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Japanese Americans andthe struggle for

reparations / redress-A UNITY publicalion — November 1980 — 50c.

Introducing UNITYUNITY is a revolutionary newspaper published by the League of Revolutionary

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Ta b l e o f C o n t e n t sA history of the camps: Japanese American

i m p r i s o n m e n t d u r i n g W o r l d W a r I I 1

W i n d s — A p o e m 1 2

A revolutionary view of ther e p a r a t i o n s / r e d r e s s m o v e m e n t 1 7

I n t e r v i e w w i t h J i m M a t s u o k a 2 3

with no future. Thai's how tough thingswere for everybody. Multiply that by100,000.

My mom had a lough time coping. Shewas a traditional mother, was a houscwile,took carc of my sisters and myself. Herwhole world was gone. It was real hard tokeep tabs on me. 'cau.se 1 was running allover the camp. Once in a while she wouldjust break down and cry and give up.

UNITY: Wh) are y«»u fighting for rcpara-ti()it.H?

Jim: Well, when I think about all the peopletha t have su f fe red . . . t he re was a who le

generation of people that suffered terribly.These were people in high school, like mysister, who came out and had no opportunity at all. They had to immediately go towork at any job, and forfeit any chance atan education. She went to work as a nurse's

aide, and .she's still a nurse's aide. My othersister managed to work her way up to a dental assistant, but that's as far as she got. Notthat 1 think that mater ial achievement is themost important thing, but i really fell thatpeople were never able to reach the potential of what they really were, except in rareoccasions. Thank god forgardcning, but allthis human polcniial was never lapped on.In some cases it literally broke the economicback of the Issei generation, like my fatherfor example. I don't see my parents and mysisters as exceptional. They're representative of a very large segment of JapaneseAmerican society. They've adapted andsurvived, but (hey suffered a period of terrible cruelty, and it needs to be rcctifieci. Atfirst 1 questioned (he idea of direct monetary payments, but as 1 talk to more andmore Nisei, to them it's a given that thismust lake place or it's not justice. Apolo

gies aren't good enougii anj tnnre. A community fund is fiiic. they'll accept that too,but they also see monetary payments as being (he crux of this whole reparations thing.1 have to agree.

UNITY: How do >ou think the camps affected the desclopmeni of the community ?

Jim: Weil, after the war, the entire leadership of the community was destroyed, andthere was sort of a vacuum, there was nofocal point. What hapens is that we don'thave a very effective leadership speakingforihe Japanese community. I've been veryhappy to see ihedevelopmentofgroups thattry to speak on bchail of the segment of thecommunity that no one else has spoken forin the past, like LTPRO (Little Tokyo People's Rights Organization), who fights forthe average Joe.

UNITY: What do you think it will take toget reparations?Jim: It depends on the kind of reparationswe want. I think if it's simply a matter of asmall amount of money, something that'svery acceptable nationally, such as a mildapology and a small amount of money intoa community fund, the government may gowith it. After all, they would seem veryhypocritical ... we were hostages for 4years. Maybe they'll do that to salve theiro w n e m b a r r a s s m e n t — n o t t h e i r c o n

science. 1 have very little faith in theirc o n s c i e n c e .

But if it comes to a substantial monetarypayment, I think it's going to be a very difficult thing, and it's going to take a veryunited community effort and support byother segments of the minority communities in this country, plus many white peoplet h a t s e c i h e e r r o r s o f w h a t o c c u r r e d . L I

2 5

goin^ on too much. In some ways. I'or a.small child ihcre was a sense ol" liberuiionbecause you're away from ilie consirainlsih.u you .voo'd normally have. Bui one ofilie ilrngs wv «e'-e struck wiih was iheharshii' -s of tfc area we were pui in, Man-zanar. m's a .cri. The weather can beca-i''ric:oi>s and change quite radically andquickly. It might be a nice day, and the nextmiinne liave a raging sandstorm coming aiyon. it would become very, very cold andvery, very hot. The camps were quite primitive — straw mattresses, tar paper andboard - - that was about it. It was a jarringexperience, much more for (he older people.i Wl f ): How did it alieel ymir folks?

Jim: My father had been saving for years toreiiirn to.lapan ineomfori. Tiiai was a classic dream of a lot of t he immigrants, workhard in another country and maybe goback. He was liiiting his 50's. There wasreally notliing he could do when he got outol the camps. He tried to gel a scries of oddjobs and any type of labor that would comeup. All of our savings were frozen, and tothis day, we hardly gol a penny on it. It wasin Sumitomo, and the government seizedthat as enemy alien assets, and they wiped itoff the books. We still have the receipts, andthey're not any good. It's quite ironic whenyou .see Sumitomo Bank in business now —they didn't hurt too much. You wonderwhat the hell happened. Tho.se were his lifesavings. The furniture we had stored awaywas stolen, and we never saw it again. Sowhen we came out, it was just as bad as being in. We lived in a trailer camp for 2 to 3years in Long Beach. Nothing but Japanese. These aren't the fancy trailers youthink about. These were dingy, little, greytrailers. They didn't even have a john. You

had to use a communal john. Really smalland cramped. When we would go to school,and the teacher would say, why don't youdraw your house, all the kids from thetrailer camps would draw these pitiful littletrailers. All the white kids would be drawingthese nice houses. It was a rugged time righta f t e r t he wa r.

LI^ITY: What did ynur dad do before thecamps?

Jim: He worked in a drugstore as a handyman. He never did have a really good job.But if he was not employed too well beforethe war, he was downright unemployableafter the war. He never caught on how tospeak English. All he had was his labor, andas he got older, that became very expendable, of lililc use, I used to run into him inJ-Town quite a bit at one of these hiringhalls, see liim silling there all day. I ihougiiihe just weni there to hang out, but he wasreally looking for a job. And there wasreally noilijng for him to go home to — helived in Hiroshima, which got blown apart.Believe it or not, as poor as wc were, wewere sending food packages to Japan.Things were really rough.

Everyone has their own horror story, anda lot of limes they don't come out until youreally begin to know people. What's worsethan sitting one evening with a bunch ofNisei and getting bummed out, so we don'tevenialk about it. Sit around and talk aboutbowling and everything else. But right now,the reason wc want to bring it out, is wethink wccandosomelhingaboui thisihing.Don't let them get away with it.

On a relative scale, 1 didn'l see myself asbeing any worse off than a lot of other people. It was quite common that we lost all ourmoney and our furniture, and came out

A history of the camps:Japanese American imprisonment

during World War IIDuring World War li over 120,000 Japa

nese, three-fourths of whom were U.S. citizens, were forcibly removed from the WestCoas t and he rded i n to i n l and concen t ra t i on

camps. No other event in the lOO-ycar history of Japanese in this country has hadsuch a shattering impact. Communities werelorn asunder, families separated and property seized — all under the guise of "militarynecessity." The concentration camps haveleft many scars — emotional suffering, asense of unfounded guilt, and loss of identity and pride in being Japanese.

