Carminda Dou

Born in Tilomar, East-Timor, Drafted year: 1942, 16y/o estimates, for 3 years

Suddenly began to count ‘イチ、ニ、サン(1, 2, 3)’ in Japanese.

The family tells her to continue talking,

but she no longer speaks.

With a crooked back and small appearance, the victim looked over 90 years old.

Having Alzheimer’s for a long time, her memories were gone and it was difficult to carry out even a normal conversation.

Luckily, I was able to hear some of her story from her younger sister Martina, who was also living with her.

Though they were sisters, they had grown up in different places since they shared the same mother, but had different fathers.

Around when the Japanese troops came in, the two sisters were both taken away at a similar time, but were unable to hear from each other.

According to the younger sister, the Japanese army made their way towards her sister’s place, where they forced her away. Then for 3 years before the war ended, she was forced under sexual slavery.

Throughout the interview, the elder sister sat next to her sibling and simply smiled. In the middle, she suddenly began to count ‘イチ、ニ、サン(1, 2, 3)’ in Japanese. The family tells her to continue talking, but she no longer speaks.

As her sibling begins to tell of the atrocities of the Japanese troops, the older sister’s smiling face begins to contort. The victim has already lost so many memories, but she cannot erase the pain that remains in her heart.

The sisters were 4 years apart in age, making it possible to reason that the elder sibling was born around 1926.

* With a high door sill and small entrance, the house was difficult for me to even enter. I was worried about the grandma, who had difficulty walking, moving around this dangerous area. Light was unable to properly enter as everywhere was sealed, but she spends her days eating and resting in her room.