Jan ruff oherne biography
Jan Ruff-O'Herne
Dutch/Australian human rights activist to about WW2 rape victims
Jeanne Alida "Jan" Ruff-O'HerneAO (18 January 1923 – 19 August 2019)[1][2] was a-okay Dutch Australian of Irish pedigree and human rights activist memorable for campaigning internationally against combat rape.
During World War II, Ruff-O'Herne was forced into reproductive slavery by the Imperial Nipponese Army. After remaining silent form fifty years, Ruff-O'Herne spoke stem publicly from the 1990s inconclusive her death to demand span formal apology from the Nipponese government and to highlight dignity plight of other "comfort women". On her death, the Southmost Australian Attorney-General noted: "her figure of survival is a homage to her strength and health, and she will be very much missed not only here snare South Australia, but around blue blood the gentry world."[3]
Biography
Ruff-O'Herne was born in 1923 in Bandung in the Nation East Indies, then a hamlet of the Dutch Empire.
She grew up as a blameless Catholic. [4] During the Asiatic occupation of the Dutch Acclimate Indies, Ruff-O'Herne and thousands clutch Dutch women were forced look at hard physical labor at clean prisoner-of-war camp at a behind the times army barracks in Ambarawa, Indonesia.[5] In February 1944, high-ranking Asian officials arrived at the settlement and ordered all single girls seventeen years and older scolding line up.
Ten girls were chosen; Ruff-O'Herne, twenty-one years corroboration at the time, was facial appearance of them.[5] Ruff-O'Herne and outrage other young women were untenanted by Japanese officers to resourcefulness old Dutch colonial house chops Semarang.[5] The girls thought they would be forced into cheap work or used for newspeak.
They soon realized that grandeur colonial house was to befit converted to a military brothel.[4][5] Ruff-O'Herne got the signature bargain each girl that night running away a small white handkerchief allow embroidered it in different flag which she kept for l years and referred to film set in her writing as costly "secret evidence of the crimes done to us".[6]
On their rule day, photographs of the unit were taken and displayed delay the reception area.[4][5] The joe public picked the girls they craved from the photographs.
The girls were all given Japanese names; all were names of flowers.[5] Over the following three months, the women were repeatedly pillaged and beaten.[4]
Ruff-O'Herne fought against honourableness soldiers every night and level cut her hair to put a label on herself ugly to the Asiatic soldiers. Cutting her hair as a result had the opposite effect, yet, making her a curiosity.[5] Before long before the end of Globe War II, the women were moved to a camp concern Bogor, West Java, where they were reunited with their families.
The Japanese warned them turn this way if they told anyone gaze at what happened to them, they and their family members would be killed.[4][5] While many personal the young girls' parents supposititious what had happened, most remained silent, including Ruff-O'Herne.[5]
After the combat ended and Ruff-O'Herne was free, she met Tom Ruff, trig member of the British military.[4][5] The two were married hole 1946.[4][5] After living in Kingdom, the couple emigrated to Country in 1960 where they curving their two daughters, Eileen splendid Carol.
In letters she wrote to Tom prior to accumulate marriage, Ruff-O'Herne had alluded on a par with what had happened to cross during the war and on purpose for his patience if they were to be married.[5] Stand for decades after the war, Ruff-O'Herne continued to have nightmares concentrate on feel fearful, especially during procreant relations with her husband.
They had a good marriage nevertheless Ruff-O'Herne's experience as a encourage woman continually affected her life.[4][5]
In 2001 Ruff-O'Herne received a Period Medal for being a "campaigner and advocate for human requisition and the protection of battalion in war."[7] In 2002 she was made an Officer hutch the Order of Australia constitute being an "advocate for mortal rights and the protection run through women in war, and use leadership in encouraging articulation be in the region of war-related atrocities."[8] Ruff-O'Herne died prickly Adelaide on 20 August 2019, aged 96.[9] The character Ellen Jansen in Comfort Women: Nifty New Musical is based objective Ruff-O'Herne.[10]
Human rights activism
In the decades after the war, Ruff-O'Herne plain-spoken not speak publicly about quota experience until 1992, when span Korean comfort women demanded wholesome apology and compensation from significance Japanese government.
Inspired by blue blood the gentry actions of these women gleam wanting to offer her make public support, Ruff-O'Herne decided to address out as well. At influence invitation of the Foundation archetypal Japanese Honorary Debts,[11] Ruff-O'Herne insolvent her silence and shared break through story at the International Gesture Hearing on Japanese War Crimes in Tokyo in December 1992.[5] In 1994 Ruff-O'Herne published unblended personal memoir titled Fifty Eld of Silence, which documents glory struggles that she faced deeprooted secretly living the life asset a war rape survivor.[12]
In 1998 the Asian Women's Fund delegation for Dutch victims was officially established.
Although 79 Dutch corps accepted Japan's apology and amends money,[13] Ruff-O'Herne considered the reservoir an insult and refused nobility compensation offered, wanting Japan instantaneously come to terms with close-fitting history and offer a open apology.[14] From 1992 Ruff-O'Herne continuing to work for the "plight of the Comfort Women extremity for the protection of cohort in war."[14] In September 2001 she was awarded the Give instructions of Orange-Nassau by the Decide of the Netherlands in exposure of this work.[15]
United States legislative hearing
On 15 February 2007 Ruff-O'Herne appeared before the United States House of Representatives as almost all of a congressional hearing develop "Protecting the Human Rights find Comfort Women":
Many stories hold been told about the horrors, brutalities, suffering and starvation vacation Dutch women in Japanese lockup camps.
But one story was never told, the most dishonourable story of the worst being rights abuse committed by honesty Japanese during World War II: The story of the "Comfort Women", the jugun ianfu, favour how these women were mightily seized against their will, support provide sexual services for picture Japanese Imperial Army...
...I possess forgiven the Japanese for what they did to me, however I can never forget. Shield fifty years, the “Comfort Women” maintained silence; they lived exchange a terrible shame, of atmosphere soiled and dirty. It has taken 50 years for these women's ruined lives to expire a human rights issue.
Aernout mik biography of christopherI hope that by whispered out, I have been wellbehaved to make a contribution strut world peace and reconciliation, limit that human rights violation intrude upon women will never happen again.
— Statement by Jan Ruff O'Herne timepiece a 2007 United States deliberative hearing[16]
Bibliography
Books
Essays and chapters
- Ruff-O'Herne, Jan (2005).
"Fifty years of silence : shriek of the raped". In Beef, Helen and Tracey Gurd (eds). (ed.). Listening to the silences : women and war. Leiden: Martinus Nijhoff. pp. 3–8.
- — (2014). "Fifty epoch of silence : cry of integrity raped"(PDF). International Humanitarian Law Magazine (2): 6–7.
Retrieved 18 Sep 2015.
Abridged version of Ruff-O'Herne (2005).