Items related to 50 Years of Silence: The Extraordinary Memoir of a...
Gripping and inspiring, this account tells the story of Jan Ruff-O'Herne and the shattering of her idyllic childhood in Dutch colonial Indonesia. Depicting the Japanese invasion of Java in 1942, this riveting autobiography recounts how she was taken from her mother and two younger sisters and forced into sexual slavery in a military brothel. Following the beatings and rapes she suffered during a period of three months, this record reveals how she was finally returned to prison, only to have her family's lives threatened if she ever spoke the truth about the atrocities inflicted upon her. Her silence over five decades is portrayed here, broken only by her witnessing Korean war rape victims making public appeals for justice and her resolution to testify and support them. Documenting her courageous confession to her family and her tireless work to protect the rights of women in war and armed conflict, this recollection is a tribute to one woman's inner strength, constant faith, and unbreakable survival.
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Synopsis:
Jan Ruff-O'Herne's idyllic childhood in Dutch colonial Indonesia ended when the Japanese invaded Java in 1942. She was interned in Ambarawa Prison Camp along with her mother and two younger sisters. In February 1944, when Jan was just 21 years old, she was taken from the camp and forced into sexual slavery in a military brothel. Jan was repeatedly beaten and raped for a period of three months, after which she was returned to prison camp with threats that her family would be killed if she revealed the truth about the atrocities inflicted upon her. For fifty years, Jan told no one what had happened to her, but in 1992, after seeing Korean war rape victims making appeals for justice on television, she decided to speak out and support them. Before she could testify publicly, though, she had to find a way to tell her family and friends about all she had suffered. Jan's survival is a tribute to her inner strength and deep faith. For the past 15 years, she has worked tirelessly to protect the rights of women in war and armed conflict.
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- PublisherWilliam Heinemann Australia
- Publication date2008
- ISBN 10 1741667461
- ISBN 13 9781741667462
- BindingPaperback
- Number of pages256
- Rating
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