Among Japanese Americans today, thecamps still weigh heavily on people's minds.Wide-ranging opinions continue to existabout why the incarceration ever occurred.Was it just racist hysteria? Was it to protectJapanese from racist mobs? What has beenthe impact of the incarceration upon theJapanese people today? A fuller understanding of these years is necessary in orderto build greater unity and strengthen thestruggle for the rights of Japanese people.

Early Japanese history in the U.S.In order to understand how the camps

ever could have happened in the first place,we must look back upon the history of Japanese people prior to World War II.

The first point of entry was Hawaii, whichhad been colonized by U.S. capitalists. In1868 a group of Japanese contract laborers

3,000 Japanese and Filipino sugar plantat i o n w o r k e r s w e n t o u t o n s t r i k e i n 1 9 2 0 f o rbetter wages.

2 4 1

Japanese lumber team. Tacoma. Washington, 1910.

arrived to work the sugar and pineappleplantations. Alter the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act, the U.S. capitalists, looking lor anew source of cheap labor, pressured theJapanese governmem to allow its workers toemigrate.

The early immigrants came over mainly ascontract laborers and worked as migrantfarm workers in the fields, orchards andvineyardsof the West Coast. Others workedon section gangs on the railroad lines of theGreat Northern Pacific and Central Pacificor in the Alaskan canneries, and the copperand coa l mines o f Utah and Colorado.These workers were greatly exploited by the

capitalists. For example, Japanese railroadworkers on the Northern Pacific labored inthe bitter cold for less than $1 a day.

Together with the labor of other Asianpeoples and Chicanos and Mexicans, Japanese labor contributed to the rapid growthof the nation's agricultural industry andother important areas of the economy. I hcwealth created by Japanese and other laborers contributed to the overall growth andconsolidation of U.S. monopoly capitalismin the late 1800's.

But while this backbreaking labor helpedbuild this country, Japanese faced economicexploitation, hostility, violence and rejee-

out how Japane.se language and culture wererestricted both in the camps and in the education system today, where JapaneseAmerican history is covered up.

Outside the commission hearings, thereshould be informational leafleting andpicketing to inform the public about thetnilitani call for reparations and redress.

These actions actions at the commissionhearings reinforce the need to rely on masssupport to win the demand for reparations/redress. It's important for the massesto participate in the campaign, to train themto organize and realize their collective power.

Becau.se the commission hearings are justa stopgap measure without any guarantee ofgranting reparations and redress, the movement must continue to build mass support,

investigate legislative and legal chatmcls tocontest the evacuation, and raise the demand for reparations/redress.

The Japane.se people are a proud andrevolutionary people with a rich history ofstruggle. The reparat ions/redress movement brings out these qualities, galvanizesthe people into a potent political force, andlays the foundation for future struggles toachieve full equality and political power forthe oppressed Japanese national minority,

Fight National Oprcssion, Support theDemand for Keparalions/ Redress!

Build the Unity of the .lupanese NationalM o v e m e n t !

Fight for Full Kqitalily and politicalP o w e r !

I n t e i r i e ww i t hJ i m M a t s u o k a

Jim Matsuoka is a longtime activist in theLos Angeles Japanese American community. He is the assistant director of thespecial education program at CaliforniaState Uiiiverstiy. Long Beach.

UNITY: What was your experience with thecamps?

.liin: I w.Tspui into the camps whcti I was sixvca isok l .and 11ca l lv d idn ' t know w hat was

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With in the un i ted f ron t , commun is tshave a duty to put forth their ideas on howto best organize the campaign, how to raiseour demands in the boldest, sharpest wayand educate broadly about our views. Communists must put forward concrete proposals which correctly assess the state of themovement and guide it in a revolutionaryd i r e c t i o n .

In addition to work in the united front,communists have a responsibility to conductindependent education and organizingamong workers, students, small shopkeepers and professionals, and to draw out theadvanced elements. Thus, the League will beconducting workshops and providing materials such as this pamphlet which explain ourviews on the significance and direction of thereparations/redress movement.

Commission hearingsOne of the questions facing the repara

t i o n s / r e d r e s s m o v e m e n t i s w h a t s t a n d t otake regarding the Commission on WartimeR e l o c a t i o n a n d I n t e r n m e n t o f C i v i l i a n swhich was authorized by a congressionalbill passed in August 1980. The seven-member commission, which will be appointed by the President and Congress, ismandated to conduct "fact finding" hearings in 15 cities. It is supposed to determinewhether an injustice was committed andwhether monetary compensation is necessary. The Commission has one year to makea report and can recommend legislation toCongress. Hearings are expected to startafter January 1981.

There has always been divided opinionaround the hearings. Some people feel thatthe hearings are just a farce and a waste oft ime. Others fee l that the commiss ion hear

ings could be used to educate about the

c a m p s .There is validity to both positions. The

League did not support the commission billbecause we fell it was important to demanda direct reparations bill instead of letting thegovernment off the hook with a fact-findingstudy. Time is running out for many of theelderly Issei and Nisei. The commission delays, by at least one more year, the possibility of attaining some reparations.

However, the commission is now a reality,and the U.S. Congress will not consider anyother redress bills until after the hearings.We must judge whether what we do with thehearings can advance the long-term interestsof the reparations/redress movement;whether organizing around the hearings canbuild up the strength of the working cla.ssforces in the Japanese national movement.With this context in mind, the League encourages p rogress ives and ac t i v i s ts toorganize for the hearings and to present amilitant call for reparations and redress.

Whi le we have no i l lus ions that the commission will grant all our demands, the hearings can be used as a forum for the militant,progressive sentiments of the masses.Within the hearings, we should encouragetestimony from people of various generations and backgrounds to show the broadunity for reparations and redress. This testimony should expose the government's complicity with the military and the capitalists(primarily large agricultural and fishing interests) who wanted the Japanese removedfrom the West Coast out of greed and racialhatred. We should indict the governmentfor destroying Japanese communities byforced removal and expose how the destruction continues today with government-backcapitalist redevelopment projects in LittleTokyo and Nihonmachi. We want to bring

tion. They suffct-d all round oiipr.sslon.Japanese were scorned by labor unions,though many Japanese fought militanlly tobetter the lives of working people. Ja. .mesechildren were not allowed to go to publicschools. 1 he media was constantly attackingand degrading Japanese people.

Years later, even Japanese Americanswho had a college degree could not findwork in the civil service or in other professions. Other Japanese commonly worked infarming or in service industries as gardeners, housekeepers and other occupations.

Because of segregation and hostility,Japanese established Nihonmachis orJapantowns for mutual support. The largest Japanese communities were in San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Jose and Sacramento in California, and in Portland andS e a t t l e . A l l f a c e t s o f l i f e r e v o l v e d a r o u n dthe community. Different kenjinkai orprefectural associations, cultural associat i o n s a n d t h e B u d d h i s t c h u r c h e s k e p tc u l t u r a l t r a d i t i o n s a l i v e i n a h o s t i l e l a n d .

Many Japanese communities had their ownpress which was the sole source of news tomost Issei. Little Tokyo and Nihonmachibecame home for thousands of migrantmale farm workers. Barber shops, restaurants, bath houses, hotels, small cafes andnomiya (bars) catered to the needs of theJapanese workers. In addition, legal andm e d i c a l s e r v i c e s w e r e a v a i l a b l e f o r

Japanese who would often journey in fromthe rural and outlying areas.

