Japanese-American Internment - Essay Example

Japanese-American Internment Introduction Japanese American refers to the American citizens with their roots tracing back to Japanese heritage. Historically Japanese Americans are among the largest groups of Asian communities living in America. Currently they are the 6th largest group in America consisting of approximately 1,304286 as per 2000 census. Japanese migration in to America saw a significant move in1868 as a result of cultural, political and social changes emanating from Meiji restoration. The Hawaiian sugar industry attracted many Japanese immigrants in the area in the 1870s and 1880s. By 1900, majority of the Japanese immigrants living in US were concentrated in Hawaii where their work force was much sought by both the farm owners and industries owners. Japanese were primarily hard working than whites, and since the payments depended on the amount of work done, they were better placed than the whites. Their outstanding reputation spread and overtook the whites substantially. The whites saw the Japanese as formidable competitors, and their presence was a threat to them. The Japanese grew more powerful, and in 1941, they attacked the Pearl Harbor; an act that marked a significant traumatic landmark in Japanese-American history (Niiya 11). This attack brought about relocation and internment of the Japanese by the angry anti Japanese community. Japanese-American immigration Japanese migration is significantly attributed to the establishment of sugar plantations in Hawaii. These sugar plantations required massive number of workers throughout the entire process of cultivation, harvesting and processing in the industries. This establishment called for many laborers and importing them was the most convenient way of getting cheap labor. In 1850s, plantation owners imported many Chinese to work in their farms and offered them meager salaries. By 1865, the Chinese immigrants started to drift away from these jobs slowly until there were no more enough laborers in the farms. With the shifting of Chinese to other better jobs, the Hawaiians foreign minister decided to seek laborers elsewhere. This decision compelled the migration of Japanese to Hawaii to replace the Chinese who had quit working in the farms. In 1868, the first ship carrying Japanese immigrants arrived with 148 people in whom 141 were men, 6 were women, and two were children (Hanel 7). The working conditions were harsh and upon the termination of the contract; thus, some went back claiming that they were treated with so much cruelty. However, the remaining Japanese were the beginning of Japanese-American citizens at the time. The Chinese exclusion act, which was passed in 1882, prohibited further migration of Chinese and paved way for further Japanese immigration. In the preceding years, Japan and Hawaii signed a contract that allowed whites to import Japanese laborers. More and more Japanese immigrants occupied Hawaii and a group of Japanese ancestry arose. The native born Japanese by 1910 had grown up to one third of the total Hawaii’s population. By 1930, the native born Japanese in Hawaii was numerous and exceeded those born in Japan by a great percentage. They continued to work hard in the farms, and their skills consequently outweighed that of Native Americans bringing a stiff competition. Through their efforts, they were finally able to purchase their own lands, and this challenged the Native Americans who perceived them as a threat. Factors that contributed to Japanese-Americans internment The internment of Japanese was marked by the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941. The attack sprouted a historical landmark amongst American Japanese (Chin 5). Retaliation by the anti Japanese ran high and brought their internment. This was a painful moment for the Japanese and thousands of them died in the process. Shortly after the attack, President Franklin D. Roosevelt authorized an order, to designate military boundaries within the US. Although the order was not targeted at anybody, it became the basis for internment operations and relocation for Japanese-American citizens. In 1942, lieutenant general Dewitt established an exclusion zone in the west coast. He demanded that all Japanese ancestry to report to an assembly centre. Within such a short notice, many people were forced to leave their premises and adhere to call that brought about tension among the aliens. The evacuation lacked basic evidence and is considered a racial prejudice (Hayashi 24). The Japanese were known as staunch people in preserving their culture and heritage. This raised doubts on their royalty to American and attracted military interference. They brought up their children in their own traditional ways discouraging them from assimilating the white’s traditions. This was a reasonable excuse for Americans to execute their plans (Heinrichs 44). The whites claimed that Japanese were not loyal and that they had plans that would see America lose their battle. This was also supported by non military whites who considered Japanese as their main competitors. They selfishly supported the evacuation knowing that it would reduce competition from Japanese business people. Another key political reason that led to Japanese interment and relocation was the code secrecy. Lowman claimed that internment was justified for the purposes of secret breaking efforts in the war. Japanese were not trusted by the whites, and they believed that they were capable of breaking the secret codes that would lead to their defeat by the Japanese navy. Lowman’s reasoning was criticized by many scholars since it lacked profound evidence. Questions such as why infants and mentally challenged people were evacuated arose; this led to the disapproval of Lowman’s reasoning. More than a 100,000 Japanese Americans were shipped to internment camps. These camps are described as extremely poorly built and in hectic condition (Last witness, p.5). According to Americans, internment victims were termed as a threat to national security. Democracy here was poorly implemented as these japans were not tried before locking them in poorly structured camps. Their color and ethnicity were to blame at the time. They were easily identified and without negotiations sailed to the internment camps preserved purposely for them. During these harsh times, they were forced to leave their businesses and homes and better still, alienated from their loved ones. The victims suffered untold economic losses when they were being relocated (Last witness, 9). The process of relocation was painful and many deaths were experienced not forgetting the personal humiliation associated. They