慰安婦に関する著書もあるオー教授
優しい笑顔でヘイトスピーチ？
ボニー・オー（
Bonnie B.C. Oh）は、エドムンド・A・ウォルシュ外交大学院の韓国学の専門家で、
The Legacies of the Comfort Women of World War II（2001年）の編集者でもあった。先日、アメリカの
ノースウェスタン大学で慰安婦問題に関する講義を行った。その時の様子。
報道からボニー・オー元教授の話をまとめると、慰安婦の総数は8万～40万。年齢は10歳（?!）～35歳。80%は朝鮮人だった。日本軍によって奴隷にされたが、書類は破棄され一部の女性は殺されたので証拠は残っていない。日本軍慰安婦の特徴はその公的性格。戦場の指揮官が設置・管理を行い、司令官たちは天皇とのホットラインを持っていた。軍はしばしば慰安婦を「公衆便所」と呼び、この事で非人道的な取り扱いが可能となった。よって、慰安婦ではなく、性奴隷と呼ばれるのが相応しい。このシステムは、日本の誤った人種理論の産物である。日本は歪んだ人種理論に基づき、朝鮮人女性を大量に性の奴隷とすべく調達した。・・・なにやら、ナチスの優生学を連想させるような言われようではないか。
ちょっと面白いのは、オー教授が、日本軍が帯同する（日本人？）従軍売春婦（embedded prostitutes）の不足を、強制的に集めた主として朝鮮人で補ったと説明している点。ややこしい話だが、
従軍慰安婦が足りないから日本軍は
（無印）慰安婦=性奴隷を集めたのだとオー教授は言っているのである（関係ないが、
フィリップ・ドゥ・ヘーア駐日オランダ大使もそれに近い認識だった）。もしかしたらこの人は従軍売春婦の存在自体は問題視していないのかもしれない。まぁそうだろう。従軍売春婦（慰安婦）ならヨーロッパの軍隊にもいたわけだから・・・。講義を聞いた者の中には日本軍慰安婦について初めて聞く者もいたようだが、戦場で人身売買や強姦が起こるのは知っていたが、システマチック（組織的な）性奴隷制度の存在は初めて知ったと感想を述べている。
そして、
アナベル・パクと同じく「おだて作戦」。日本は世界のモラルリーダーになれるはずなのに、なぜなろうとしないのかと。「謝れ！」という話なのだろが、オーもパクもアメリカ人なのだろうから、日本にリーダーシップを期待するより自国に期待するのが筋だろう。なぜアメリカはモラルリーダーになることを避けているのか？
洋公主に謝れ。
講義で使用された資料映像
慰安婦＝挺身隊
※ ツイッターで、翻訳やオー教授の専門についてアドバイスを頂きました。この場を借りてお礼申し上げます。
ボニー・オー教授、NU大で慰安婦講演「過去正しく知ってはじめて発展できる」
「すべての国は暗い過去を有している。 一部は隠して忘れようとするが過去を否定して未来だけ見て行くということのように愚かなことはない。 慰安婦問題もそうであるだろう」
12日ノースウェスタン大のRoberta Buffett Center for International and Comparative Studiesが主催した人権講演シリーズでボニー・オー教授が講師が登場「慰安婦被害者問題」をテーマに特別講演を行った。 バフェットセンターのBruce Carruthersチェアは「9月から人権をテーマにした講演シリーズを無料で主催している。 オ教授の慰安婦関連書籍はもちろんで講演が非常に有益で重要だと考え、直接招請することになった。 慰安婦関連の講演は初めてだ。 特定の国の問題でない全世界の人権問題をテーマに今後も継続する予定だ」と説明した。この日100人余りの学生と教授などがオー教授の講義に始終真剣な表情で耳を傾け被害ハルモニの証言が言及される部分で嘆きをさく烈させた。
オー教授は「10～35才女性たちが何も分からないまま徴用、人身売買犯、売春業者などによって拉致、買収など様々な方法で連れて行かれ日本軍を対象に性的な行為を強要された」として「そのうちの80%が朝鮮人だったが、中国、台湾、フィリピン、インドネシアなどでも慰安婦の召集が行われた」と話した。オー教授は朝鮮人慰安婦が多い理由、被害国々の活動、日本の反応などに対しても説明した。
シカゴ韓国人会少女像設置委員会のルーシー・ペク委員長はこの日「歴史を変えようとする日本の動きを正さなければならない。アメリカで成長する学生たちに正しい歴史を伝える良い講演だった。現在の少女像建設委員会は基金を集めるために熱心に活動中だ」と話した。
ロヨラ大に在学中のジョセフィン・ワン(20)は「慰安婦に関する講演があると聞いて来た。慰安婦被害者問題は女性の尊厳を踏みにじったことはもちろん人間の基本人権を侵害した事件だと思う。慰安婦に関する詳しい話を聞くことができて有益だった。韓国の人々が皆力を合わせて大韓民国の名の下にこれ以上手遅れになる前にこれを解決して欲しい」と話した。
Retired Georgetown professor gives lecture on WWII 'comfort women'
A retired professor of Korean studies spoke to a packed room in Harris Hall on Wednesday night about」comfort women」who were enslaved for sex by the Japanese army during World War II。
Bonnie Oh、a retired Georgetown University professor、recounted the history and legacy of an estimated 80,000 to 400,000 women and girls who were forced into sexual slavery for the Japanese army from 1931 to 1945. She said during the war、the women gathered at "comfort stations "near military bases。
「Soldiers would queue up、assigned to certain times、 "Oh said in a lecture hosted by the Buffett Center。" Sometimes when there were new shipments of soldiers、these times would be no longer than 15 minutes、with no time for the women to wash up in between。 "
Although these women came from all over Asia、80 percent of the victims were Korean、because they were believed to be more likely free of disease、Oh said.Because of her concentration in Korean studies、Oh became interested in these women、though she said her peers did not approve of her interest。
"When I first started getting interested in this topic 22 years ago、I was almost ostracized - a good woman getting interested in a topic like that、" Oh said。
The topic of comfort women was new to some attendees、including Weinberg sophomore Sanjana Lakshmi、who attended a dinner with Oh before the presentation.Other members of the International Gender Equality Movement、a student group that promotes advancing women's rights worldwide、also attended the dinner 。
"I knew there was rape and pillaging and other war crimes during World War II、and I know there's sex trafficking、but I did not know there was this systematic sex slavery、「Lakshmi said。
The Japanese government has tried to avoid the topic of comfort women、particularly when it comes to the government's culpability in their enslavement、Oh said。
"The repeated claim is that the Japanese government was not involved、that these women were professional prostitutes、「Oh said。
The only remaining records of the exploitation are personal accounts and those of Japanese soldiers、since all other documents and evidence were destroyed after the war、and some of the women were killed。
Oh said the existing accounts point to the Japanese government's culpability in setting up the system of comfort stations。
"Every country has ugly chapters which people would like to forget、but for which reparations are called for、" Oh said。 "What is unique about comfort women in Japan is the official nature - the commanders in the field set up and regulated this system 、and they had a direct line of communication with the emperor "