Japanese developed into an oppressednational minority, restricted and exploitedeconomically, socially and politically. Theywere prevented from gaining any footholdin this country. Japanese tilled the land butwere barred from owning it. They settledhere t o l i ve bu t we ren ' t a l l owed t o become

cuizens. And when they began to sink roots,the doors to further immigration wereslammed shut by the Japanese ExclusionAct o f 1924. Over 500 p ieces o f an t i -Japanese legislation were eventuallypassed. The fervent hope of the capitalistswas that the Japanese, limited in numbersand restricted from having families, wouldeventually die out, saving the West Coastfor the whi te race.

R e s i s t a n c e

Japanese struggled against innumerableodds to secure a decent life for their familiesand future generations. The fact that Japanese people continued to grow and developis testimony to the strength and enduranceof the first generation Issei who faced adaily struggle to survive.

But Japanese did more than overcomehardships on an individual basis. They organized to fight for a better life for themselves and other oppressed people and theworking class as a whole. Japanese werevery active in the labor movement from thevery beginning. In the sugar cane and pineapple plantations of Hawaii on through theheroic battles in the fields of California, likethe famous 1903 Oxnard sugar beet strike,Japanese have responded to injustice withcourage and determined struggle. They organized into the Alaskan Cannery WorkersU n i o n a n d i n t h e c o a l m i n e s o f C o l o r a d o .Siiiiic Japanese weie pan of ilie lamoiism i n e w o i k e i s s i i i k e i h a i l e d n > t h e h n n a iL u d l o w M a s s a c r e o f 1 9 1 4 . I n t h e c o m m u -

^nity, too, Japanese fought for their right to'unionization, such as in the 1931 Nichi BeiTimes strike. Japanese trade unionists andcommunists helped establish unions in theLos Angeles produce markets and among

2 2 3

Yoshida family. Pile, Wast7inglon, 1909

r e t a i l c l e r k s .

Many licroes stepped forward from (hestruggles of Japanese here in this country.Sen Katayama, one of the founding members of the Communist Party, USA and al e a d e r o f t h e C o i n i n u n i s t I n t e r n a t i o n a ! o fthe 1930's, was active organizing labor andsocialist groups among the Japanese in theU.S. Jack Shirai, a New York restaurantworker, joined the Abraham Lincoln Brigade and gave his life fighting the fascists inSpain.

Japanese also produced revolutionaryand progressive newspapers like the RodoShinhun (iabirr newspaper) in San Fran

cisco and the Doha (Brotherhood), an anti-Japanese militarism newspaper published inLos Angeles.

B e f o r e t h e W a r

In 1940, there were approximately130,000 Japanese living in the U.S. Eighty-five percent were concentrated on the WestCoast. Almost.half of the Japanese had Jobsrelated to agriculture, primarily as tenantfarmers or sharecroppers, although therewere about 1,600 small Japanese-ownedfarms. Though Japanese owned very littleland (held in the name of the American-born Nisei because of the Alien Land Laws),

m

Utile Tokyo People's Rights Organization in Los Angeles is one ol several communitybased mass organizations fighting for rights of Japanese people. {UNITYphoto)

against the government. The formation ofthe National Coalition for Redress I Reparations (NCRR) is an attempt to bring together all the organized forces in the reparations I redress movement such as the JACL,the National Council for Japanese American Redress, LTPRO, JCPA, the Asian/Pacific Student Union and others . As a network of local organizations, the NCRR istrying to unite around the demands forindi-vidual monetary payment, a communitytrust fund and overturning the SupremeCourt decisions, as well as supporting otherstruggles for reparations and educating thepublic about the camps.

At the same time, the different class backgrounds of groups and individuals in thereparations/redress movement gives rise to

varying perspectives and approaches tomounting the campaign. Because of theJACL's petty bourgeois leadership, theytend to direct the reparations/redress campaign at winning the acceptance of the politicians and government leaders. This isbecause their class outlook on fighting national oppression is based on accommodating the capitalist .system. The League andothers disagree with this approach and,while utilizing support from progressive legislators, will rely mainly on building masssupport to win reparations/redress. Thesedifferences, rooted in class outlook, must beresolved around concrete issues and with the

long-term interests of the masses in mind.Thus, the relationship of the groups shouldbe one of unity-struggle-unity.

4 21

L'Diiiiecis up wiih Ihc working class inovc-ineni, ilie ruling class — reeling il>e licai —musi decide whciher and when lo gramI hese dj-'mands or face an even grcaiei socialuplieaval.

riie siruggie tor a relorin such as l epaia-lions/redress musi be led in a revoluiionaiyway, Communisis niusi organi/e ihe masseslo I'ighi iniiiiamly, persevere ihrougli iwisisand iiirns, and ediicaie aboul ilic need lorsoc ia l is i revo lu i ion . Whi le re t 'o rms areimporlani and can improve (he lives ol.lapane.se people, reforms alone caiinoichange (he basic inequaliiy of (he .lapanesepeople wliich is mainiained by (he monopoly capilalisis as a source of superprofils.This inequality can be seen in ihe fact thatJapanese at all levels of education still earnless than whites. Many Japanese are still restricted to certain occupations such as warehouse work, restaurant work, gardeningand lower level clerical work.

In explaining why Japanese are lightingfor reparations/redress, we need to bringout why and how Japanese are an oppressednational minority. Wc need to explain howJapanese can achieve true equality and political power through socialisi revolution —wliere the basic exploitation of one classover another is eliminated, and lite equalityof nationalities is established.

Building a united front to winreparat ions/redress

The best way to fight for full equality andto win reparations / redress is to build abroad united front witliin the Japanese na-lionai minority. Because national oppression affects various classes and sectors of theJapanese people, it draws these differentforces into motion against national oppression. Thus, the united front is an objective

alignment of classes and sectors, developedover a period of lime, which can be weldedtogether to light national oppression.

Within the united front, wc must rely onthe working class and lower petty bourgeoisie who are mosi severely affected by national oppression and who have taken themost eonsislcni and militant stands againstnational oppression. The petty bourgeoisie,wliieh includes professionals, small mer-elianis and others, can be won over to theside of the working class and arc poiciiiialailiesof the working class. Only a imy luind-fiil of people within ihe Japanese naiioiialminority hold inieresls contrary lo ihcmajoriiy of Japanese Amerieans and alignihenisclxes wi th ihc monopoly capi ia l is iclass.

Wi i l im Ihc repara i ions / redress movement, specifieally, there siiould be a unitedfront to unite all who can be united to support ihe demands. This, again, will includepeople from differeni classes and seciors.fhere arc currently a number ol giou|sswhich have been participating m the rcpaia-uonsiredress movemem. and i l icy ic l lccidifferent class backgrounds and inicicsis.1 here IS the Japanese American C'ni/cnsl.cague (JACL), a national civil ngliisorgaiii/aiion. which is dommaied by middleand upper pelly bourgeois elements. I hereare also conirniiniiy-based mass orgam/a-iHiMs such as the Little Tokyo People'sRights Organization (Ll'PRO) and ihcJapanese Community Progressive Alliance(JCPA) which are rooted among workers,students and .small shopkeepers.

