DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. — Dozens gathered to see the unveiling of a controversial monument in Brookhaven Friday.
There are more than 50 “Comfort Women” memorials throughout the world. They serve as memorials to "comfort women and girls" from 13 different countries in the Asian pacific, who were trafficked and sexually enslaved by the armies of Japan during WWII.
The 9th “Comfort Women” statue in the U.S. was welcomed with a round of applause at Blackburn Park.
It was set to be placed outside of Atlanta’s Center for Civil and Human Rights but the center told the group they needed to back out, just 45 days before the groundbreaking.
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Brookhaven became the new home for the statue three months later. Their council voted unanimously last week to place it in Blackburn Park.
City leaders say they've received nearly 50 emails with complaints, but only one claims to actually live in Brookhaven. They say most of the emails come from Japan.
At the unveiling Friday, "Comfort Women" survivor Il Chul Kang spoke through a translator.
"This effort is to remember a horrific experience in human history and to serve as a reminder so it doesn't happen again. We try to remember what happened in the past to teach children so it doesn't happen again," she told the crowd.
The bronze and granite statue in Brookhaven is called the "Young Girl's Statue for Peace."