weak character and he left the actual selection of the women to the other Japanese despite his apparently strong belief that the exercise violated human rights and the Geneva Convention. The selected women were never informed about the work they would be engaged in, and they were given no choice but to be forcibly taken away from the camps.34

At Halmaheila Camp all the women (about 40 in total), aged between 15 and 35, were summoned for roll-call. Each of them were ordered to walk in front of the Japanese, and eventually 11 were selected. Three of these were found to be too weak and sickly. So eight were taken away. These women were told that they would be employed as office clerks, nurses, or workers at a tobacco factory. A few days later, one of them, a 16-year-old girl, was returned to the camp. The reason given was that she was too young.35

At Ambarawa No. 6 and No. 9 Camps, 10 and 6 women respectively were selected from those who were unmarried and aged between 17 and 28. The leaders of these camps protested furiously against the Japanese actions, but their efforts were in vain. It seems that none of these 16 women were informed about their destination.36

At Gedangan Camp, several women were selected from the internees between 16 and 30 years of age. However, as they were about to be taken away, a large group of internees tried to stop them, and a riot similar to that at Muntilan Internment Camp broke out. Eventually the Japanese had to satisfy themselves with a few “volunteers” who showed willingness to co-operate with the Japanese.

Here, too, some of the “volunteers” seem to have been former professional prostitutes. According to one testimony, one of the women took her two children (aged 2 and 4 years) with her to a comfort station.37 It was unusual that a comfort woman was allowed to keep her children at the comfort station. It could be the case that she “volunteered” on the condition that her children would be fed at the station.

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It is almost certain that at least 23 women from Halmaheila Camp and Ambarawa No. 6 and No. 9 Camps were forcibly taken out of the camps. According to the Dutch government report, a total of 36 Dutch women were put into four comfort stations – the Officers’ Club, the Semalang Club, the Hinomaru Club, and the Seiun-s
d
. Some of these women were brought first to the Semalang Club (formerly the Hotel Splendid). Major Okada then distributed these women among a few different stations. Others were taken directly to particular stations.

All of them were ordered to sign a contract which was written in both Japanese and Indonesian, stating that they were volunteering to become comfort women.

When they refused to sign the paper that they could not read, they were severely beaten. Some of them eventually submitted and signed the paper, but others did not give in and kept refusing to do so – nevertheless they too were repeatedly raped as comfort women.38

On March 1, 1944, these four comfort stations were officially opened. When the women refused to serve the Japanese, they were threatened with torture and death for themselves and their families. They were eventually beaten, kicked, and raped on the opening night. Some of these women were raped by Okada himself as well as by some of the comfort station managers. One of the medical officers, who conducted periodic VD examinations of these women, also raped them.39

According to testimonies, one woman tried to commit suicide by taking massive doses of quinine, but failed. She was later sent to a mental hospital. Another woman also tried unsuccessfully to kill herself by slashing a vein. A few women tried to escape from the comfort stations, but they were soon captured and brought back. One girl was unconscious for two days due to the shock of being raped. Some became pregnant and had abortions.40

They experienced immense trauma at the time and the psychological legacy continues to plague these women even half a century later. Their experiences are clearly described in the following testimony of Jan Ruff-O’Herne, one of the women selected from Ambarawa No. 6 Camp, who was 19 years old at the time: The house was now filling up with Japanese military. We could sense their excitement, hear their laughter. We sat there waiting, huddled together till the time had come and the worst was to happen. Then they came.

Lies was the first girl to be dragged out of the dining room and into her bedroom. Then, one by one, the girls were taken, crying, protesting, scream-ing, kicking and fighting with all their might . . .

After four girls had been taken, I hid under the dining table. I could hear the crying coming from the bedrooms. I could feel my heart pounding with fear. I held tight to the wooden crucifix tucked into the belt round my waist . . .

Sitting crouched up under the table, I saw the boots almost touching me.

Then I was dragged out. A large, repulsive, fat, bald-headed Jap stood in front of me, looking down at me, grinning at me. I kicked him in the shins.

He just stood there, laughing. He pulled me roughly by the arm. I tried to
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free myself from his grip, but I could not. My fighting, kicking, crying, protesting, made no difference.

Don’t! Don’t! I screamed . . . He pulled me towards him and dragged me into the bedroom. I was fighting him all the time. Once in the bedroom he closed the door. I ran to a corner of the room, pleading with him in a mixture of English and Indonesian, trying to make him understand that I was here against my will and that he had no right to do this to me . . .

I stooped down and curled myself up in the corner like a hunted animal that could not escape from the hunter’s net . . .

The Jap stood there, looking down at me. He was in total control of the situation. He had paid a lot of money for opening night and he was obviously annoyed and becoming angry . . . Taking his sword out of the scab-bard, he pointed it at me, threatening me with it, yelling at me . . .

I told the Jap that he could kill me, that I was not afraid to die and that I would not give myself to him . . .

The Japanese officer was getting impatient now. He threw me on the bed and tore at my clothes, ripping them off. I lay there naked on the bed as he ran his sword slowly up and down, over my body. I could feel the cold steel touching my skin as he moved the sword across my throat and breasts, over my stomach and legs . . .

He threw himself on top of me, pinning me down under his heavy body.

I tried to fight him off. I kicked him, I scratched him but he was too strong.

The tears were streaming down my face as he raped me. It seemed as if he would never stop.

I can find no words to describe this most inhuman and brutal rape. To me, it was worse than dying. My whole body was shaking. I was in a state of shock. I felt cold and numb and I hid my face in the pillow until I heard him leave.

In the daytime, we were supposed to be safe, although the house was always full of Japanese coming and going, socializing, eyeing us up and down. There was little privacy and consequently we were often raped in the day as well. But my fear was worse for the evening to come. As it was getting dark, it would gradually build inside me until finally it was burning up my whole body.41

But worst of all I have felt this fear every time my husband was making love to me. I have never enjoyed intercourse as a consequence of what the Japanese did to me.

Fifty years of nightmares, of sleepless nights. Fifty years of pain that could never go away, horrific memories embedded in the mind, always there to be triggered off.42

While the sexual abuse of most of these women occurred at the four exclusive officers’ comfort stations, some of the women were occasionally sent to comfort stations specializing in service for rank-and-file soldiers. For example, Ellen van der Ploeg, a 21-year-old internee from Halmaheila Camp, testified that every 76