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FACEBOOK / KAREN YOUNG
Scores of Japanese Americans at Tule Lake believe history might be repeating itself. |
JAPANESE AMERICANS gathered at Tule Lake, the site of one of the infamous incarceration camps where their families were interred during World War II.
They came to this isolated Northern California site to remember the past, which they believe is repeating itself in the Donald Treump administrations hysteria against immigrants by separating parents from the children at the U.S.-Mexico border.
They chanted, "Kodomo no tame ni (For the sake of the children), They're Our Children Set them Free!"
Hundreds of thouands of people marched and rallied today -- some in stifling summer head, to send a message to the Trump admininstration, who were taking the day off. (Trump was at one of his golf courses.) According to a document outlining the Families Belong Together messaging strategy, protesters have three primary demands:
- Reunite families now. Permanently end family separation and immediately reunify those that have been separated. ICE must release parents immediately so that ORR can reunify them with their children.
- End family detention. Children and families deserve due process, not indefinite imprisonment. Children do not belong in baby cages and internment-like camps. Family incarceration is not the solution to family separation.
- End ‘Zero Humanity.’ Reverse the Trump administration’s policy that created this crisis and chaos to begin with. Parents should not be criminally prosecuted for doing what all parents do, which is bring their children to safety. This horrible nightmare for families will only end when Trump permanently stops his 100% prosecution policy.
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FACEBOOK
In Chicago, Japanese Americans raise the alarm |
In Chicago, a contingent of Japanese Americans, included Talbert Shinako, who was interred as an infant along with his family,
“I wanted to show support for what’s going on and to stop what’s happening to people,” Shinsako told the Chicago Sun-TImes. “We don’t want to see what happened to us happen to anyone else.”
About 100 Japanese Americans and other Asian Americans gathered outside of the Chicago Cultural Center to call for changes in immigration policies and to unite Asian American groups in opposing the Trump proposals.
“This is happening again and we need to work together to make sure this stops and to make sure our history is being told, the history of the oppression of people of color,” said Tomoko Ha, an educator who attended the rally in the Bay Area suburb of Concord, Calif. with her 9-month-old son strapped to her chest. She held two signs, one which read: “Japanese Americans say NO to racism and xenophobia,” according to the East Bay Times.
Ha, who belongs to the Diablo Valley chapter of the national civil rights group Japanese American Citizens League, is also a new mother, so the issue hits especially close to home, she said.
“Just the idea of your child being taken away from you…” she said, looking away and her voice trailing off. “That’s saying to me that you’re not human and you’re less than. That’s the message that I get as a mom, that you have no regard for human life.”
“This is happening again and we need to work together to make sure this stops and to make sure our history is being told, the history of the oppression of people of color,” said Tomoko Ha, an educator who attended the rally in the Bay Area suburb of Concord, Calif. with her 9-month-old son strapped to her chest. She held two signs, one which read: “Japanese Americans say NO to racism and xenophobia,” according to the East Bay Times.
Ha, who belongs to the Diablo Valley chapter of the national civil rights group Japanese American Citizens League, is also a new mother, so the issue hits especially close to home, she said.
“Just the idea of your child being taken away from you…” she said, looking away and her voice trailing off. “That’s saying to me that you’re not human and you’re less than. That’s the message that I get as a mom, that you have no regard for human life.”
California Sen. Kamala Harris, whose mother was an immigrant from India, fired up a the demonstrators in Los Angeles with a rousing speech extolling her theme: "We are better than this!"
"This is a moment in time that is requiring us to look in a mirror and ask a question, and that question is 'Who are we?' said Harris. "I believe the answer is 'We are better than this."
Thai American Chrissy Teigen and her husband John Legend brought their children to the Los Angeles rally. While there, the supermodel, TV host and social media queen took to the stage to make a passionate speech with baby Miles strapped to her chest and holding daughter Luna's hand,
"This is his first rally," Teigen told the crowd referring to Miles. "I'm really proud to be here, obviously. You guys are so incredible and give me so much hope. . . . I'm incredibly proud to be a daughter of an immigrant. My mother grew up in a very small village in Thailand . . . we love that the American story is filled with people who come from all over the world to have a better life here. America at its best is big, beautiful, and diverse. It's not small, it's not petty, and it's not exclusive, like Mar-a-Lago."
Popsugar News and Culture Director Lindsay Miller was there to record it on the video below:
From the tens of thousands taking part n America's big cities and dozens who joined in in the country's small towns, people took to the streets -- many for the first time -- to express their outrage over Trump's immigration policies that separated babies and young children from their mothers and fathers.
NEXT STEPS
The marches and rallies served as a form of therapy after the dismal week we just experienced, what with the SCOTUS rulings on the Muslim travel ban and the fake health clinic then the announced retirement of Justice Anthony Kennedy.
We know it will take more than marches to change the direction of this administration. So what's next?
Build on the momentum of the protest rallies and marches.
- Town halls: During the July 4 recess, activists plan to pressure members of Congress to hold town halls to discuss immigration. Believe it or not, politicians are sensitive to pressure from their constituents, especially in face-to-face situations. That may mean doing your homework and learn some facts, such as crime does not rise because of immigrants; by the second generation, English is the preferred language in the home and immigrants make a positive contribution to the economy, not only through the taxes they pay but by the products they purchase or services they use. There are many websites to learn about immigrants but Pew Research Center site is a good starting point.
- Corporation campaign: Colors of Change, an advocacy organization that helps people of color, will take the lead in urging corporations to take hard stances on this issue. Some of these corporations have AAPI in influential positions, but even more cater to the lucrative AAPI and Latino markets, do business with Asia and Latin America, or depend on Asian American and or Latino immigrant employees.
- Voting: As with all issues, the biggest factor in successfully garnering change is with voting, AAPI need to register to vote and when November comes around, overcome their apathy and busy schedules to make time to vote.
"It is imperative that we hold our leaders accountable for the separation of immigrant families. These inhumane policies are part of larger issues found within the ICE and CBP agencies, which must be defunded," stated Aisha Yaqoob, Policy Director for Asian Americans Advancing Justice – Atlanta.
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INSTAGRAM / JAYAPAL
Washington's Rep. Pramila Jayapal (center) marches in Washington D.C. |
(Updated June 1, 1:20 p.m. PDT, to include commends from Concord, Calif. and Atlanta.)
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