Korging unity between all lite groups mthe reparations/redress movemem anuindcommon principles would be u positive stepforward for the Japanese national movement and would provide a strong offense

due to their long hours of labor and iniro-dueing advanced agricultural techniques,ihcy controlled 35"/o of the comincrcialtruck crops in California, and in some cropslike strawberries, ihcy had a monopoly.Japanese also played a major role in the fishing industry. Because of their success, whiteagricultural and fishing interests wereh o s t i l e .

Pear l Harbor and I ts a f termath

Internationally, the late 1930's saw theCiernian and Italian laseisis consolidatingtheir power ilnoiighoui liurope. AlreadyAu.siria, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Pranceand hihiopia had fallen victim to the fascists' expansion. In Asia, Japan's invasionol China was followed by the i94l scizureofIndochina, ihen undei Prench crrlomai rule.

Japan, unoiiposed by lite Western powers, grew nunc and move bold. 1 he U.S. andother Western Liiropean countries hadwaited, hoping ihai (iermany and Japanwould saiisly ilicn appeiiies. but litis policyitl appeasement was lo no avail. Besides,ccnain U.S. capiialisis wcic more thanhappy to siippK llic laseisis with wcaptmsand oil and did so until only momhs beforeP e a r l H a r b o r .

By Ihc fall ol 1941. wai beiwecn the U.S.and Japan seemed likely. By September,U.S. mielhgence had decoded a messagefrom Tokyo lo ihe Japanese Consulate inHawaii lor detailed informaiion aboul null-lary vessels in Pearl Harbor. I he U.S. gtiv-ernineni knew that an attack on Pearl Harbor was imminent, yet n did noihmg to prevent thousands of people, including manyJapanese Americans, from being killed.

Hours after the Pearl Harbor bombing,I he PBI swarnicd down on all Japanese eom-muniiies and arrested 1,51H) Issei. Phey in

cluded Buddhist ministers, language teachers, cultural arts instructors, officers invarious community organizations and editors of Japanese newspapers. There were noconvictions of espionage, but some of thesemen were separated from their families formonths, even years, imprisoned in specialJusicc Department detention camps, Theylater rejoined their families who were behindbarbed wired encampments,

Japanese Amencan fishermen were rest rieied from going out in then bouts; theirwives were barred from their jobs at the localcanneries. Although there were many Italians working alongside Ihc Japanese, ihcywere allowed to remain on their jobs. Manyother Japanese were immediately fired fromtheir jobs, and businesses owned by Japanese, especially in rural areas, were terror-

Al l Japanese torcibly evacuated bad towear idenfilicalion lags.

2 0 5

ized by shootings and vandalism. Profits inthe produce industry alone fell 50% in oneyear, and insurance companies canceled ormarked up rates to Japanese policy holders."Jap liuniing licenses" were sold and displayed on cars, and Japanese were evendenied treatment in hospitals. Later, therewere proposals in the legislatures to stripNisei of citizenship, deport all Japanese andsterilize all Japanese women.

Many people began the painful task of destroying cultural objects like family shrines,dolls, books in Japanc.sc, swords, Japaneseclothing, cooking ulcn.sils and even lettersfrom family back in Japan. These and otherinnocent items were confiscated by the FBI,who wou ld come unannounced , searchw i t h o u t w a r r a n t s a n d s o m e t i m e s t a k e t h ehead of household for questioning.

Repression against Japanese look otherforms — bank accounts were frozen, "contraband" such as radios was seized, curfews were establ ished and f reedom to t ravel

was limited. These were all signs that theU.S. government viewed Japanese in theU.S.. regardless of citizenship, as enemies.

Within the Japanese community, therewas much anxiety and tension. No oneknew what wasgoing to happen next. ManyNisei and Issei protested the racist restrictions placed on the Japanese. A Nisei floristin San Francisco, James Omura, testifiedbefore the Toland Hearings, a Congressional "fact finding" committee to determine whether evacuation was necessary.Omura pleaded for fair treatment, "1would l ike to ask the Commit tee — Has the

Gestapo come to America? Have we notrisen in righteous anger at Hitler's mistreatment of the Jews? Then is it not incongruous that citizen Americans of Japanese descent should be similarly mistreated and per

secuted?" Another Nisei, Joe Kurihara, attended a Japanese American CitizensLeague (JACL)-sponsored meeting, "witha firm determination to join the committeerepresenting the Nisei and carry the fight tot h e b i t t e r e n d . " B u t J A C L l e a d e r s e n c o u r

a g e d n o n - r e s i s t a n c e . O t h e r s , s u c h a sMinoru Yasui in Yakima, Washington, andGordon Hirabayashi in Oakland, California, v io lated the curfew orders and theevacuation order to protest their violationsof civil liberties. Other protests were moretragic. One Issei man chose suicide ratherthan be imprisoned. Another Issei whok i l l e d h i m s e l f w a s f o u n d w i t h h i s W o r l dWar I service medals and discharge papersc lu tched in h is hands .

Although many resented the government's restrictions, there were few organized protests. The organized leadership ofthe community, the Issei, had already beenlocked up and sent away to Lord.sburg,New Mexico, and Crystal City, Texas, andother Justice Department camps.

With the vacuum in leadership and thetremendous pressure placed upon the Japanese to prove their loyalty, the JACL, apredominantly Nisei organization formedin the I930's, rose to prominence. TheJACL opposed discrimination by protesting the 1939 Alien Fishing Bill and others,but their emphasis was always to get Niseiinto establ ished American inst i tut ions byrejecting anything Japanese to "prove"they were 200% American. Although therehave always been, and remain today, militant fighters and progressives within theJACL, the leadership has always beenaccommodationists seeking to win favorwith the U.S. government. To illustrate thelengths to which the leadership cooperatedwith the government, Mike Masaoka, a

composed of activists of all ages workingtogether to reclaim the dignity and pride ofJapanese people.

How the League views the demandfor reparations and redress

The demand for reparations/redress is abattle for a reform, a partial demand which,while not directly challenging the rule of themonopoly capitalists, would strike a blowagainst the imperialist system and enableJapanese Americans to win concrete improvements in their lives and community.While reparations can never fully repay theJapanese for the suffering and losses causedby the camps, Japanese are entitled to suefor damages when falsely accused and imprisoned. Reparations could help Japanesecommunities build new, low-cost housing toenable ihou,sands of Japanese who wereevicted and forced out by government-backed capitalist redevelopment to return totheir historical, geographical communities.It could benefit the elderly Issei and Nisei,many of whom are in poverty. There is aneed to fund services and programs whichcan educate about the camps and similar instances of oppression.

The call for reparations and redress isespecially urgent because so many of theIssei have already passed away. Many Ni-seiarc fast approaching retirement. Issei andNisei have cried out for reparations/redressmilhantly, because as the victims of thecamps they deserve priority in gettingcompensation.

But how can Japanese expect to win thisdemand? What kind of leadership shouldcommunists give to the struggle?