were only given a short notice to prepare themselves before evacuation without further negotiations. Ironically, the Japanese who lived in the Hawaii were not evacuated, and this is where a substantial number of them lived. It is possible that they were too many to be transported and decided to concentrate on the scattered ones. They suffered discrimination based on their ethnicity throughout the world war in the internment camps. Those who were lucky in not joining the camps lived with fears and tension was inherent. Life in the internment camps The camps are described as simple frame construction with no cooking facilities of any type. The camps were built in a hurry by the constructors and left a lot to be desired. The buildings were poorly equipped for families living in them. The camps were surrounded by barbed wires with non partitioned toilets and low budget of food per day. The camps were located in remote areas far way from population centers. Though the internees were treated well, conditions in the camp were not pleasing at all. Many people had not carried enough clothing since they were evacuated on a short notice that did not allow them to prepare sufficiently. The winters were typically harsh as there was no enough clothing for all. Children suffered from cold winters and diseases became prevalent. Summers were also typically harsh as there was too much heat in the poorly built camps. Internees were treated well by the guards as long as they did not go against the laws that governed the camp. Students were allowed to attend schools, those who wished to acquire higher learning were issued permits to facilitate their travel to schools. However, only a few students managed to acquire the permits since the process to acquire one was tedious. When the Japanese were given back their freedom, some agreed to denounce their American citizenship and were repatriated to Japan. They feared the stigmatization that was bound to set in the outside world. Impacts of internment on Japanese individuals The internment had serious negative consequences on the lives of individuals affected. The victims suffered both socially and economically as their security were highly threatened at the time. The relocation was immediate and forced the Japanese to close their businesses with immediate effect (Wendy 150). The businessmen suffered massive loses upon closure of their businesses without adequate notice. Some were even to forced to sell what they had at lower prices and others had to leave behind their treasures. Moreover, their properties were exposed to theft due to poor storage facilities provided in the internment camps. Healthy environment was something that was conspicuous in the internee camps. These camps were crowded, and sanitation was equally poor. Diseases culminating from poor environment were inevitable. Premature deaths were happening every day in these camps. People living in these detainees camps suffered psychological disorders. Trying to cope with the lives proved to be very difficult. Diseases resulting from these traumas such as cardiovascular diseases were increasing every day. The alteration of their freedom was doing more harm than expected. Men in these camps lived with fear. Their securities were threatened as any unwanted movement could cause them death (Burgan 85). There is evidence that some evacuees who tried to escape were killed. Though they were treated well, they lived like prisoners. The act was not in accordance with the basic human rights. The only crime that Japanese ancestry committed was ethnicity. Innocent children of the detainees were equally affected. They were sad and angry because of the injustices that exhibited in these camps. It is common sense that children did not have anything to do with the mistakes their parents made. They felt discriminated from other American s, and the traumatic experiences followed them throughout their lives in the camp. Even the modern children of the Japanese heritage are quietly angry about what their parents had to undergo. They felt pressured to assimilate the loss of Japanese culture, which was significantly affected during the times. The pain of their parents remains with them up to date. Life after internment In 1944, pleas by the American Japanese were heard, and they were released. The internees struggled to rebuild their lives with a lot of difficulties as the hostility was still high in the air. The west coast residents were particularly hostile to the detainees as they did not want them back (Burgan 77). This pressured them to scatter in several parts of the country where they had to start all again from scratch. Some were too angry with the cruelty of American government and decided to resume to their native country. American government realized its failure to practice democracy and in 2988, they apologized. They awarded the detainees with $20,000 as a means of apologizing and making peace. Many voices were raised against the act which saw the suffering of innocent people. The issue of democracy and human rights were violated by this act accordingly, and American government sought to compensate only too late. Conclusion The decision by the American government to detainee individuals was brutal to humanity. There was no democracy at all in the evacuation process. This formidable act has promoted racism amongst the Japanese American and the Native American whites. This act provoked hatred against the Native Americans and peace is highly threatened. Though the American government apologized, the internment issue has not been totally forgotten by the Japanese. Works cited Burgan, Michael. The Japanese-American Internment: Civil Liberties Denied. Minneapolis, Minn: Compass Point Books, 2006. Print. Chin, F. Born in the USA: A Story of the Japanese America, 1889-1947. Maryland: Rowman & Hanel, Rachael. The Japanese-American Internment: An Interactive History Adventure. Mankato, Minn: Capstone Press, 2008. Print. Hayashi, Brian M. Democratizing the Enemy: The Japanese-American Internment. Princeton, N.J: Princeton University Press, 2008. Print. Heinrichs, Ann. The Japanese-American Internment: Innocence, Guilt, and Wartime Justice. New York: Marshall Cavendish Benchmark, 2011. Print. Last Witness Reflections on the Wartime Internment of Japanese Americans Erica Harth. United States: Palgrave Macmillan, 2003. Print. Wendy, L. Japanese-American Internment During World War Ii: A History and Reference Guide. Westport, Conn. [u.a.: Greenwood Press, 2002. Print. Niiya, B. Japanese-American History: An A-to-Z Reference from 1868 to the Present. Bonn: VNR AG Publishers. 1993. 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