[00:06.79]My father came from Japan in 1905
[00:10.32]He was 15 when he immigrated from Japan
[00:13.91]He, he... he worked until he was able to buy this patch
[00:17.19]And build a store
[00:18.03]Let me tell you the story in the form of a dream,
[00:20.19]I don''''t know why I have to tell it but I know what it means,
[00:22.66]Close your eyes, just picture the scene,
[00:24.48]As I paint it for you, it was World War II,
[00:26.72]When this man named Kenji woke up,
[00:28.62]Ken was not a soldier,
[00:29.88]He was just a man with a family who owned a store in LA,
[00:33.78]That day, he crawled out of bed like he always did,
[00:36.67]Bacon and eggs with wife and kids,
[00:38.57]He lived on the second floor of a little store he ran,
[00:41.35]He moved to LA from Japan,
[00:42.86]They called him ''''Immigrant,''''
[00:44.14]In Japanese, he''''d say he was called "Esay,"
[00:46.94]That meant ''''First Generation In The United States,''''
[00:49.73]When everyone was afraid of the Germans, afraid of the Japs,
[00:52.90]But most of all afraid of a homeland attack,
[00:55.20]And that morning when Ken went out on the doormat,
[00:57.69]His world went black ''''cause,
[00:59.20]Right there; front page news,
[01:01.16]Three weeks before 1942,
[01:03.36]"Pearl Harbour''''s Been Bombed And The Japs Are Comin'''',"
[01:05.73]Pictures of soldiers dyin'''' and runnin'''',
[01:07.63]Ken knew what it would lead to,
[01:09.46]Just like he guessed, the President said,
[01:11.65]"The evil Japanese in our home country will be locked away,"
[01:15.48]They gave Ken, a couple of days,
[01:17.33]To get his whole life packed in two bags,
[01:19.39]Just two bags, couldn''''t even pack his clothes,
[01:22.08]Some folks didn''''t even have a suitcase, to pack anything in,
[01:25.45]So two trash bags was all they gave them,
[01:27.74]When the kids asked mum "Where are we goin''''?"
[01:30.24]Nobody even knew what to say to them,
[01:32.43]Ken didn''''t wanna lie, he said "The US is lookin'''' for spies,
[01:35.74]So we have to live in a place called Mandinar,
[01:38.33]Where a lot of Japanese people are,"
[01:40.24]Stop it don''''t look at the gunmen,
[01:42.24]You don''''t wanna get the soldiers wonderin'''',
[01:44.33]If you gonna run or not,
[01:45.86]''''Cause if you run then you might get shot,
[01:47.87]Other than that try not to think about it,
[01:50.37]Try not to worry ''''bout it; bein'''' so crowded,
[01:53.03]Someday we''''ll get out, someday, someday.
[01:55.73]
[01:56.49]As soon as war broke out
[01:57.91]The G.I came and they just come to the house and
[02:01.99]"You have to come"
[02:03.04]"All the Japanese have to go"
[02:04.81]They took Mr. Lee
[02:06.59]People didn''''t understand
[02:08.24]Why did they have to take him?
[02:09.93]Because he''''s an innocent labourer
[02:12.13]So now they''''re in a town with soldiers surroundin'''' them,
[02:15.06]Every day, every night look down at them,
[02:17.56]From watch towers up on the wall,
[02:19.12]Ken couldn''''t really hate them at all;
[02:21.25]They were just doin'''' their job and,
[02:23.00]He wasn''''t gonna make any problems,
[02:25.73]He had a little garden with vegetables and fruits that,
[02:28.25]He gave to the troops in a basket his wife made,
[02:30.73]But in the back of his mind, he wanted his families life saved,
[02:33.91]Prisoners of war in their own damn country,
[02:36.06]What for?
[02:37.25]Time passed in the prison town,
[02:38.88]He wanted them to live it down when they were free,
[02:41.44]The only way out was joinin'''' the army,
[02:43.66]And supposedly, some men went out for the army, signed on,
[02:47.25]And ended up flyin'''' to Japan with a bomb,
[02:49.94]That 15 kilotonne blast, put an end to the war pretty fast,
[02:53.88]Two cities were blown to bits; the end of the war came quick,
[02:57.24]Ken got out, big hopes of a normal life, with his kids and his wife,
[03:01.10]But, when they got back to their home,
[03:04.04]What they saw made them feel so alone,
[03:05.82]These people had trashed every room,
[03:07.69]Smashed in the windows and bashed in the doors,
[03:10.07]Written on the walls and the floor,
[03:11.79]"Japs not welcome anymore."
[03:14.01]And Kenji dropped both of his bags at his sides and just stood outside,
[03:17.49]He, looked at his wife without words to say,
[03:19.94]She looked back at him wiped the tears away,
[03:22.07]And, said "Someday we''''ll be okay, someday,"
[03:25.57]Now the names have been changed, but the story''''s true,
[03:27.83]My family was locked up back in ''''42,
[03:30.39]My family was there it was dark and damp,
[03:32.67]And they called it an internment camp
[03:34.27]
[03:34.75]When we first got back from camp... uhh
[03:37.04]It was... pretty... pretty bad
[03:39.02]
[03:39.47]I, I remember my husband said
[03:42.32]"Are we gonna stay ''''til last?"
[03:44.83]Then my husband died before they close the camp.