Raped Filipina Wants US Marines Dead

'Nicole' wants accused dead By JEFFERSON ANTIPORDA, The Manila Times Reporter "I want to kill them," said the complainant of the four accused in the Subic rape case. "I want to see them dead. They dishonored me." At the conclusion of her testimony on Thursday at the Makati Regional Trial Court, the complainant, identified only as Nicole to hide her true identity, said she was very angry with the accused for what they did and for the effects of the experience on her and her family. The 22-year-old native of Zamboanga City was responding to questions under direct examination conducted by Evalyn Ursua, a member of the private prosecution panel. "If only I had listened to my mother," she said, "this thing would not have happened." She recalled that on the morning of November 1, her mother called and told her to come home because the man hosting her and her stepsister at the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) could no longer guide them around. Nicole accused a US Marine, Lance Cpl. Daniel Smith, of sexually assaulting her in a moving van at the SBMA on the night of November 1. Three other US Marines are included in the charge sheet as co-conspirators—Staff Sgt. Chad Carpentier, Lance Cpl. Dominic Duplantis and Lance Cpl. Keith Silkwood. According to Nicole, life has never been the same again since that night. The experience affects her personality. She now avoids people for fear that they would look down on her. And she has lost her trusting nature because of what happened. Most of the time, she is confused and desperate. "It's too much [to bear]," she also said. "I wish I were dead." To questions propounded by her counsel, Nicole replied she had not gone back to her hometown since that fateful night and, therefore, lost a monthly income of P40,000 from her DVD rental business. And yet, she added, she was reluctant to look for a job in Manila, where she now stays, for fear of being recognized. She said she decided to sacrifice her relationship with her boyfriend. And despite the difficulties, she said, she is determined to pursue the case. "It is my dignity that is at stake," she added. Besides running the business, Nicole said, she also managed a family-owned café. With her away, her younger siblings had to take her place and as a result were often absent from school. Nicole felt guilty about being such a burden to the family. Her mother had resigned as a civilian supervisor in the Philippine Navy to assist her in the case and lend her moral support. Her brother did the same, rather than explain his many absences to his immediate superior. The family, she said, was forced to sell its land in Davao City to raise the money for the case. Dr. Raquel del Rosario Fortun, an expert in forensic medicine, had earlier testified that the injuries found on Nicole's body and genitals were consistent with allegations of rape. --- ###

Women's Anti-Imperialist League (WAIL)
Member, International League of Peoples Struggles

wailcentral@yahoo.com
The road to women's liberation lies through the terrain of the anti-imperialist struggle . -- WISAP2004