A book I cannot finish
----In Memory of Iris Chang (1968 - 2004)
One of history’s worst atrocities might have remained little more than a footnote had it not been for Iris Chang. Reader's Digest, Sept. 1998
For this coming Christmas, a 2-year-old boy will not receive any gifts from her mom. The mother, Iris Chang, killed herself on Nov. 11, 2004. Iris Chang is the author of Rape of Nanking, the forgotten holocaust of World War II. Ever since the book was published in 1997, she had been reportedly harassed and threatened by Jap rightists -- after decades, some people still want to deny the atrocities. And our haunted author paid precious price for telling the truth.
In December of 1937, the Jap army swept into the city of Nanking. Within six to eight weeks, they had massacred more than 300,000 civilians and raped 80,000 women. We all know the numbers from history books. However, it is so ironical that while Japanese are enshrining victims of atomic blast in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, we simply turn back to our nation’s wailing wall; It is more ironical while our kids in China are overwhelmingly embracing Japanese culture and fashion, Iris Chang, a second generation of Chinese immigrant raised in US, was dedicated to document the unfulfilled justice.
On Thursday, April 01, 2004, Iris Chang had a lecture at the Dallas Chinese Community Center. I missed it and believed I would be able to catch her next time. Now I found I could never make it up. It’s just another example of life’s uncertainty and vulnerability…
My friends, I am here to plead you to join me to pay a little tribute to Iris Chang and 300,000 victims of Nanking Massacre:
1. Please read Rape of Nanking, the forgotten holocaust of World War II. It won’t be pleasant to face such inhumanity committed by Jap. I was filled with disgust, anger and shame when reading the book. However, if Jap are still trying to whitewash the history, it’s our responsibility, as Chinese (or simply as human being), to rescue the victims from oblivion.
2. Please donate the book to your local public library. If the library has it already, donate her latest book The Chinese in America, a narrative history. I donated one to Richardson Public Library. Please let’s honor our author by making her books more accessible to the public.
Farewell, Iris Chang. The victims of Nanking Massacre and you will be remembered. May your soul rest in peace.
