I recently worked with American photographer Paola Gianturco who wanted to document the current activism of our remaining Filipino comfort women. I arranged for the interviews and translated and also took pictures. But the most important lessons were the things I learned as Paola and I worked together for three and a half days. Having produced four books so far that has concentrated on women and how they are empowered, I happily listened to her stories of women’s groups who triumphed over their dire situations. She had just come from a Laos shoot and she showed me Laotian silk and new designs from a shop there that was currently supporting local Laotian weavers. There was so much to inspire me. You see, I also love Philippine indigenous fabrics from Luzon to Mindanao. But I digress.
I dont want to talk too much about the shoot but suffice it to say that I agree with Paola when she says the things that must be documented are the important ways people and communities win over their difficulties, how they survive and carry on. It is about how the human spirit remains strong and full of positive energy. Yes, isnt that so true.
The women were probably surprised that Paola didnt ask them about the horrors of the Japanese Occupation. Paola said that since their stories were well documented, we could easily read those from the books written about the issue. One of the women was still bitterly angry even after 68 years! She said she felt angry whenever she was asked to speak in forums in Japan and she would see a few old men in the audience. She wondered if they had been her rapists! Her story made me cry.
As a Filipino, I was reminded about how often we forget the importance of our history. How sadly lacking we are in knowledge about our past.
There were other bits of new info for me as well. I found it interesting that the Landbank of the Philippines in front of the Fort Santiago entrance used to be a Japanese garrison where one woman said she was brought and raped as a comfort woman. 
Landbank at the groundfloor of the Palace del Gobernador (formerly DECS), Intramuros.
This artillery section next to the Rizal shrine in Intramuros was a Japanese garrison that also housed the women prisoners who had also been “sex slaves” during the war.
