Fifty Years of Silence

Biography & Memoir
Cover of the book Fifty Years of Silence by Jan Ruff O'Herne, Random House Australia
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Jan Ruff O'Herne ISBN: 9781742754260
Publisher: Random House Australia Publication: August 31, 2011
Imprint: Random House Australia Language: English
Author: Jan Ruff O'Herne
ISBN: 9781742754260
Publisher: Random House Australia
Publication: August 31, 2011
Imprint: Random House Australia
Language: English

The extraordinary memoir of a war rape survivor.'How can you tell your daughters, you know? I mean, the shame, the shame was still so great. I knew I had to tell them but I couldn't tell them face to face . . . so I decided to write it down.' Jan Ruff O'Herne's idyllic childhood in Dutch colonial Indonesia ended when the Japanese invaded Java in 1942. She was interned in Ambarawa Prison Camp along with her mother and two younger sisters. In February 1944, when Jan was just twenty-one years old, she was taken from the camp and forced into sexual slavery in a military brothel. Jan was repeatedly beaten and raped for a period of three months, after which she was returned to prison camp with threats that her family would be killed if she revealed the truth about the atrocities inflicted upon her. For fifty years, Jan told no-one what had happened to her, but in 1992, after seeing Korean war rape victims making appeals for justice on television, she decided to speak out and support them. Before she could testify publicly, though, she had to find a way to tell her family and friends about all she had suffered. Jan's survival is a tribute to her inner strength and deep faith. For the past fifteen years, she has worked tirelessly to protect the rights of women in war and armed conflict.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

The extraordinary memoir of a war rape survivor.'How can you tell your daughters, you know? I mean, the shame, the shame was still so great. I knew I had to tell them but I couldn't tell them face to face . . . so I decided to write it down.' Jan Ruff O'Herne's idyllic childhood in Dutch colonial Indonesia ended when the Japanese invaded Java in 1942. She was interned in Ambarawa Prison Camp along with her mother and two younger sisters. In February 1944, when Jan was just twenty-one years old, she was taken from the camp and forced into sexual slavery in a military brothel. Jan was repeatedly beaten and raped for a period of three months, after which she was returned to prison camp with threats that her family would be killed if she revealed the truth about the atrocities inflicted upon her. For fifty years, Jan told no-one what had happened to her, but in 1992, after seeing Korean war rape victims making appeals for justice on television, she decided to speak out and support them. Before she could testify publicly, though, she had to find a way to tell her family and friends about all she had suffered. Jan's survival is a tribute to her inner strength and deep faith. For the past fifteen years, she has worked tirelessly to protect the rights of women in war and armed conflict.

More books from Random House Australia

Cover of the book Playground Pets: Juliet, Nearly a Vet (Book 8) by Jan Ruff O'Herne
Cover of the book PetRescue's Amazing Dog Stories by Jan Ruff O'Herne
Cover of the book The Sunnyvale Girls by Jan Ruff O'Herne
Cover of the book Any Ordinary Day by Jan Ruff O'Herne
Cover of the book Salad Days by Jan Ruff O'Herne
Cover of the book Floods 13: The Royal Family by Jan Ruff O'Herne
Cover of the book When Colts Ran by Jan Ruff O'Herne
Cover of the book Natural Born Loser by Jan Ruff O'Herne
Cover of the book Lancelot by Jan Ruff O'Herne
Cover of the book Stuff Happens: Dale by Jan Ruff O'Herne
Cover of the book Outback Spirit: Inspiring True Stories of Australia's Unsung Heroes by Jan Ruff O'Herne
Cover of the book Beautiful Death by Jan Ruff O'Herne
Cover of the book Smithereens by Jan Ruff O'Herne
Cover of the book Chronicles Of Krangor 3: The King In Reserve by Jan Ruff O'Herne
Cover of the book The Champion Charlies 1: The Mix-Up by Jan Ruff O'Herne
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy