It’s a little monument with a powerful message.
A memorial to comfort women in Palisades Park, New Jersey is the first of its kind in the United States to recognize the enslavement of thousands of women for the sexual enjoyment of members of the Japanese imperial Army during World War II.
“You would think that it’s something like 50 feet high,” remarked California Rep. Michael Honda who laid flower at the monument Friday at an event by the group Korean American Civic Empowerment. “It’s very humble, some words on a plaque that speaks the truth. That small monument, and those few words, frightened some politicians.”
According to NJ.com Honda introduced a resolution in 2007 along with New Jersey Congressman Bill Pascrell calling for the Japanese government to formally apologize for the atrocity.
The visit by both Honda and Pascrell on Friday renewed the calls for the apology.
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“This is a tragic chapter in history,” Pascrell said. “It can’t be ignored, it can’t be forgotten, it must live in our own lives and mean something to us.”
You can read more about why the apology has yet to happen in NJ.com
