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News Vol.17

A Discussion with Dr. M.J. Hamer-Monod de Froideville, Chairperson of the Project Implementation Committee in the Netherlands (PICN)

Profile of Dr. M.J. Hamer-Monod de Froideville

ó Born September 28, 1941 in Surabaya, Indonesia. ó Interned with her mother in prisoner-of-war camps under the control of the Japanese military in Ambarawa and Banyu Biru, from 1942 to 1945.
ó Returned to the Netherlands in 1946. Later attended Leiden University and Free University of Amsterdam, where she majored in law (criminology, penal law, and child-related legislation).
ó Served as Vice-Chairperson of the Project Implementation Committee in the Netherlands (PICN), from July to November 1998.
ó Began serving as Chairperson of the PICN in November 1998.

When the former Japanese military forces occupied the Dutch East Indies (present-day Indonesia) in 1942, they seized Dutch nationals living there and interned them as prisoners of war. Some prisoners were forcibly taken by some of the former Japanese military authorities to “comfort stations” in Semarang and other places, where they were compelled to render sexual services to Japanese military officers and men. The Asian Women’s Fund’s projects of atonement in the Netherlands were implemented for former comfort women who were swept up in those circumstances.

The Asian Women’s Fund and the Project Implementation Committee in the Netherlands (PICN) signed a Memorandum of Understanding in 1998, and it was on the basis of this Memorandum that the PICN implemented projects of atonement.

During a conference in the Netherlands in February 2002, we spoke with Dr. M.J. Hamer-Monod de Froideville, PICN Chairperson, about the AWF’s atonement projects in the Netherlands.

Why did you decide to help implement Asian Women’s Fund projects in the Netherlands?
I was involved in the comfort women issue even before the PICN was established. You see, the issue was being discussed by representatives of the Asian Women’s Fund, the Embassy of Japan in the Netherlands, and a Dutch foundation providing assistance to war victims, and I participated in the discussions as a director of the foundation.

At the time, I was in charge of handling confidential information on the victims, so I was aware of the past and present circumstances of those who had been interned and forced to become comfort women. I also knew many of them personally, and I suppose this is why the first PICN Chairperson, retired General G.L.J. Huyser, recommended that I join the PICN. I was extremely happy that he did so.

Seventy-eight people in the Netherlands accepted benefits offered through Asian Women’s Fund projects. Many of them telephoned or wrote to convey their thanks to the Japanese people, and to express their gratitude for the letter of Prime Minister Hashimoto. After talking with them on the phone and communicating by letter, I realized that the Prime Minister’s letter was very important to them.

What significance did Prime Minister Hashimoto’s letter have for them?

The letter was addressed to the Prime Minister of the Netherlands, and was not sent directly to the victims. Even so, the letter’s sincere expressions of apology and remorse created a very favorable impression.

Their experiences in comfort stations caused them physical and mental damage that can never be cured. Some of them still suffer from post-traumatic stress. Their anguish and psychological distress will remain with them all their lives.

And yet, the feelings of atonement and apology expressed by the Prime Minister in his letter impressed upon them that some form of justice had finally been achieved. Many project recipients sent us letters expressing deep appreciation for his words. The former comfort women are grateful for benefits received through the medical and welfare projects and for the sincere feelings of concern expressed by the Japanese people, but they say that it would have been difficult to accept the benefits if Prime Minister Hashimoto had not written the letter.

Money cannot relieve their anguish. They were able to recover somewhat from their psychological wounds because they read heartfelt words from a former “enemy,” they witnessed concrete actions, and they received a promise that such a tragedy would not happen again, indeed, would not be permitted to happen again.

The key to the success of the atonement projects in the Netherlands was surely the relationship of trust that existed between the former comfort women and the PICN. Tell us a little about the process leading up to establishment of the PICN.

The Embassy of Japan in the Netherlands spent several years consulting with the Government and people of our country, discussing the comfort women issue. The embassy also asked General (ret.) Huyser, who is most highly respected in the Netherlands, to chair the PICN. He realized that Japan was prepared to offer medical and welfare benefits in order to make atonement, and that the projects would benefit the former comfort women, who were of an advanced age, and this is why he agreed to serve as Chairperson. I was extremely pleased when I heard of his decision to do so.

The PICN was established in 1998 after two years of efforts laying the groundwork. The committee members had a wide range of experience and expertise, and all were persons of high stature. I am most satisfied in the way they worked together as a team and did an outstanding job.

The projects of atonement have now been concluded in the Netherlands. Do you think they contributed in some way to improving relations between the Netherlands and Japan?

I was born just before hostilities started in the Pacific, and during the war I was interned with my mother in a prisoner-of-war camp run by the Japanese. It is my personal opinion that the people of my generation can forgive what was done to them at that time, and can even shake hands over it.

However, the generation before me would find it extremely difficult to forgive, or to forget what happened in the past.

And yet, the Asian Women’s Fund projects did, I am convinced, change the opinions and attitudes of the former comfort women toward the Japanese. That is wonderful.

One former comfort woman has a grandchild who received an invitation from Japan to study there as an exchange student. She told her grandchild she agreed with her decision to go, and said that she and people her age had to accept that the time for the younger generation to do things their own way had come. She even said it was very important for her grandchild to study about Japan, and to see how the younger generation in Japan think and act.

We are very pleased that Asian Women’s Fund projects in the Netherlands have concluded successfully, and have a strong sense of achievement. And I am proud to have served as a member of the PICN.
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