Comfort Women - LOLA DELA PAZ

FROM WAR, WITH LOVE
The World War 2 Comfort Women series

LOLA DELA PAZ was celebrating her 97th birthday when we walked in.

She immediately asked us to eat more of the food on the table. In their culture, a food offering is an act of love. As I sat down to eat, I saw all the generations in her family gathered together to celebrate her life. And I felt moved to offer to take a huge family photo for them. After a bunch of fun family photos, everyone started spontaneously singing happy birthday to her. It was such a beautiful, beautiful moment of love - that she started crying.
Tears of joy - so much that I cried too.

My heart was so moved by the beauty that sprung forth from her courage and healing. The creative lifeforce she carried forth after what has happened to her - to choose love and to have faith again - displayed so fully in the love and joy that I felt surrounding us in that powerful moment.
How would anyone dare to imagine - on that day that she was captured (23 November 1944) - that many many decades later - she would be surrounded by her future generations, blessed and celebrated?
God’s mercy is beautiful, and her strength equally moving.

As we started preparing for her portraits, her daughters started going around her - combing her hair, putting powder over her face, fixing her dress.

Words or images cannot convey the love and celebration that I felt in those moments. Only being there could’ve allowed one to experience that glory.
But here I try.

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