Comfort Woman : a Filipina's Story of Prostitution and Slavery Under ...

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Comfort Woman
I thought the word meant cow, because baka is the Tagalog word for
cow. It was only later that I found out it was a Japanese swearword
that meant stupid. The shout came from another Japanese soldier who
approached us and slapped the two soldiers who held me. He looked
like an offi cer because he carried a long, curved saber. I thought he
would save me, but he grabbed me from the soldiers and raped me.
When he was done, he passed me on to the two soldiers, who took
Assaulted by the Japanese. The offi cer with the saber, who was the fi rst to rape
me, I later learned was Captain Tanaka.
turns raping me. Then they just walked away. It was a very painful
experience. My genitals bled and ached so much. I could not even
stand. Luckily, a farmer passed by and took me to his hut. His wife
gave me a dress because my skirt was full of blood, and I could not
hide what had happened to me. I stayed with them for two days, and
then I walked back, following the train tracks to our house. My uncles
were still looking for me, thinking I had gotten lost.
I told my mother what had happened to me. She cried and told
me I was still lucky because they did not kill me. She advised me not
to talk about the incident to anybody. But I was very sad. I could feel
the pain inside me. I was fourteen, and had not yet begun to menstru-