JAYSON B.

TIBAYAN

GE6 – PROF. ERIC SOTELO

Reflection on Japanese Colonization

The Japanese colonization and Manila Massacre in the Philippines. It shows the struggles and hardships
that the Filipinos went through under the hands of the Japanese. The violence and harassments of the
Japanese soldiers to many Filipinos both men and women lead many to their death. The destruction of
properties and other places in Manila brought our country’s economy down. Japan accepted the
surrender of the Philippines. But, as the occupation of the Philippine nation by Japan commenced, a
resistance movement was born among the defeated people. Americans are widely familiar with the
resistance movements in Europe, but very few are aware of this resistance of the Filipinos to the Japanese.
The Philippine resistance was also "the finest hour" for many Americans who did not surrender to the
Japanese but who took to the hills and joined the Filipino guerrillas who gathered to fight the Japanese.
As with many guerrilla resistance groups elsewhere in World War II, many of these units were led by
Americans. The Philippine resistance movement, however, gives us the first historical example of
Americans, military and civilian, organizing guerrilla units on a grand scale. It is unfortunate that some
children growing up the time the Japanese colonized our country had to witness the tragic event. Some of
them still lived to see this generation and some did not. The people who witnessed the event definitely
suffered so much back then and it still breaks their hearts whenever they tell others their stories during
the Massacre. This film gives people who watch it deep wounds in their hearts because it shows that we
are in our comfort zones today because of the sacrifices of our fellow Filipinos before. I learned that it is
not enough that we know and remember what happened during the Manila Massacre but it is a must that
we never forget them because it gives a reminder and encouragement to the people of our generation
that we are privileged that we did not experience what our fellow Filipinos experienced during Manila
Massacre. We should always be thankful and grateful to God and the people who died fighting for our
country. They might not have won immediately but they prevailed.