Date of letter:1993-04-15
Address of author:Beijing City
Date of event:1944-1945
Location of event:Boli County, Qitaihe City, Heilongjiang Province
Name of author:Guo Qingyuan
Name(s) of victim(s):Guo Qingyuan
Type of atrocity:Slave Laborers(SL)
Other details:In the fall of 1944, I (Guo Qingyuan) was forced into labor by the Japanese, digging “pine seeds” for fuel. I was 13 years old. Sometimes I was given nothing for food for two meals in a row and got beaten. Once I was too sick to work but had to continue for fearing of the whips. Finally I got to see a doctor down the mountain with the guarantee of kind uncles. Hearing of the failure of the enemy, I went back to inform others the news and everyboday was ready to pack and go home, for which the Japanese called us riots and hit me.
My Accusation
I am Guo Qingyuan, a native of Boli County in Heilongjiang Province. Now I am old, and stay at home to write reminiscence, When I moved to the part of my childhood (13), there’s a period of bitter history, which saddened me beyond description, now I want to file it to the Embassy, please send this story to the Japanese government:
It was the autumn of 1944, I was 13 and despite my age and weak physique, I was forced by the Japanese Army to work as laborer, which disrupted my study. I was sent to primitive forest in the mountain valleys of Qingshan in Boli County, Heilongjiang Province, to dig “fatwood”, which was used to produce aircraft fuel (it was rumored that in 1944 Japan experienced shortage of resources, petroleum was in short supply, so they wanted to dig fatwood to refine oil as military fuel). We toiled on the mountains the whole day, each morning before dawn we had to get up and go up to the mountains, bundles of fatwood were loaded on the body, which was too heavy to let us stand erect. At that time I was only 13, and was unable to carry 50 catties of load, but I was forced to carry that much down the mountain, otherwise I would be beaten if no adequate weight was delivered, twice I was punished to skip meals, since I was small, my body was not strong, it was really beyond my ability; however, in that year, there was no other way, I could only follow others older than myself to climb up the mountain step by step, others older than me took pity on me, and they removed their belt to help pull me up the mountain step by step. The fatwood on the back was too heavy, those kind uncles and seniors would carry one bundle for me, in this way they helped me carry the burden in turn for one to two months. Unfortunately, misfortunes never come singly, I developed blood urine due to exhaustion (the cause of illness was unknown), for 20 consecutive days I felt totally weak, as soon as I lay down I could no longer get up, and was unable to attend to work. The Japanese didn’t believe me, and beat me twice, again I had to carry fatwood for the Japanese. After sticking to it for several days, I was no longer able to move even one step, plus what we ate was sorghum porridge mixed with rat shit, which was not even fit for pigs and dogs, yet it was issued only one bowl for each one, no extra portion was given if requested. Since I was weak in the first place, plus illness, and poor inadequate diet, what we lived in was low and humid work shed, which leaked when it rained, under such living condition, I was no longer able to move, and laid on the bunk bed, motionless. Again, those kind-hearted uncles offered guarantee for me to let me go to the county town to see doctor, they said: “Child, you must live on”, upon hearing their words, I couldn’t help kneeling down and bow to them. In this way I supported myself with a stick and exitted the mountains after moving slowly for one and a half day.
The moment I left the mountains, I met those returning from Boli County to the mountain who said that “Laomaozi” (literally ‘Old Hairy Ones’, i.e. the Soviets) had come, the Japan had surrendered, they said, ‘you child should return to the mountains as soon as possible, and took back the luggage, from now on you no longer needed to work for the Japanese’. Hearing this, I immediately ran back to the mountains, after returning to the work shed, I told those uncles who were kind to me, they also packed luggage and prepared to leave. At this moment, the Japanese discovered our movements, they were furious, and asked who leaked the news, saying this was clearly a riot, finally they found out it was I who spread the news, without explanation the Japanese foreman kicked me and beat me (my right ear was still deaf today, my kidney function was poor), and wanted to send me to the police station, and punish me for riot. In the evening news came from the county to say that Japan had formally surrendered, it was then that the Japanese released me, and I was finally liberated.
After returning to home, it took several months to treat the illness, which cost a lot of money. Since we had no money, my father said, we had to help the child cure the illness even if we had to sell the house, so my family sold all the houses. Among those laborers who had worked together with me, some had passed away; I can be counted as a survivor. Today when I was writing this accusation, I felt very sad, and I cried when writing down the words. What I have said is only an approximate outline, for I have left out many unimaginably inhuman life details.
Today, although China and Japan have established diplomatic relationship, exchange between people of both countries are becoming increasingly frequent, Sino-Japanese friendship continued to make progress, when I was recollecting the mental and physical damage from the Japanese Imperialism, my mind was vey agitated, the moment I think of that era, anger would surge in my heart, my hatred is uncontrollable, The debt owed by the Japanese Imperialism will never be forgotten by myself, I will never feel reconciled if this debt is not paid back. Therefore, I want to denounce the persecution afflicted on me by the Japanese imperialists, I demand the Japanese government to give compensation, and compensate for my loss of study opportunity in my childhood, compensate for the mental damage, and compensate for the illness contracted during the period as laborer; although we sold my family’s only five houses in order to cure my illness, I still have waist pain left in my body today, they should compensate for the medical expenses for treating my illness over the past several dozen years, so that in the rest of my life, I will be able to vent my anger, and comfort my soul. Mr. Ambassador, I appeal to your sympathy for all the pain I have suffered, hope you can feed back and process my request.
Guo Qingyuan
1993.4.15
Address: 13 Huayuan Road, Beijiao, Beijing
Postal code: 100088
I’m now staying at home, and write something to record my thoughts, now I no longer go to work, if you have something to tell me, please feel free to call my home, 2025515. I hope you could give me all your help, thank you
