WeHopeBuildTheStatueofPeace

 

 

WeHope is a Boston-based, non-profit organization founded by university students in 2018 that stands up for ‘comfort women’ victims and human rights. WeHope currently consists of six member-university, MCPHS University, Berklee College of Music, Boston University, Northeastern University, Ohio State University, and Brandeis University. Together, we perceive 'comfort women' issue as a serious violation of human rights and work towards a goal of raising awareness about this issue.

 

We host various fundraisers to build the Statue of Peace in Boston. We study the truthful history of 'comfort women' issue and share it by creating informative online content and hosting various public awareness campaigns.

 

 

WeHope Boston's goal is to build the Statue of Peace in Boston to honor the victims and to gain public attention on a broader issue, human rights violations. Our approximate budget is $50,000 at the time of establishment, with your huge support. For the first step, we set our short-term goal to get $500 until April 2023. Your help will be greatly appreciated.

 

The status of the donation will be updated in April 2023 on WeHope Instagram page, @wehopeboston (https://www.instagram.com/wehopeboston/).

 

This is a petition link for supporting 'comfort women' issue as well: https://www.change.org/p/charles-d-baker-wehope-to-build-the-statue-of-peace-in-boston-to-stop-wartime-sexual-violence Please feel free to explore the provided link and sign up for the petition if you agree with our mission to help us put a step further in our journey.

 

All support toward bringing the Statue of Peace to Boston is very appreciated.

 

 

‘Comfort women’ refers to women and girls victimized by the large-scale sexual slavery system established under the Empire of Japan during World War II. More than 200,000 victims have been identified across Korea, Vietnam, China, the Philippines, Taiwan, Burma, Indonesia, the Netherlands, and other Japanese-occupied territories.

 

More than 70 years passed without justice:

 

Despite the extreme violation of human rights, the survivors have not received any sincere apology from the perpetrators. After Hak-sun Kim's courageous first public testimony, who is a Korean surviving victim, other victims start to break the silence to demand justice and restore their dignity. Even though more than 50 years is passed, the victims are still fighting for justice.

 

 

 

The importance of ‘comfort women’ to be commemorated lies in the facts that:

 

1) It symbolizes the victims' courage to fight against injustice.

 

Although it is hard to break the silence after experiencing all the hard emotions, thanks to Hak-sun Kim's brave public testimony, many other people having shared the same experience have stepped up and spoken up for a sincere apology from the perpetrators. From that day, their voice seeking justice has continued.

 

2) It manifests our determination to eradicate wartime sexual violence.

 

A common misconception about WeHope's motives is that, what we fight for, the victims of ‘comfort women’ issue is just a binational political conflict between Korea and Japan. While, in fact, it is a war crime that has been and still violates women's rights and human rights in the 21st century in war zones and conflict-affected areas. Thus, the victims should not be left alone to seek equity on their own, it is also our shared responsibility as a civilized community to fight against injustice. At WeHope, we want to establish that this issue is perceived as a serious violation of fundamental human rights, to which every human being is entitled. It is crucial to recognize the past unethical and immoral course of action, as a consequence of war crimes, to not only ensure that it will not be forgotten but to avoid any further possible fallacy as well.

 

 

By building the Statue of Peace, fewer atrocities will happen in the future. Acknowledging and learning about 'comfort women' issue will help to shape the perspectives on current war and gender equity issues.

 

 

Here is further information you can read about 'comfort women' during World War II: https://www.britannica.com/topic/comfort-women. We always appreciate your opinions so always feel free to reach out to us via email.

 

Thank you for supporting our missions.

WeHope Boston Treasury Department