Winning reparations and redress will takea protracted struggle. The government is noteven willing to admit it acted unjustly, much

"■ - - j ; .■ '-'•i '

• y

Manzanarpilgrimage. 1980. (UNITY photo)

less grant compensation. The governmentwill cling to its position that the camps werea "wartime necessity" and try to absolveitself of all responsibility. Only masspressure can force the government to give into the people's demand for justice andcompensation.

Nor are Japanese Americans alone in thisfight. Within the U.S. today, many oppressed nationalities, Blacks, ChicanosandNative Americans, are putting forth theirclaims for land, reparations and politicalpower — all directed at the U.S. government and monopoly capitalists. As the workdevelops between these movements and

6 19

issue for many years. We helped plan and 'build for the first pilgrimages to Tule Lakeand Manzanar concentration camps. TheLeague supports the reparations/redressmovement because it is part of the fightagainst national oppression, part of thestruggle against the monopoly capitalistclass, which exploits and oppresses the majority of people in the U.S.

The struggle for reparations/redress ispart of the Japanese people's fight for fullequality and political power — demandswhich spring forth from their conditions ofexploitation and restriction as an oppressednational minority in the U.S. As communists, we recognize the special demands of theoppressed nationalities, take up strugglearound these demands and bring them before the entire multinational working classin order to build the strategic alliance between the working class and the oppressednationality movements. This alliance is crucial to waging a socialist revolution in theU . S .

Within the Japanese national minority,the issue has special significance. There hasalways been divided opinion and conflictingviews about the cause and impact of thecamps. The bourgeoisie likes to promote theviews of sellouts like Senator S.I. Hayakawawho maintains that the camps were for theprotection of the Japanese and that ithelped them get out of West Coast ghettos.This view of the Japanese people as passive,quiet Americans who have "made it" runscounter to reality — to the fact that over the•years thousands of Japanese fought againstthe inequalities they faced. It ignores thefact that today Japanese people still sufferfrom restrictions in Job opportunities, immigration harassment and a destructivepolicy of forced assimilation and inte

gration.The reparations/redress campaign is a

good opportunity to refute incorrect viewsand unite people around the true history ofJapanese Americans. This history brings outthe criminal nature of the capitalist systemand the hypocrisy of U.S. democracy.

The reparations/redress campaign canraise the political consciousness of the Japanese national movement. It can rally together the progressive and revolutionaryforces and strengthen the masses' confidence and ability to organize collective resistance. In the reparations/redress movement today, the National Coalition forRedress / Reparations is drawing together activists from throughout California, thePacific Northwest, Chicago, New York andNew England. People are coming togetherto hammer out a common strategy for winning reparations/redress. All four generations of Japanese and even new immigrantsare working and uniting together and learning from each other. This reinforces a pridein Japanese identity and culture and builds aconsciousness of a people fighting for theirrights.

Reparations and redress is a demandwhich taps the democratic aspirations of theJapanese masses. It is a call for justice, forv i n d i c a t i o n a n d r e t r i b u t i o n f o r a m a s s i v eand blatant violation of the rights of a wholenationality.

For many years, Japanese have kept thebitterness deep within their hearts, perhapsfearful that the government would singlethem out again for imprisonment; individually each of them has had to continue tofight national oppression as a struggle torebuild their lives. Today there is a new spiritmoving throughout the Japanese community, a new call for unity, a new movement

prominent JACL leader, desperately proposed that the Issei be held as hostagesw h i l e t h e N i s e i f o r m a s u i c i d e b a t t a l i o n t o

fight overseas.Another force in the community which

could have provided leadership in this timeof cr is is were the communists who had been

organizing among the produce, fishing andcannery workers. But the official Party position on the camps was an open endorsemento f t he evacua t i on done i n t he name o f t heUnited Front Against Fascism. The CPUSAwas correct in joining the internationalunited front which was called by the Communist International (Comintern), but anumber of deviations in the Party led it tomake a serious error around the camps.Chauvinism within the Party and their lackof understanding the national oppression ofJapanese in the U.S. led them to make nodistinction between the Japanese imperialists and Japanese and Japanese Americanworking people. The CPUSA expelled alltheir Japanese cadre, estimated at over onehundred, except for one or two Japanesecadre who were close to the leadership.

The second error made by the Party wasthe liquidation of the independent work. Inthe united front, the Party promoted all unity and no struggle with the U.S. bourgeoisie.The revisionist line of Earl Browder, chairman of the CPUSA, promoted class collabora t i on . B rowder c la imed tha t t he U .S . wasnot imperialist but still "progressive."Thus, the Party urged the working class toally with the U.S. monopoly capitalists onthe sacrifice of the rights of the Japanesepeople. The CPUSA also liquidated its communist work in the trade unions, dissolved its organizing within the military andlost its ability and desire to propagate communist views among the masses. The incor

rect policy of the CPUSA which sold out theJapanese masses caused many Party sympathizers to abandon their support.

Faced with the threat of military force,the community, disarmed and misled, hadl i t t le choice but to submi t to the evacuat iono r d e r s .

Preparation for evacuationThe forced removal of 110,000 Japanese

from the West Coast, and the deportationof another 10,000 Japanese from Mexico,C e n t r a l a n d S o u t h A m e r i c a t o b e i n c a rcerated in the U.S. did not happen overnight. Nor was it simply an act of racisthysteria.

In an highly organized campaign, the military, government officials, politicians, anti-Japanese groups and economic interests alla b e t t e d o n e a n o t h e r.

The military was in desperate need of ascapegoat to take the heat for being caught"offguard" at Pear l Harbor. What bet terexcuse than to cry out "sabotage" and"fifth column." The Navy and Army leaders were the firs t to come out wi th ins inuations and outright lies. On December-15,1941, Secretary of the Navy Frank Knox saidat a widely publicized news conference, "It h i n k t h e m o s t e f f e c t i v e fi f t h c o l u m n w o r kof the ent ire war was done in Hawaii ." General DeWitt, Army commander of the Western Defense Zone, declared, "The Japaneseis an enemy race, and while many secondand third generation Japanese born onUnited States soil, possessed of U.S. citizenship, have become 'Americanized,' ther a c i a l s t r a i n s a r e u n d i l u t e d . . . . I t t h e r efore follows that along the vital PacificCoast over 112,000 potential enemies ofJapanese extraction are at large today."

The suspicion cast upon the Japanese was

18 7

just the green light needed by the regionalforces on the West Coast who had wantedthe "Japs" thrown out all along. Encouraged by government and military information, the Hearst newspapers, famous fortheir "yellow journalism," and other newspapers and columnists began propagatinganti-Japanese stories. Headlines like "JapBoat Flashes Message Ashore," printed inthe L .A . Times , were to ta l fab r i ca t ionsused to fan up racism against the Japanese.

The government, via the congressionalhearings of the Toland Committee, gave anopen forum to the military and agriculturalin terests l ike the Farm Bureau and react ion

ary groups like the American Legion. Congressman Martin Dies, chairman of theH o u s e C o m m i t t e e o n U n - A m e r i c a n A c t i v i

ties, joined in the clamor for the removal of

Manzanar concentration camp, 1942.

the Japanese with accusations of Japaneseespionage in America.

