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 Comfort Women - LOLA DELA PAZ

FROM WAR, WITH LOVE
The World War 2 Comfort Women series

LOLA DELA PAZ was celebrating her 97th birthday when we walked in.

She immediately asked us to eat more of the food on the table. In their culture, a food offering is an act of love. As I sat down to eat, I saw all the generations in her family gathered together to celebrate her life. And I felt moved to offer to take a huge family photo for them. After a bunch of fun family photos, everyone started spontaneously singing happy birthday to her. It was such a beautiful, beautiful moment of love - that she started crying.
Tears of joy - so much that I cried too.

My heart was so moved by the beauty that sprung forth from her courage and healing. The creative lifeforce she carried forth after what has happened to her - to choose love and to have faith again - displayed so fully in the love and joy that I felt surrounding us in that powerful moment.
How would anyone dare to imagine - on that day that she was captured (23 November 1944) - that many many decades later - she would be surrounded by her future generations, blessed and celebrated?
God’s mercy is beautiful, and her strength equally moving.

As we started preparing for her portraits, her daughters started going around her - combing her hair, putting powder over her face, fixing her dress.

Words or images cannot convey the love and celebration that I felt in those moments. Only being there could’ve allowed one to experience that glory.
But here I try.

#jadapoonphotography #philippines #worldwartwostories #comfortwomen #hongkongportraitphotographer #womeninasia #womenempowerment #faith

 

COMFORT WOMEN - LOLa Perla

 "FROM WAR, WITH LOVE"
The World War II Comfort Women series

LOLA PERLA witnessed both her parents being tortured and murdered as a toddler.

"Last year, I fell and injured my hip and it has only gotten worse without surgery or proper medication. There are nights when my hip would be so painful that I would cry out to mother, even though I lost her when I was so little." She said.
"It’s so hard to live without your parents in this world."

It is heartbreaking - to imagine the hole that was left in her life as an orphan baby. As we prayed for God to restore that hole left by losing her parents, we all started crying.

And it was so powerful.
Powerful because even though she displays strength in fighting for the comfort women's cause, she also is willing to show her 'weakness' - the gaping hole that was left when they were violated or when their loved ones were murdered in front of them.

Powerful to witness how our team sat in that place of hurt together, and shared the pain and tears - as one.

Powerful to ponder on how we can draw strength as we bear each other's burdens - not only in listening to others' pains, but also in opening up and sharing ours with them.

#jadapoonphotography #philippines #worldwartwostories #comfortwomen #hongkongportraitphotographer #womeninasia #womenempowerment #faith

 
 

Comfort women - lola mileng

 "FROM WAR, WITH LOVE"
The World War II Comfort Women series

LOLA MILENG is the sister of the previous president of Malaya Lolas (a community formed to fight for recognition of what happened and compensation as war victims and comfort women in the WWII) who passed away during COVID.
She was a shy little one, with the most sparkly smile.

I saw a lot of photographs in the house, and upon asking her about them, she didn’t hesitate to share about the stories behind them. It was so beautiful to be able to get to know them and hear their life stories, to feel their deep desire for love, and to witness the faith and resilience of what we are all capable of.

As I started our portrait session, the family gathered together, laughed and joked, and I saw the absolute beauty of photography.
To gather people together in celebration.
To connect us in our shared human experience.
To honour and remember the beauty that should never be forgotten.

#jadapoonphotography #philippines #worldwartwostories #comfortwomen #hongkongportraitphotographer #womeninasia #womenempowerment #faith

 
 

COMFORT WOMEN - LOLA MARIA

 “FROM WAR, WITH LOVE”
The WWII Comfort Women series
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LOLA MARIA is the president of Malaya Lolas (formed to fight for the recognition of comfort women in WWII). 

As soon as I set foot on her front porch, she sat me down and launched into stories of unimaginable tortures that she witnessed and suffered.
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“I witnessed every single man I loved sadistically tortured and murdered in front of my eyes as we were all marched to the school playground.” She recounted.
“And having just turned 9, I was taken along with my sisters and the women in my village to the Red House to be comfort women to the Japanese army.
I was just a child.”
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My heart shuddered in pain as I listened.
What she continued to say though struck my heart even more.
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“I am not sure if we will ever see justice. But it’s ok - I’m not fighting for myself. I just want the world to remember how evil war is. I don’t want anyone to experience what I did.”
She then looked me in the eye and said: “I’m not looking for a final verdict on earth, because I trust in God’s ultimate justice and His plan for us. We are nothing without Him.”
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The power of what she said shook me so much I started crying. After everything she has experienced, not only did she not question where God was, her faith is so rooted that she is able to surrender everything over the years. 
That - is the healing.
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At the end, she insisted on doing a little dance for me in her favourite dress.
The beauty I encountered on that day - is far beyond anything I could’ve imagined.

Photography is just a tool.
Finding and sharing the beauty, faith and power that in our core we can all access, even amidst a world of suffering - is the ultimate gift.

#jadapoonphotography #philippines #worldwartwostories #comfortwomen #hongkongportraitphotographer #womeninasia #womenempowerment #faith