Martina Madeira Hoar

Martina Madeira Hoar

Born in Casabauk, East-Timor, Drafted year: 1942, 12y/o, for 3 years

I was about 12 years old,

and there were lots of young women.

I was a Japanese soldier’s wife.

A lot of soldiers came every day.

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My parents were farmers. I was home alone when the Japanese soldiers came. I ran away out of fear. Meanwhile, my parents came back and they caught my parents. They made threats to take me away which they did immediately.

I was about 12 years old, and there were lots of young women. I was a Japanese soldier’s wife. A lot of soldiers came every day.

They did not hit me. I stayed there for 1 year like that before they told to me to go home.

After returning home, Japanese soldiers would come from time to time and ask for me. When my parents refused, they were beaten up and I was taken away. I had to go because they would beat my parents if I didn’t. 

There was no doctor, no treatment and no medicine even if I got sick. They only fed me. I was released two years later when the war ended.

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I don’t know when my sister was taken. I found out about it later. We were living apart because we had different fathers. I only heard about it after we started living together. I got married but I have no children.

When I look back what happened at the time, I get a headache. I have back pain and cough a lot. I wish I could fix the old house. 

 

* She met her sister in 1975 and has been living with her in their relative's house since then. She is reluctant to talk about her past in front of other family members. It probably was extremely difficult for her to show her pain to a stranger who is also a foreigner, she said she was a Japanese soldier’s wife, to describe what she went through.