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repeating Germany's efforts at containment. The moment occurred with the survey of an exhibit at the US Holocaust Museum in DC, and when I picked up Joy Kogawa's novel, OBASAN, I fully realized the nightmare. In 1941, Executive Order 9066 was passed which allowed the United States government to detain all Japanese immigrants and Japanese-American citizens. While the US was technically at war with Japan, Germany, and Italy, no efforts were made to detain immigrants of German or Italian descent. The targeted people with obvious physical differences were shuttled to internment camps located inland, away from the shore and Japan, located several days away via ship. These people lost their homes, their possessions, and their respect in the process. They barely kept families together, if at all. OBASAN tells the story of one such family in Canada, who repeated US efforts to detain potential Japanese loyalists and spies, regardless of their birth in that country or another. Naomi is five years old and enjoys a pleasant, safe life with her parents and older brother on the west coast of Canada in Vancouver. Unexpectedly one day, she, her brother, and aunt are taken away. Her father and uncle are separated from them at another work camp, and her pregnant mother is trapped behind in Japan following a visit to some relatives.
Approximate Word count = 799
Approximate Pages = 3.2
(250 words per page double spaced)
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