Post by Admin on Nov 21, 2015 6:39:03 GMT
We have the abiity to change things to make the future better. Let's hope and WORK to make things much better for immigrants to our country now and in the future. This is what history said about our predecessors.... my heartfelt apologies go out to China and all immigrants (they were not refugees) that were internned here. This should never have happened on our shores. What we chose to do or not do now will leave a record for centuries into the future. What do you want to leave behind as testimony to your decisions?
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Angel Island Immigration Station
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angel_Island_Immigration_Station
Immigrant perspectives
The predominantly Chinese immigrants who were detained at Angel Island were not welcomed in the United States. As recounted by one detained in 1940: “When we arrived, they locked us up like criminals in compartments like the cages at the zoo.” Held in these “cages” for weeks, often months, individuals were subjected to rounds of interrogations to assess the legitimacy of their immigration applications. These interrogations were long, tiring, and stressful. Immigrants were made to recall minute details about their home and claimed relations—how many steps led up to your front door? Who lived in the third house in the second row of houses in your village? The interpreters for the proceedings may have not have spoken the particular dialect of the immigrant competently; most Chinese immigrants were from southern China at that time, many spoke Cantonese. It was difficult to pass the interrogations, and cases were appealed many times over before one could leave the island and enter the United States. Often, successful immigrants produced elaborate instruction manuals that coached fellow detainees in passing interrogations; if anyone was caught with these manuals, they would most likely be deported. Those that failed these tests often feared the familial shame of returning to China, and would commit suicide before leaving, or on the ships back to their homeland.
Many of the detainees turned to poetry as expression—they spilled their emotions onto the very walls that contained them. Many of these poems were written in pencil and ink, or in brush, and then carved into the wooden walls or floors. Some of the poems are bitter and angry, placid and contemplative, or even hopeful.
“America has power, but not justice.
In prison, we were victimized as if we were guilty.
Given no opportunity to explain, it was really brutal.
I bow my head in reflection but there is nothing I can do.”
Another example:
“I thoroughly hate the barbarians because they do not respect justice.
They continually promulgate harsh laws to show off their prowess.
They oppress the overseas Chinese and also violate treaties.
They examine for hookworms and practice hundreds of despotic acts.”
A more hopeful example:
"Twice I have passed through the blue ocean, experienced the wind and dust of journey.
Confinement in the wooden building has pained me doubly.
With a weak country, we must all join together in urgent effort.
It depends on all of us together to roll back the wild wave."
These poems are immensely important to architectural history, as they are the physical remnants that tell the story of these people and their memories.
[(........That picture does not look comfortable at all, does it? We can do much better. ......)]
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Angel Island Immigration Station
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angel_Island_Immigration_Station
Immigrant perspectives
The predominantly Chinese immigrants who were detained at Angel Island were not welcomed in the United States. As recounted by one detained in 1940: “When we arrived, they locked us up like criminals in compartments like the cages at the zoo.” Held in these “cages” for weeks, often months, individuals were subjected to rounds of interrogations to assess the legitimacy of their immigration applications. These interrogations were long, tiring, and stressful. Immigrants were made to recall minute details about their home and claimed relations—how many steps led up to your front door? Who lived in the third house in the second row of houses in your village? The interpreters for the proceedings may have not have spoken the particular dialect of the immigrant competently; most Chinese immigrants were from southern China at that time, many spoke Cantonese. It was difficult to pass the interrogations, and cases were appealed many times over before one could leave the island and enter the United States. Often, successful immigrants produced elaborate instruction manuals that coached fellow detainees in passing interrogations; if anyone was caught with these manuals, they would most likely be deported. Those that failed these tests often feared the familial shame of returning to China, and would commit suicide before leaving, or on the ships back to their homeland.
Many of the detainees turned to poetry as expression—they spilled their emotions onto the very walls that contained them. Many of these poems were written in pencil and ink, or in brush, and then carved into the wooden walls or floors. Some of the poems are bitter and angry, placid and contemplative, or even hopeful.
“America has power, but not justice.
In prison, we were victimized as if we were guilty.
Given no opportunity to explain, it was really brutal.
I bow my head in reflection but there is nothing I can do.”
Another example:
“I thoroughly hate the barbarians because they do not respect justice.
They continually promulgate harsh laws to show off their prowess.
They oppress the overseas Chinese and also violate treaties.
They examine for hookworms and practice hundreds of despotic acts.”
A more hopeful example:
"Twice I have passed through the blue ocean, experienced the wind and dust of journey.
Confinement in the wooden building has pained me doubly.
With a weak country, we must all join together in urgent effort.
It depends on all of us together to roll back the wild wave."
These poems are immensely important to architectural history, as they are the physical remnants that tell the story of these people and their memories.
[(........That picture does not look comfortable at all, does it? We can do much better. ......)]