Japanese Canadian Internment Camps

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Japanese Canadian Internment Camps

• A Personal Perspective
• By Stefeni Higuchi

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Backround Information

• After the bombing of Pearl Habor in Dec.17th
  1941, in the US, racial profiling occured
• In 1942, 22,000 Japanese-Canadians were evacuated
  from BC over a 9 month period
• By October, 8 internment camps were set up in
  interior BC
• Women, children and older people were sent there
  while men who complained or violated the curfew
  were sent to the prisoner of war camps in
  Ontario

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Backround Information cont.

• The property of the Japanese-Canadians (inc.
  land, business etc.) were confiscated by the
  government and sold and the proceeds were used to
  pay for their internment
• In 1945, the government extended the Order in
  Council to force Japanese to either go to Japan
  and lose their citzenship or move to eastern
  Canada
• Even though the war was over, it was illegal for
  them to return to Vancouver until 1949

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Posters

• This is an example of the poster the government
  used to evacuate all Japanese-Canadians during
  1942

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Personal Perspective from my Great-Uncle

• My great-uncle was born in Richmond, BC around
  1914
• Ever since Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, it had
  changed their lives dramatically
• After Pearl Habor, the Canadian Government moved
  to control feared treachery of its Japanese
  population by invoking the War Measures Act
  against all people of Japanese descent

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Cont.

• They became the victims of extreme racial
  discrimination and were blamed for everything
  that went wrong. They also thought they were
  spies
• A lot of people in BC didnt want the Japanese
  living there so Mackenzie King incarcerate all
  Japanese males between the age of 14 and 45
• Around 1942, that is when many Japanese-Canadians
  were sent to internment camps in abandoned mining
  settlements

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Cont.

• During this time, the government had taken their
  land, businesses, and basically everything they
  had
• The valueables they owned were sold without their
  consent and for far less than their value
• They were stripped of their rights, issued
  special clothing, humiliated and was forced to do
  manual labour
• They were being punished for a crime they didnt
  commit. It was because they werent white and
  could have been spies

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Cont.

• Some people were shipped out in different
  provinces across Canada, especially to provinces
  in the west and Ontario
• My grandfather was given the choice of either
  staying here in Canada and ending up at the
  internment camp or going back to Japan
• He decided to go back. However, my great-uncle
  decided to just remain where he was and work
  there

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Cont.

• Some people decided to stay where they were
  because they were born in Canada and Japan to
  them, was like an unknown country they knew very
  little of
• He learned Japanese and English at the same time
  because even though he was living in Canada, he
  went to a Japanese school during the time he
  spent in the internment camps
• He was moved around the prairie provinces working
  as farmhands

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After the Internment Camps

• Afterwards, he got married to a woman who was a
  Japanese-Canadian as well and had 3 children
• After my great-uncle was released from the
  internment camp, they were moved to the east
  towards northern Ontario in a small town called
  Chapleau in the late 40s and worked on the CPR
• My grandfather had come back from Japan and moved
  there as well

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Feelings about the whole experience

• My great-uncle and his family felt many feelings
  when they found out they were being forced to
  move out of BC
• He felt insecure about the whole situation
  because he didnt know exactly what was going to
  happen
• He felt obliged to do whatever the government
  instructed him to do
• There was a feeling of sadness and devestation
  because they no longer owned their land and
  everything was taken away from them

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Feelings cont.

• It was a very depressing time for all the
  Japanese-Canadians. They were treated very
  harshly (ex. hard labour, poor living conditions)
  
• He felt very discriminated against the white
  Canadians who felt the Japanese-Canadians were
  not welcomed in their country

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Question

• It is important to note that Canada is at war
  with Japan, Germany, Italy and Austria. Why then
  were only Japanese-Canadians held against their
  will?

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Ending

• In 1988, Canada apoligized for this miscarraige
  of justice, admitting that the actions of the
  government were influenced by racial
  discrimination
• The government and PM signed a redress agreement
  providing a small amount of money compensation

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Videos

• 1. http//archives.cbc.ca/IDC-1-71-308-1621-11/con
  flict_war/internment_apology/
• 2. http//archives.cbc.ca/IDC-1-71-568-2921/confli
  ct_war/internment/
• 3. http//archives.cbc.ca/IDC-1-71-568-2918/confli
  ct_war/internment/