The government never played a neutralrole in the planning for evacuations. FBI,Army and Navy surveillance of Japanese inHawaii and the mainland had been going onfor close to a decade with detailed reportsgoing into Washington about the structureof Japanese communities, leaders and sentiment of various segments in relation toJapan. But President Roosevelt was not satisfied with the findings and appointed a"Special Representative of the State Department" to get a precise picture of thedegree of loyalty of Japanese in Hawaii andt h e m a i n l a n d ' s We s t C o a s t .

The investigation by Special InvestigatorCurtis Munson, carried out in October andNovember 1941, certified a great degree ofloyalty to the U.S. among the Japanese.This report, which reached the same conclusion as the investigation by the FBI andNaval Intelligence, was not made public andseemed to have been purposely disregarded.

On February 19, 1942, President Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066 whichauthorized the forced removal of all personsof Japanese ancestry living on the WestCoast. Rallying behind the "military necessity" excuse. Congress approved the evacuat ion unan imous ly. The Supreme Cour talso bowed to the wartime powers of thePresident and sanctioned the curfew orders,expulsion and incarceration. So while theU.S. was making a big hue and cry aboutfighting against fascism and defending democracy overseas, within its own bordersthe most basic constitutional rights wereabruptly swept aside. The right to a trial,presumption of innocence before guilt, freedom of speech and assembly, etc., were justhollow words when it came to an oppressed

Commentary

A revolutionary viewof the reparations/redress movement

Thiriy-cighi years ago, Japanese people inthe U.S., both ci t izens and nonci i izens,were subjected to one of the most cruel andoutrageous acts of national oppre.ssion everperpetiated upon a people. Over 110,(10(1Japanese living on the West Coast were forcibly removed under military order andshipped to race tracks and fairgroundswhich were converted into assembly centers.Months later, they were moved once againto dusty desert camps or to lemote mountain areas wlieie they spent nearly four yearsb e h i n d b a r b e d w i r e .

Mtllion.s of dollars in property, possessions and businesses were stolen. ManyJapanese lost thetr lives in the harsh camps;o t h e r s s u l f e r e d s e v e r e t l l n e s s a n d m e n i a l

anguish from the incarceratton. It was ane v e n t t h a i f o i e v e r a l t e r e d t h e c o u r s e o f

Japanese people by destroying their communities and dispersing them throughoutthe country.

Many Americans are still unaware ofthese events because the ruling ela,ss. themonopoly capitalists, have tried to bury thisepisode of U.S. iiisiory. "fhey have tried tod i s m i s s t i a s a " m i s t a k e . " B u i t h e f o r c e dremoval and iiiearceration of the Japanesew a s n o m o r e a ■" m i s t a k e " t h a n t h e f o r c e dmarches of the Native American peoplesonto government resei vaitons in the 1800's,or the deportation of thousands of Chieanoa n d M e x i c a n f a r m w o r k e r s i n C a l i f o r n i a

during the 1930's. All these events are linkedtogether, stamped with the mark of nationaloppression.

The late 1960's witnessed a new generation of progressives and revolutionaries inthe Japanese national movemenl who haveraised the issue of the camps and havehelped bring about increasing awarenessabout the incarceration of the Japanese. Today there is a new upsurge of activity in theJapanese national movement. Japanesepeople are standing up and demanding thatthe U.S. government admit its wrongdoing— that it unjustly imprisoned Japanese,denied them basic c iv i l l iber t ies and causedsevere damage to the Japanese conimitnity.This demand for redress, righting a wrong,is accompanied by a call for reparations —monetary compensation for losses and suffering caused by the incarceration.

Significance of tfiereparations/redress movement

The League of Revolutionary Struggle(M-L), a multinational communist organization, supports the hundreds of thousandsof Japanese Americans in their demand forreparations and redress. The League has along history of work tn the Asian and Japanese national movements as I Wor Kuen andHast Wind Organization, Matiyofourcadreand supporters have been conducting education and organizing around the camps

8 17

elude loss of income and educational opportunities, nor damages for loss oflife andpsychological trauma.

Perhaps the most damaging effect of thecamps was the ideological impact. Culminating 60 years of vicious anti-Japanese attacks and discrimination, the camps e.xperi-ence brought tremendous pressure to bearupon Japanese. Japanese were cruellyforced to reject anything "Japanese" and to"prove loyalty" by accepting imprisonmentand by volunteering for the Army. Even thequestionnaires Japanese had to Ilii out forleave clearance as they left the camps asked,"Will you assLsi in the general resettlementprogram by slaying away from large groupsof Japanese? Will you try to develop suchAmerican habits which will cause you to bea cce p te d r e a d i l y i n t o Am e r i ca n so c i a lgroups?

The camps period saw assimilation andintegration being pushed onto Japanese as afalse solution to their oppression — as a wayto survive in this society. Many Japanese resisted this pressure. In the course of rebuilding their lives, they struggled individuallyand collectively against inequalities on thejob. in housing and education. J'rogressiveNisei continued to organize even during theMcCarthy era.

Some Japanese mistakenly believed thattheii concentration in communit ies alongthe West Coast, a condition imposed by segregation, allowed them to be singled out andimprisoned, and that Japanese were tooclannish and should adopt "Americanways." if they dispersed, they felt, whitesociety would be more amenable to absorbing them.

This arguincnt is based on the racistassumption that Japanese are inferior and, ifcarried out, ultimately could help lead to the

total disappcaranccolThe Japanese nationalminority with its distinct culture, language,historical experience and physical communities. Already today, due to the camps, redevelopment and assimilation, Japanese arewidely dispersed and the intermarriage ralefor Japane.se has steadily increased to thepoint where today, over 50% of the thirdgeneration Japanese marry outside of theirnationality.

T h e W o r l d W a r I I i n c a r c e r a t i o n w a s n oaccident of history but the outcome of acentury of national oppression of Japanesein the U.S. Among Japanese, a thoroughunderstanding and discussion of this periodwill go a long way towards strengtheninguni ty and combat ing the effec ts o f thecamps. It will help Japanese reclaim theirtrue history, sort through the different opinions that exist and help explain how thecamps affect the communities today.

Througlt exposing the injustice of thecamps and fighting for reparations for lossesand damages, Japanese people will reafllrmtheir pride and dignity in their culture andheritage. This will help Japanese peopleresist all forms of oppression, such as theracist ideology of a.ssi ini lai ion, and wi l lstrengthen overall the struggles of Japanesefor full equality and poliiieal power.

Prisoners at the Tule Lake concentration camp.

national minority like the Japanese.

R e a s o n s f o r e v a c u a t i o n

While the main reasons given by the government and military were "military necessity" and to "protect" the Japanese by removing them from the West Coast, thesewere rationales for other motives. If Japanese were supposed to be such a securitythreat, why were Japanese in Hawaii, whichis thousands of miles closer to Japan, notr e m o v e d ?

By June 1942, the battle of Midway hadcrushed Japan's ability to launch an invasion of the West Coast. Yet because of "mil

itary necessity," the evacuation still cont i n u e d f o r m o n t h s a f t e r w a r d s .

