To Our Beloved Lola Ammonita Balajadia

We stand in a circle around you; and as we bow our heads,
We give thanks that our lives touched yours on life’s journey
For the time wqe walked with you on this earth
For the time that we meet you in our dreams:

We thank you our beloved Lola Ammonita
And will remember your courage, your deep commitment
To tell the truth, no matter what it cost you stood firm and spoke your truth to all the powerful – in Tokyo, in Geneva, in New York.
You shared your truth with all the other lolas, the harmonies,
The grand mothers of Asia.

Who will forget you speaking at the World Court of women in Cape Town
A frail and gentle creature, speaking truth to power
Who will not remember you addressing the women and Sarajevo
Entreating them not to let silence engulf
The terrible violence that had been done to them
speak, you told the women, because in speaking too, there is healing.

We wept: We all learned from you, took hope from you
Took a little of the magic of your wisdom, you gave so easily to everyone:
Yet, you had time to laugh; to sing, to dance.

You never forgot to hold on to your dreams:
And yes, you loved to dress in beautiful clothes
You had so much pain; yet you turned that pain into great courage,
Never giving up: you have taught your daughters well

And so, with our deepest love, sighs from the deep sea of affection
Laughter from the colorful field of the spirit, tears from the endless heaven
Of memories, we light our lamps to show you on your way



Your daughters in Asia: Corinne, Nelia, Jiaxiang, Siriporn, Aruna, Eileen, Meena, Farida, Neelam and Ita (of the Asian Human Rights Council)/ November 4, 2005.

Note: Filipino Grandma “Lola” Ammonita Balajadia, a victim of Japanese military sexual slavery, passed away in October 2005 at the age of 78 after being stricken with cancer. She served as President of the Lolas Kampanyera Survivors Organization since its founding in 2000. She has spoken and participated in several Courts of Women public hearings as well as international conferences organized by AWHRC in various countries of the world.

Comeback

To everyone who has been reading this blog, we apologize for the lack of updates. Life is happening and financial challenges are faced by the organization. But despite of it all, we have decided to keep the blog up and running out of love for our beloved remaining comfort women.

To those who sent us e-mails for the book, Justice with Healing, we apologize for not replying to your queries. However, if you wish to reorder, we will be more than glad to accommodate you.

Our present administrator will be checking e-mails once a week and we will be updating the site as often as we can.

Please send your e-mails to: lolaskampanyeras@gmail.com


Thanks for your support,

Administrator