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We all remember Tatyana Ali, who was Ashley in the hit comedy The Fresh Prince of Bel Air. A Broadway trained actress, Tatyana displayed as thespian qualities as she read the monologue on being the comfort woman, the ianfu who was raped by the Japanese military during World War II and who never apologized for the crimes they had done. Ali expressed the pain of the comfort women who are now probably in their 80s. With a tough voice, she demanded "Say sorry to me" , speaking about the Japanese government who refused to apologize to the comfort women who were raped. Historians estimate 200,000 women, mostly from Korea and the Philippines but also from China, Indonesia and the Netherlands, were pressed into prostitution for millions of Japanese soldiers stationed throughout Asia before and during World War II. Some were forced to sleep with up to fifty men a day.
Tamlin Tomita notably known for her role in The Joy Luck Club and Karate Kid Part II was the climax of the show. Tomita inspired all of us in the reading that was meant for everyone to do something to stop the violence on women and children.
Camille Velasco sang from her debut solo album. Musical artist Eleanor Academia played the keyboard and whose music bridged the monologues.
The beneficiaries of the two shows were the Bantay Bata Foundation which rescues and provides rehabilitation for abused children in the Philippines, and the Center for Pacific Asian Family which implements programs and services on domestic violence, sexual assault and child abuse in the Asian Pacific Islander community in Los Angeles.
V-Day, a global movement against violence against women and girls, began in 1998 on Valentine’s Day as a benefit performance of The Vagina Monologues. The play by Ensler is based on interviews with more than 200 women about their memories and experiences of sexuality. By last year, V-Day had grown to 2,300 benefit shows in 76 countries. It has raised more than $26 million (?19.75 million) for shelters for battered women, rape hot lines, safe houses in Africa to protect women from genital mutilation and other causes.
Kudos to Ted Benito who produced the show and dedicated the Filipinas productions to his mother, Fe Benito.
As my daughter Hazel and I left the theater, we knew we felt really well as women. As Filipinas, the V-Day 2009 taught us that there is much to be done to stop the violence against women and young girls. But we know we will be strong supporters of the movement until the violence stops!
( Published on March 13, 2009 in Asian Journal Redcarpet Magazine p. 2 )
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