Japanese Internment: The Japanese Immigrants To Canada

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You are to be taken away from your own home, separated from your father, to live in a destroyed area of land. The reason being your race, your ancestor’s culture, the qualities you were essentially born with. The country which you use to call your home, has now abandoned you and left you in pieces. You've done nothing wrong but live through life as a Canadian. The amount of racism you've faced is absolutely unbearable for any kind of human being, yet you go through it anyways. The Japanese Internment, from 1941 to 1949, was a horrendous event leading to poverty, betrayal and lost. The Japanese would be forcefully divided from their family and friends, their community, and placed in frightening internment camps, even if they've done no wrong. …show more content…
The actual unleash of the entire situation was the event of the Pearl Harbor. “Japanese persons began immigrating to Canada early in the 19th century – despite our blatant fear, racism and discrimination toward them” (Ela 2013). The Japanese immigration to Canada really emphasized their bravery. They took risks in life to have a better outcome. Yet the Canadians at that time believed they were worthless, the Japanese still carried on strongly. In 1907, "Anti Asian riot in Vancouver. Many businesses were vandalized and damaged" (Place, 2011). There was so many discriminative events where the Canadians essentially disregarded Japanese as actual human beings. The Canadians would start different events based on their discrimination towards the Japanese, to ensure the Japanese would not feel belonging in this country. “Then came the stunning news, on 7 December 1941, of Japan’s attacks on Pearl Harbor and Hong Kong, where Canadian troops were stationed (see Battle of Hong Kong). With these shocking events, fears of a Japanese invasion were sparked and their flames fanned by a sensationalist press” (Marsh 2012). The occurrence of Pearl Harbor essentially triggered the built up for the Japanese Internment. The event consisted of the Japanese invading United States territory which was the Pearl Harbor. Also, there was a battle in Hong Kong which caused …show more content…
This event is surely one not to be forgotten. The loss of family and community has ultimately changed the perspective of some Japanese Canadians on Canada. “At the end of the war, interns were given a choice. Move east or go back to Japan. Many Japanese-Canadians (born in Canada), chose to head to Ontario – where they faced further discrimination” (Ela 2013). The Japanese were offered two choices. To stay in Canada or go back to Japan. Most of the Japanese who were interned actually lived in Canada. Consequently, the betrayal basically changed their perspective on their original idea of a home. “Other Canadian born Japanese were forced to relocate to Japan – an unfamiliar foreign place, with a language they didn’t speak, and food they had never eaten. Many stories have been written about this uncomfortable process” (Ela 2013), some Japanese who were forced basically had to independently survive in an entire new community. Representing the impact on their relationships with their ancestors' culture, though they do ultimately belong in Canada. “On 22 September 1988, Prime Minister Brian Mulroney rose in the House of Commons to apologize on behalf of the Canadian government for the wrongs it committed against Japanese Canadians during wartime. The apology came with symbolic redress payments to individuals and to community funds. But the most enduring accomplishment of the Japanese campaign for redress was the