On Friday, our class got the opportunity to talk to Mr. Doi, Lia's grandfather. He was a Japanese American who was interned in the United States. His story was very different. Mr. Doi grew up in a neighborhood where he didn't experience a lot of racism, so when the Japanese Americans were interned, he was really confused about why it was happening. When all of this was going on, people would say things like "you bombed us" and he would say "no, we didn't". I agree with his answer, "no" because he didn't bomb the U.S. he was living in the United States, not in Japan, and even if he did live in Japan doesn't mean that he was a part of the bombing. He was young and about to start high school, he was just living his life until he noticed that things were changing. The fact that everything could be so normal until one thing happens and then the whole world thinks of you in a bad way confused him, it would have confused me too. Another thing that interested me was that $20,000 was given to Japanese families after the war but for some people it wasn't enough. According to Mr. Doi, it depends on what you had before the war, some families had farms so the reparations that were given was not enough at, but for people who started with nothing, $20,000 was more than enough. I'm very grateful for getting the chance to listen to a story that not many people get here here about it first hand.

Our threads class had a privilege to have Mr. Doi, Lia's grandfather, come talk to our class about his life before, during, and after in an internment camp called tule Lake. I was honored that we got to experience his story. As a child, Mr. Doi lived in a town where there was any harsh separation with racism. But after the attack of Pearl Harbor, by the Japanese, tensions stared getting worse. The Americans leadereds were the suddenly scared that Japanese-Americans could be spy's and they sent them all to internment camps. He talked about how they eventually adapted to the living conditions over the long three years but he never understood why they were being put into camps. After they we're let out, he explained how many people had no idea where to go and some peoples houses were even burnt down by white Americans. But feeling somewhat bad for what they did to the Japanese, they gave them $20,000 to start a new life with. Many families took the money but some didn't cause they felt so betrayed to their own country but even though it wasn't a lot it was better that nothing. 

Mr. Doi

    Mr. Doi gave a personal yet informative talk last Friday. He first described his life before the internment camps, which was already very interesting. The Japanese-Americans of his generation were some of the first to finally feel fully accepted into American culture. Unfortunately, Pearl Harbor changed that, although Mr. Doi described how he was lucky enough to live in a Japanese-American dominated commnity, which allowed him to avoid most of the harsh prejudice many others were subject to. As Mr. Doi entered the camp, he felt a sense of betrayal: What kind of country locks up its own citizens on no charges at all? Regarding leaving the camp, the feeling must have been strange; After living somewhere for three entire years, one must return to a life they once had with nothing to go back to. The only thing close to an apology the Japanese-Americans received was a reparation of $20,000, which in some cases come nowhere near to the amount lost by some. According to Mr. Doi, the reparations could only be made fairly if each individual person was given the money's worth from what they lost. Some had lost much more or much less than others.

On Friday, Lia's grandfather, Mr. Doi told us about his experience during his speech he told us about his; childhood, Pearl Harbor/ his family's reaction to it, camp life, integrating back into society , reparations, and his life today. Mr. Doi was interned when he was starting high school and that's when he knew things were getting worse. He was friends with people at his school who had different races and it was hard for him to adjust. He even planned a pool party once but couldn't attend his own party because he is Japanese. At the time of Pearl Harbor everyone would say to him and his family 'you bombed us' and he would say 'no they bombed us'. In the camps, Mr. Doi made many lasting relationships with the people he was interned with and out of this awful experience he made some great friendships. After they were released from the camps it was hard for a lot of people to get back into the swing of things because some people had lost their houses, jobs and families. When it came to repararations, Mr. Doi thinks that depending on the family and how much they lost that's how much they should be repaid. And some people did refuse the payment. In conclusion, it was very beneficial to have a personal perspective of the Japanese internment than just reading about it I am thankful for this experience.

Mr. Doi and what I heard

Having Mr. Doi come and talk to my class was very intrigueing and I very much enjoyed it. Listening to his personal story and the hardships that he had to go through even though he was innocent and had done nothing wrong was crazy. It just showed me that people obviously make mistakes. His childhood to me was a really powerful part of when he talked I thought. I think its because then he was still growing up and didn't know what to think of the situation and also he probably couldn't have   understood the reality of it.  When Mr. Doi talked about Pearl Harbor he made it seem kinda humoris because he thought it was funny that his own country would turn on their own.  Thats kind of a sad thing to think about especially since our country is supposed to be united. Camp life for him he made seem not terrible. It sounded like the people who ran the camps tried to keep them busy and educated.  Life seemed to be the worst though for the Japanese after the war because some had to start from scratch and had nothing. Also some people were still against the Japanese living in America so they got discriminated against still. I feel like Mr. Doi got cheated and wasn't payed enough for what had happened to him and his family.

Mr. Doi's Presentation

Mr. Doi's story was very interesting, his stories and answers to questions of what were the camps like were very informative. How they spent great amounts of their day playing sports because, they had nothing else to do in the camps. I thought it was also interesting when he mentioned the questions given to people in the camps about going to war, and their allegiance to the Japanese emperor. People didn't answer the question because, they had no idea what people were talking about and fought it offensive to be asked to go to war when being imprisoned. He also said that many still volunteered to fight even though they were interned because, they felt that is twas their duty to serve and protect their country. Mr. Doi's presentation was very informative on the views, feelings, and activities taken by people interned in the camps.

Stories vary as to what life was like as a Japanese-American prior to, during, and after World War II. One story in particular was that of Mr. Doi's, a Japanese-American that lived through World War II. He focused on the topic of Japanese internment which I found intriguing and unique. First off, Mr. Doi made it clear that the war in the Pacific and more specifically the attack on Pearl Harbor had established the common societal belief that all Japanese-American citizens were spies and enemies. Before Mr. Doi and his family had been rounded up, he explains how society's paranoia and hatred towards the entire Japanese race at the time had made him and many others seem as if they were the targets of discrimination. He clarified the idea that it was unjust and unfair that a group of citizens who had legally integrated into society as Americans were now being told on the executive order of 9066 to pack what they could carry and leave their house in two weeks to then be sent to “concentration camps”. What I found very interesting was that Mr. Doi chose to use the words “concentration camps” rather than “internment camps” mainly because as a class we have been studying the use of both terms. Mr. Doi may have used the term “concentration camps” in association to Japanese internment to point out how inhumane the internment of an entire race was considering the Nazi regime in Germany had done the same thing, but I feel that most likely the use of “concentration camps” was a much more common term at the time. Lastly, the Japanese-American’s resilience within the camps despite a rough environment for nearly three years was moving. The fact that they were able to establish education and popular pastimes within an excuse of a home is inspiring. Mr. Doi’s experience has spoken out to me and many others, and I am very glad I was able to witness such a moving story.