The argument that evacuation was necessary for Japanese people's protection is alsom i s t a k e n . T h e r e w e r e i n c i d e n t s o f a n t i -

Japanese violence, but what kind of logicstipulates that (he victims be punished instead o f the c r imina ls?

What then were the real reasons that ledt o t h e i n c a r c e r a t i o n a n d f o r c e d r e m o v a l o f

the entire Japanese population of the WestC o a s t ?

The fundamenta l cause fo r the incarceration of the Japanese was national oppression. The treatment of the Japanese peoplein the United Stales as an exploited, restricted, oppressed national minority causedthem to be singled out and imprisoned. Aslong as national oppression exists, the concentration camp experience of the Japanesecould happen again to another nationalityor group. During the Korean War, therewere suggestions raised to incarcerate Chinese Americans to use as potential hostagesin exchange for American prisoners of war.In response to the urban rebellions of theI960'.s, the U.S. government made contingency plans to reopen the concentrationcamps to incarcerate Blacks.

While the national oppression of theJapanese people was the main cause for theirincarceration, there were other factors. Allthe workings of capitalist society, with itsinherent national oppression, hypocriticalbourgeois democracy and political oppor-

16 9

tunism came into play.First, there was a situation where the gov

ernment and military needed to promote thewar effort. During the period from December 1941 to June 1942, Japan was winningvictory after victory. The U.S. ruling classneeded to rally popular support for the military effort. The fact that the war was withJapan, a non-white people, and that Japanese in the U.S. had already been subjectedto national oppression made it that mucheasier to point to them as "the enemy in ourmidst." All Japanese were slandered asemperor-worshiping fanatics who werebent on helping fascist Japan win victory.

T h e n t h e r e w e r e t h e e c o n o m i c i n t e r e s t sinvolved. Agricultural interests like Californ i a ' s F a r m L a b o r B u r e a u a n d A s s o c i a t e dFarmers coveted the fertile lands Japanesehad created with their backbreaking labor.As a spokesperson for the growers and shippers said, "We're charged with wanting toget rid of the Japs for selfish reasons. Wemight as well be honest, we do. It's a quest ion o f whe the r the wh i te man l i ves on theP a c i fi c C o a s t o r t h e Ye l l o w m a n . I f a l l t h e

Japs were removed tomorrow, we'd nevermiss them, because the white farmers cantake over and produce everything the Japgrows. And we don't want them back whenthe war ends, either."

Political opportunism was another factorcontributing to the decision for forced evacuation. Since 1942 was an election year,local politicians such as California GovernorOlson and Attorney General Earl Warrenjumped on the anti-Japanese bandwagon.President Roosevelt, not wanting to alienatethe California electorate, weighed the political gains he could make in deciding to incarcerate the Japanese.

For reactionary groups like the California

Joint Immigration Committee, this was agolden opportunity to get rid of the Japanese forever. This factor of the underlyingracism on the part of government leadersand military dovetailed with the more blatant white supremacist sentiments of thereactionary groups. There should be nodoubt that those who were in power actuallybelieved that Japanese were inherent traitors, that there was "no way to determineloyalty." Secretary of the Navy FrankKnox, who promoted the fifth column slanders, was a former editor of the Hearst newspapers and was well schooled in professionalr a c i s m .

The moving outIn March 1942, signs were posted by the

government in areas where Japanese livedinstructing "all persons of Japanese ancestry" to report to centers to find out whenthey would be evacuated. People were givenan average of two weeks to sell all their belongings and property, pack only what theycould carry and be ready for the buses on acertain date. As this evacuation was beingimplemented, curfew and other restrictionswere being relaxed against Germans andItalians living in the same areas.

The U.S. government not only evacuatedU.S. Japanese, but was instrumental in implementing a "hemispheric plan" which included 20,000 Japanese evacuated and imprisoned in Canada and thousands of Japanese living near the Pacific Coast in Mexico,Central and South America. This was partof a plan to hold a hostage reserve of Japanese who would be exchanged for Americanprisoners of war.

In addition, ISO Japanese from Alaskaand over one thousand Japanese fromHawaii were sent to mainland camps. The

naire was entitled "Application for LeaveClearance (WRA Form 126)."

The two crucial questions were: Question27: Are you willing to serve in the armedforces of the United States in combat duty,wherever ordered? and Question 28: Willyou swear unqualified allegiance to theUnited States of America and faithfully defend the United States from any or all attacksby foreign or domestic forces, and foreswearany form of allegiance or obedience to theJapanese emperor, or any other foreign government, power or organization?

The loyalty oath was a total setup becauseof the lack of explanation and the basicassumption of disloyalty. For the Issei whowere "aliens ineligible for U.S. citizenship,"the questionnaire asked them to foreswearallegiance to the Emperor of Japan, whichwould have left them without citizenship.There was a great deal of bitterness even onthe part of the pro-American, patriotic Niseiwho resented the assumption of disloyalty.In some camps, like Tulc Lake, the bitterness was such that internees en mass refusedto cooperate with the questioning process.

Overal l , th is recrui tment dr ive for theU.S. military resulted in only 1,181 volunteers from all ten camps. In addition, therewere numerous protests against the draftafter the Selective Service decided to begincalling up Nisei.

There were a number of Nisei, especiallyfrom Hawaii, who volunteered and served inthe segregated 442nd and 100th InfantryBattalions. Many of those who volunteereddid so out of justifiable sense of responsibility to fight fascist aggression. They weresent to fight in Europe where they sustainedsome of the highest wounded and casualtyfigures. Although they were the most decorated battalion in the war, many Nisei Gl's

returned "home" to receive their honorsbehind barbed wire.

Towards the end of the war, the WRA began transferring some Japanese out of thecamps. Through programs like the NationalStudent Relocation Council and other jobplacement programs, many Nisei were dispersed to various parts of the country.Those left behind until the camps closed in1946 were mainly the elderly and the veryyoung. Because anti-Japanese violence onthe West Coast reached its peak in theselater years, many Japanese became fearfuland apprehensive about returning to hostileneighborhoods. Some even refused to leavethe camps at first.

For many, getting out of the camps wasnot much better than being in the camps.Saving accounts were frozen and did notbecome unfrozen until years later; propertywas stolen; homes were broken into. Manyhad no homes to return to and had to stay intemporary quarters set up in churches in theJapanese community.

Effects of the campsThe forced removal of the Japanese and

their incarceration for four years in harshand degrading conditions brought personalloss and suffering and destroyed many communities. Following the camps, Japanesewere urged to resettle in the Midwest andEast to avoid returning to the hostile WestCoast. Many communities simply died andwere never rebu i l t . Jus t as some communities started getting back on their feet, Jajia-nese communities such as Los Angeles Little Tokyo and San Franci.sco Nihoninachiwere ripped apart by urban renewal.

Economic losses in terms of property andpossessions has been conservatively estimated at $4U0 million, and this does not in-

10 15

continued from pg. 11feel by 24 feel. Smaller rooms of 16 by 20feel were given to smaller families. A barrack was made up of four to six such units.Twelve to fourteen barracks comprised ablock. Each block housed 250 to 300peopleand had a common mess hall, toilet and recr e a t i o n h a l l .

