Thekla Lit does not appear to be a tough woman at first sight, but
she has been resolute in making sure Japan's war-time record in
China is never forgotten.
When she was younger, this Hong Kong-born Canadian participated
in a campaign to protect Diaoyu Island. She said she was angered by
the Japanese government's claims of sovereignty.
Later, she uncovered documents revealing the cruelties of
Japan's invading troops in China. She was astonished that history
books in Hong Kong did not mention these atrocities.
"The Diaoyu Island incident was just the tip of the iceberg as
far as the Japanese invasion of China and it is a history that is
still denied by the Japanese government," Lit said.
With the initial idea of bringing this history to the attention of
Westerners, Lit, who is in her 50s, founded the British Columbia
chapter of the Canadian Association for Learning and Preserving
WWII History in Asia (ALPHA), after she moved to the city in 1996.
The association, which has been committed to incorporating the
history of Japan's invasion of China into the British Columbian
curriculum succeeded in 2003.
But the problem did not end there.
After new textbooks were printed with the information about
Japan's wartime role in China, many Canadian teachers told the
education bureaus they knew nothing about the events, Lit said.
She began to arrange tours for mainly Canadian teachers and
students to visit the sites where the atrocities occurred.
"People in Canada always adopt the European point of view, but
the point of view of Asian people, who also suffered in World War
II, should not be neglected, for the sake of world peace," said
Lit.
The visits, which also included teachers from New Jersey, United
States, since 2006, are usually to cities including Nanjing,
Shanghai and Zhengzhou.
There they learn about the Chinese women raped by Japanese
troops and the Chinese laborers they exploited during WW II.
Donations for the visits come from Chinese communities and other
charitable groups.
"Feeling the sorrow and pain of the survivors and the presence
of the souls of the dead where the Nanjing Massacre occurred, it is
an overwhelming experience," said Doug Cervi, of Oakcrest High
School from New Jersey.
"The sheer magnitude of the atrocities that were committed by
the Japanese Imperial Army rival those committed by the Nazis in
Europe in WW II," Doug said.
"It is so horrifying to see the atrocities committed by the
Japanese soldiers, as shown by all the pictures and documents in
the hall. The routine killing, rapes and burning of innocent
Chinese people was so unimaginably inhumane," said Janice Gladish,
a 29-year-old history teacher from Chilliwack, British Columbia,
Canada.
Gladish said she had no idea about the massacre until she read
about it in April from a special resource reserved for teachers in
her local library.
"Those stories prompted me to apply for this visit, even though
the selection criteria for applicants was strict. The atmosphere
and documents here give me a vivid picture of the massacre," she
said.
What pleases Lit most, however, is that many of the teachers who
have taken the tours said they would pass on the history to their
students.
"As a person with a strong sense of social activism I am, for
sure, going to pass on what the survivors said today to people
around me, including my students. It's never been acknowledged by
Western history," Gladish said.
Educational institutions in eastern Canada have also begun to
publish the history of Japan's invasion of China, partly as a
result of the tours. This applies to areas in the United States
too.
"So little is taught in American schools about this chapter of
history and I now see it as my responsibility to advance the
knowledge of teachers and students to know more about the
atrocities committed in China by the Japanese Imperial Army during
the Asia-Pacific War, 1931-45," said Robert Holden, professor of
history at Atlantic Cape Community College, Cape May County, New
Jersey.
Even so, Lit is not entirely satisfied by her achievements.
"What we are doing is fulfilling our responsibilities as
international citizens to remember and learn from past cruelties.
And we will try to make more people in the world know about it,"
Lit said.
(China Daily December 13, 2007)
