Separation policy stirs internment memories for Japanese Americans
Talbert Shinsako doesn’t remember much about Tule Lake, the California internment camp he was born in while his family was incarcerated during World War II.
Even so, Shinsako said he wants to make sure families never go through a similar experience.
On Saturday, ahead of the Families Belong Together march, Shinsako joined around 100 other Japanese and Asian Americans outside of the Chicago Cultural Center to call for changes in immigration policies and to unite Asian American groups to increase their visibility and make sure that history doesn’t repeat itself.
“We don’t want to see what happened to us happen to anyone else,’’ Shinsako said.
Separating children from parents at the border reminded speakers at the rally of similar policies that broke apart families during World War II — when Japanese families were taken from their homes and placed in internment camps — though many use the term “incarcerated” in place of “internment” because they were citizens.
Parallels in Trump administration policies are the reason why Japanese and other Asian American organizations came together Saturday. Their post- war motto of “Never again” was revived and revised to “Never again is now.”
For Ryan Yokota, development and legacy center director for the Japanese American Service Committee, said Saturday’s demonstrations were a “battle for the soul [ of the U. S.] and what it means to be American.” His greatgrandfather was also incarcerated at the Fort Missoula camp in Montana.
“We in this community realized we couldn’t stand idly by and watch this happen again,” Yokota said.