People began trying to make some orderout of the upheaval. Block managers werechosen, schools organized, and social, cultural and sports activities were organized.T h e Wa r t i m e R e l o c a t i o n A u t h o r i t y(WRA), in a perverse irony, wanted thecamps to be a model of democracy in action. Community town hall meetings andcamp council elections were promoted. Butall the platitudes about democracy couldnot erase the cold reality that Japanese werelocked up behind barbed wire fences andfaced machine guns.

While "democracy" was stressed by theWRA, they prevented any real exercise ofdemocratic rights when they banned the useof the Japanese language in all meetings,classes and programs. Thus, more than halfof the camp population, Issei and Kibei(Japanese Americans educated in Japan),were e.\cluded from voicing their views. AllJapanese books, except a few religiousbooks, were confiscated.

In all the camps, demonstrations againstbad conditions took place. Work stoppagesand general strikes were called to protestpoor inadequate food, lack of medical fac i l i t i e s a n d W R A h a r a s s m e n t o f " t r o u b l emakers." Much of the anger was directedat the camp administration and also atthose believed to be inn (dogs) who coll a b o r a t e d w i t h t h e a u t h o r i t i e s .

At Manzanar, resistance to these intolerable conditions led to a series of mass dem

onstrations, culminating in the guardsopening fire on people with tear gas andshotguns. Two people were killed, one injured by gas and nine wounded by gun fire.For two weeks, the camp was under martiallaw, during which time the administrationrounded up the supposed "r ing leaders."S ix teen men were sen t to a C i t i zen 's I so lation Camp where conditions resembled amaximum security federal penitentiary.

At Tule Lake, martial law was declaredf o r f o u r m o n t h s a f t e r i n t e r n e e s d e c l a r e d a

general strike to protest a long string ofabuses by the camp administration. Resistance rose to such a pitch that the government turned the camp into a segregationc e n t e r f o r " t r o u b l e m a k e r s " f r o m o t h e r

camps. Later, those who refused to answeraffirmatively on a loyalty oath given to allin ternees were sent to Tu le Lake.

In other camps, such as Poston, therewere protests and strikes as well as massdemonstrations against unfair treatmentand Jailing of community leaders.

"Loyal ty oath"The camp administration often accused

the protesters of being disloyal and tried tosegregate them from the community. In early 1943, the government took the offensivein further sorting out the "loyal" from the"disloyal." The timing had to do with thegovernment's decision to draft the Nisei intothe military. As proof of loyalty, all maleand female internees, 17 years and older,were expected to answer two questions at theend of a long questionnaire. For draft-ageNisei men, the questionnaire was entitled"Statement of U.S. Citizenship of JapaneseAncestry (Selelctive Service Form 304A)."For Issei women and men, and Nisei women17 years and older, the identical question-

government criteria for removal was anyperson with as little as '/i6 Japanese blood.Families of mixed marriages were split up,although some non-Japanese spousesvolunteered to go to the camps to keep thefamily together. The total imprisoned exceeded 120,000.

The forced removal also applied to hund r e d s o f n a t i v e A l e u t i a n s w h o l i v e d o n t h ePribilof Islands on the Alaskan coast. Theyw e r e r e m o v e d f r o m t h e i r l a n d s o n w h i c h

they had lived uninterrupted for 8,000years and removed to camps in Alaska,wh i l e wh i t e fishe rmen and res i den t s on t heislands were allowed to remain. Many diedin abandoned gold mines and cannerieswhich had been converted into camps.

The short notice proved to be a particularly cruel aspect of the imprisonment. Opportunists, hearing of the plight of the Japanese, would wait until one or two days before a family had to leave to buy theirhomes, property and possessions. Stoves,refrigerators, washing machines were soldfor $5 a piece. One family was forced to sellfourteen acres of farmland for $6,000. Tenyears after the war, each acre of this landwas worth 310,000 to $15,000. The Isseifarmer who had spent years of backbreak-ing labor to save the money became a def e a t e d m a n .

One Arizona grocery store owner sold hisstore, valued at $15,000, for $800 two daysbefore he had to leave. The governmentwas supposed to safeguard evacuees fromthese rip-offs, but little or nothing wasdone. People who couldn't or wouldn't selltheir property were forced to pay to store it.After the war, it's been estimated that closeto 80% of the privately stored goods were"rifled, stolen or sold" during the owners'a b s e n c e .

The toll was nut only monetarily measurable. Many suffered nervous breakdowns,severe depression and illness. The stigma ofbeing "untrustworthy" and "cr iminal"was reinforced throughout the incarceration. Family members had to wear tags enroute to the assembly centers. Many Japa-ne.sc felt like cattle or goods being shipped.As the buses came to pick people up, manyopenly sobbed. One Nisei, ten years old atthe time, recalls how pel dogs chased thedeparting buses and some children hadplants or pieces of trees from their backyards to remember home while they wereimprisoned.

Temporary As.sembly Centers

The Japanese were first taken to one of15 as.sembly. Relocation Centers spreadthroughout Cal i forn ia , Washington, Oregon and Arizona. The facilities were similar. Quarters were almost always crampedwith little or no privacy. At the assemblycenters that were race tracks, horse stallswere converted into apartments. Duringthe summer, most stables had merely beenscraped out and had no floors, so the stenchw o u l d b e c o m e u n b e a r a b l e . A t S a n t a A n i t arace t rack, the largest assembly centerhousing 18,000 people, hospital recordsshow that 75% of the i l lness recorded camefrom the unsanitary conditions in the horses t a l l s .

By summer 1942, Japanese were shippedfrom the assembly centers to ten permanent"Relocation Centers" spread across seven

L i f e i n " R e l o c a t i o n C e n t e r s "

In the "Relocation Centers," a family ofeight was given a bare room measuring 20

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W I N D S

Hot delta breezeStirs light kimono sleevesLaughing, intent on followingThe graceful steps of older sisterMiners dance, harvest rhythmsGrowing quicklyIn the (o) Bon time heat —

Gusts kick up the desert sandShe looks outs ideIts loneliness reflected insideDreams and plans shatteredWondering about a brother who fightsHalfway around the worldFor democracy here at homeAt Tu le Lake —

Soft tradewinds unfurl a flagNear the young women who stopTaking out simple propsMock guns, coolie hats and paper bombsPlaying out a battle, Asian faces on both sidesPressing leaflets into soldiers' hands —Cool night airShe steps outtleaving stage lights.Bamboo flute and electric guitarWeave songs 'of Asians in AmericaArtistry soft and hardStreets of gold and railroadsOpportunity and exclusionLearning grandparents' wisdomFinding pride in her people —

Steam bangs on metalWork rhythms too new for songsGlistening cans move in rowsSorting, picking, discardingAt break she trades her sukiyaki recipeFor adobo, guacamole and sweet potato pieThe comers of the world touchAnd enfold each others' rhythms —

Breezes play with kitchen curtainsShe stands making manjuWith grandchildren crowding roundO b a - c h a n ! O b a - c h a n !In the fullness of her yearsPicture-bride, cane-cutter, cannery workerBearing children in a rural houseBe proud, the sky rests on your shoulders

— A . F .

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