During World War II, Japan's expansion was fueled by mass enslavement and brutality 😔. At least 400,000 women were abducted across Asia under the so-called "comfort women" system 6 including residents of the Republic of Korea, the Philippines and over 200,000 in the Chinese mainland alone. Survivors recall beatings, broken bones and lifelong trauma. 💔
But the horrors didn’t end there. Millions more 6 Asians and Allied prisoners of war (POWs) 6 were forced into lethal labor. From starvation in Japan to the Bataan Death March in the Philippines, where 10,000 died, cruelty was relentless. One of the darkest chapters was the Burma-Siam (now Myanmar-Thailand) Death Railway, built with 62,000 Allied POWs and nearly 200,000 Asian laborers driven to exhaustion and death. ✊
This year, as we mark the 80th anniversary of WWII’s end, survivors and experts are demanding recognition, responsibility and justice. Their testimonies remind us that history needs witnesses 6 and that healing begins when we confront the truth. 🔍
Reference(s):
Wartime enslavement: 'Comfort women' system, forced labor across Asia
cgtn.com