Although the sex slavery system ended with World War II、the issue resonates with others struggling with sexual violence against women today、said Youngju Ji、the executive director of Korean American Women in Need、an organization for domestic violence and sexual assault victims in Korean and other Asian communities。
「It's very much connected to what we are trying to do with our mission of ending violence against women、 "Ji、who attended the event、said。" It was great for us to expand our knowledge about this issue going forward、to be more equipped with a different perspective on this issue。 "
Oh said the impact the women's stories can have upon others is essential to their legacy。
"There is a question of what kind of legacy these women can leave、「she said。" They are destitute、old and have nothing left to leave.But comfort women ended up leaving a lot of legacies in the lessons they gave us on human endurance and the strength to triumph and to survive。 "
Georgetown professor: legacy of WWII comfort women continues
“Every country has ugly historical chapters. My aim tonight is simple — not to forget the experiences of women who have fallen victims to forced prostitution and sexual violence in times of war and peace.”
Professor Bonnie Oh of the Korean Studies department at Georgetown University’s Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service spoke to Northwestern University on Wednesday about the history of World War II comfort women and their impact on East Asian relations. The event was organized by Northwestern University’s Roberta Buffett Center for International and Comparative Studies.
While informing the audience about the historical background of comfort women, Oh said the term “comfort women” is a euphemism for sex slaves of the WWII Japanese military and its usage is too weak for the 200,000 women who were coerced into violence. She suggested the usage of “sex slaves” as done by the former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton during her speech in 2012.
According to Oh, the system of comfort women began in the early 1930s after Japan’s militarist government experienced imperialist success in the late 19th and 20th century. She explained that while the lack of embedded prostitutes during the protracted war and the increased risks of venereal disease contributed to the system of comfort women, the most hidden theoretical reason lay in Japan’s “pseudoscientific race theory” that espoused a sense of superiority over its colonies and women in general.
Oh accompanied her presentation with photos of comfort women not only from Korea, but Taiwan, China and the Philippines as well. “History is indisputable,” she said while presenting a list of testimonies, documents and apologies as evidences of Japanese government’s involvement in the system.
“The degree of the abuses is incredible.” Oh said the military often used the phrase “public toilet” in reference to the comfort women, and said she believes “that way of thinking made it easier for them to treat women in sub-human ways, in considering them as supplies and ammunitions.”
Oh said that the patriarchal society and social stigma against violated women prevented the victims of sexual violence from openly talking about their abuses. It took 46 years after the end of war – “50 years of silence” – for the first Korean comfort woman, Hak-soon Kim, to “come out” after she was enraged by the Japanese government’s denial of its involvement in the affairs.
Public reaction to the issue was fierce. The movement to demand an official apology from the Japanese government gained the support of international organizations such as Amnesty International and the United Nations, and gained momentum through the passage of U.S. House Resolution 121 in 2007. Oh said the impact of the movements on Japanese society has been divided between those who are calling for formal acknowledgement of the system and the government that is continuing to question the veracity of testimonies.
Oh called for Japan to accept responsibility, even though she was not very optimistic about the future. “Japan is a world leader in every aspect,” she said, mentioning the country’s third biggest economy in the world and its 19 Nobel Prize winners. “Why can it not be a moral leader either? It could.”
“The comfort women issue is an unresolved historical human tragedy,” said Ms. Youngju Ji, the executive director of Korean American Women in Need (KAN-WIN). Ji said elements such as the patriarchal system remind people that violence against women is still happening. “We believe that philosophical connection and solidarity between academia and activists will be able to make a greater impact.”
