Sunday, June 1, 2014
Japanese Internment Speaker
I was very moved by Mr. Doi's personal story about the internment camps. I tend to realize that stories like this have so much more emotion and meaning when they are being told by someone who was actually there to experience it all. Before hearing about his life during pre-internment, I thought I knew what was going to be said; but like most times, I shouldn't have gotten ahead of myself. Learning that before internment, Mr. Doi's class was very diverse and calm, it made me think more about why the government decided to only entrap the Japanese people, instead of also including the Germans and Italians. As he began talking about Pearl Harbor and 9066, I was almost amazed to hear Mr. Doi admit that he wasn't necessarily mad at FDR or the government's choices in general, but instead felt confused and betrayed. Camp life during internment was very uncomfortable at first but after a while, when the people got used to the terrible weather conditions, it started becoming a regular routine. High school in the camps was pretty standard as well, but it was the subject of moving back out of the camps after the war that was the biggest issue. So many people had lost absolutely everything. Houses and belongings were sold for practically nothing, and neighbors took great advantage of this. The Japanese people were disheveled after they received news that the war was over and they could go home, because they didn't know where their home was. They had nothing to go back to. This in itself is completely heart wrenching. When Mr. Doi was asked about his opinions on the $20,000 reparations that were handed out after the war, he made it clear that although he did take the money, it was not nearly enough to repay the cost of everything he lost. Mr. Doi's story of his experiences inside the internment camps was very inspirational to me. He, along with many others, went through something so traumatic, but he managed to get through it amazingly well.
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I completely agree with your point, Taylor. It reminds me of the Hiroshima book situation. From History, we had so many facts and figures regarding the bombing on Japan. From a disinterested third party perspective, we had an unemotional, American viewpoint on the situation. It took John Hershey's emotional recounting of Hiroshima survivors to open our eyes to the emotional and deeper impact the bomb had on the victims, bringing out empathy and understanding from us. The same happened here. With the internment, we were ignorant until Mr. Doi gives a personal retelling that we delve further into the deep impact of the camps on the victims. It is then that we reach a better comprehension of the internment as a whole.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your points. I think it was amazing how suddenly society targeted the Japanese. Your insight to how Mr. Doi handeled it made me think more about his experiences and how when you hear about it from a real internee, the experience is rich and like none other. Books and articles are informative, but often lack the empathy and are factual based. It was an amazing experience to hear fist hand what went on in these camps and throughout the entire period.
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