18，December, 1937
Today, when I passed through Ginling College to go to the safety zone, I saw crowded population was waiting in front of gate of the college. People were queuing for getting in. When I was curious why, I saw some people hold straw mat on hands and carried cotton quilt on their back, and some of them hold their children. My subconscious told me that those people were refugees. Then, I saw a lady who was organizing those refugees to come into the campus. I know she is an American missionary and now becomes a chairman of the Education Department of Ginling College. I have interviewed her for reporting her personal experience so we are familiar with each other. She saw me and I waved my hand to her through the crowd. She smiled back and beckoned me in.
“Sir, Could you help me? There are too many refugees, I have to ‘keep idlers out and let woman come in’[1].” She said quite quickly; I could see that she was very busy.
“Sure, Madam, what can I do for you?” I just realized that the people who could come in were only women and children.
“Actually, we had ‘persuaded the older woman to remain at home with their husbands and sons’[2] because our campus cannot provide any space to content those poor people anymore, even stairs and halls were too crowded to walk through. But those refugees’ husbands begged me to ‘just give them a place to sleep outside’ since even sixty-year-old women would be raped if they live at home. So, just help me to distinguish women from others, thanks.” She said in helpless voice.
I believe that it was not hard to distinguish women and children from others, because women have their own characteristics. But I was wrong because those women “had disguised themselves in every possible way-many had cut their hair, most of them had blackened their face, many were wearing men or boy’s clothes.”[3]
“Sir, How was the safety zone going on?” she asked to me because she knew I am recording the warfare.
“Madam, not quite well. More and more refugees come in, the safety zone has already too crowded, the supply of rice and coals are almost used up.” I told her the truth that all American missionaries are trying to seek for aids by sending telegrams to Japanese embassies and International Red Cross.
Christmas will come soon, people really need a warm place to celebrate and cheer. Actually, celebration and cheering are kind of luxury to Nanjing citizens now. They are experiencing the misery everyday; a safe place to sleep is the best Christmas gift for them!
After reading this article, I feel so sad about it. It seems like it brings me to that moment. I can see a lot of people waiting outside the college, and the depression came out from their eyes. The only thing they needed was to get in the college, and to gain a temporary safety. It is easy to understand why the women wore men’s cloths, and pretended to be men. They were afraid of being raped by the Japanese. They were so pathetic. If I were in that moment, I would try my best to help them. On the other hand, I also want to judge the Japanese to be so cruel to those innocent local people.
ReplyDelete