Fifty Years of Silence

(Paperback)

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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 21 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 15 years, she has worked tirelessly to protect the rights of women in war and armed conflict.

Author Bio

In September 2001, Jan received a knighthood from Queen Beatrix of The Netherlands. She received the ANZAC Peace prize for 2002 in recognition of her contribution to international peace and goodwill. In the same year she received the Queen's Birthday Honour, officer of the Order of Australia, and a Papal Honour. In 2004 she received a Centenary Medal from Prime Minister John Howard, and an International Peace Prize by the Authority of the United Cultural Convention, United States of America.