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Japanese Internment during World War II
While some say that Canada is a pacifist country that welcomes immigrants from all countries and races, the Japanese would probably disagree. ... For the Japanese Canadians, World War II was marked with loss, hatred, and hard labour as Canada decided to enact the War Measures Act putting all Japanese Canadians in internment camps where they would stay until the end of the war.
By the eve of Pearl Harbour nearly 23 000 people of Japanese descent made their homes in Canada, mostly in British Columbia. ... Except for the industrialists who profited from cheap labour, much of white British Columbia regarded the Japanese with suspicion if not rapid hostility. Despite the racism, however, the Japanese community continued to develop and prosper. ... Japanese Canadians, still without franchise, felt patriotism toward Canada volunteering for service in World War I. By 1919, Japanese owned nearly half of the fishing licenses in British Columbia. Life in Canada seemed to pick up for the Japanese who felt the need to leave their mother country Japan for whatever reason. ...
After Japan bombed Pearl Harbour, the cry to rid British Columbia of the Japanese menace was taken up in many quarters including provincial and municipal government halls and influential local newspapers. On the day just after the attack on Pearl Harbour, 1 200 fishing boats owned by Japanese Canadians were impounded ridding the community of their main source of income as well as food. On that same day, Japanese language newspapers and schools were closed down, and insurance policies cancelled. ... “The deep rooted fear and hatred of the Japanese that went back for half a century had climaxed in a manner that was perhaps inevitable. ... ” Within three months, the Federal Cabinet Order-in-Council forced the removal of Japanese Canadian male nationals to camps, and then authorized the removal of all persons of Japanese origin. As of February 24th of 1942, all Japanese Canadians received restrictions in areas of employment, communication and association with other persons; they were denied possession of cameras, firearms, and radios.
Approximate Word count = 1662
Approximate Pages = 6.6
(250 words per page double spaced)
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